Interviews

Police Cops: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Guy Sanders
Who? Police Cops
What? Badass Be Thy Name
Where? Assembly George Square Studios – One (Venue 17)
When? 21:20

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

It’s always a weird feeling. I’m 50% ‘can’t wait’ and 50% ‘can definitely wait’. It’s always an amazing feeling finally presenting something that goes down really well, but then the thing has to be ready in time so there’s this looming countdown going on simultaneously. It’s like if you were really excited about doing a tax return.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

A kitchen sink drama set in Manchester 1999 morphs into a badass vampire slaying epic (cliche I know).

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

It’s our first show not set in the ‘police cops universe’. Our first show was a 70’s inspired buddy cop action movie on stage, and the next show Police Cops in Space is an 80s inspired sci fi , which is the sequel. So this is the first show we’ll have done completely independent of those stories which is a challenge but also creatively very freeing which has been great. The biggest obstacle was probably making that initial decision of what our new big idea was going to be.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

We used to not really fully comprehend how great an opportunity Edinburgh Fringe can be to exhibit your work and really get it out there. We started off doing it for a bit of a laugh, now we know what a great platform it can be, which is why we do as many shows as we can.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Nasi and Burt at Summerhall with The End. Antler at Summerhall with Civilisation.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

In a rehearsal room with natural light that isn’t also underground.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR POLICE COPS: ‘BADASS BE THY NAME’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Jamie Loftus: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Callie Biggerstaff
Who? Jamie Loftus
What? Boss, Whom is Girl
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand(Venue 33)
When? 22:45

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

Fear and inferiority and excitement. That’s very negative, probably, and I will work on that.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

My show, Boss, Whom is Girl, is about corporate feminist CEO named Shell Gasoline-Sandwich who is using in-home Alexa-like devices to spy on her customers. Like a lot of people in her position, she’s constantly appealing to her audience’s sincere views to sell them something that is absolutely trying to kill them, or at least sell video footage of them naked to Halliburton and Gatorade. It’s also a comedy.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Research! This was the first show I’ve done that required a lot of external knowledge — for Boss, Whom Is Girl, it was a lot of reading and some interviews about surveillance technology, how it’s weaponized and watching how successful female CEOs have leveraged pretty reductive identity politics to service their business versus people. I have worked in research and journalism almost as much as I have in comedy, so finding a reason to combine the two was a lot of fun for me and I think ended up serving the show’s specificity. I’ve never had a show with a bibliography before, and if that sounds boring it’s because it is but please come see it anyways.

Another thing I went back and forth with is whether finding empathy for this cartoon villain of a character was worthwhile, and ended up deciding it was. There is a quality I find very interesting in corporate feminists to be either doubly evil or more sympathetic and it changes all the time.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

This is my first time going, I am a dumb baby and don’t know anything.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I’m really excited for The Living Room with Amritha Dhaliwal and Gemma Soldati, it’s one of my favorite shows I’ve ever seen anyone who doesn’t go is a fool. I’m also psyched to see Courtney Pauroso’s Gutterplum, Mary Houlihan’s Me & Jack, Catherine Cohen’s The Twist? She’s Gorgeous!, Langston Kerman’s The Loose Canon and Anna Drezen’s Okay Get Home Safe!

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

I truly could care less which means I should be back on Wellbutrin.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR JAMIE LOFTUS: ‘BOSS, WHOM IS GIRL’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Heidi Regan: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Steve Ullathorne
Who? Heidi Regan
What? Heidi Kills Time
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Beside (Venue 33)
When? 16:45

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

I’m more relaxed than last year, but now I’m getting panicked that the relaxation is a horrific mistake and I will be filled with regret and an unfinished show. So I’m nervous about how relaxed I am, which is why I can’t have nice things.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

Someone pointed out to me that a disproportionate amount of my jokes were about time travel so I decided to really lean in to that. I love sci fi and fantasy and very silly jokes and it happens to mix well with my growing terror of the future. Basically it’s my brain obsessing over decisions and making the wrong choice and an apocalyptic future and using time travel to process that. Sounds fun, right?!

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Lots of attempted interference from TEC, the Time Enforcement Commission first documented in the Jean-Claude Van Damme documentary Time Cops. They don’t want me to reveal too much about the extent of time travel going on. Bloody politics!

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

I used to go every year as a punter and thought all the comedians looked like they were having constant fun. Now I’m doing shows I realise it’s mostly terror and stress but I guess that’s because it is a job. Hopefully that will change as I get more confident or give up on any career?

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Yes loads that I will tweet in the week leading up to it. I can’t handle the pressure of picking just a few for here and accidentally missing some. Why would you think I was ready for that kind of responsibility? Why?

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

In a meeting in the White House being quizzed/interrogated on how my show got so many things right about time travel!?!?!?! Then I imply that I know even more but I can’t explain, they just have to trust me and make some key policy changes. But then I go mad with power and eventually I’m stopped by a future me! Hopefully I can fit all this around doing Edinburgh again next year as I’d like to do a very silly and low key show.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR HEIDI REGAN: ‘HEIDI KILLS TIME’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Rob Auton: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Julian Ward
Who? Rob Auton
What? The Time Show
Where? Assembly George Square Studios – Five (Venue 17)
When? 14:50

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

Full of the heady mix that is self-doubt and determination as per. Looking forward to eating an omelette at the city restaurant.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The show is about time. It is called The Time Show. I’ve been exploring how I feel about time and how long I should spend on these questions when really I should be working on my show.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Knowing that I should be working on my show but ending up answering questions about it instead of working on it. (I’m thankful for the opportunity to talk about my show though).

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

Nowadays I don’t attempt to talk to friends I see in the street who have headphones in. I have a leave them alone when in the zone attitude now.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Lucy Hopkins, Spencer Jones, John Kearns. Take a punt on anyone who hands you a flyer in a human way.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

Packing for Glastonbury instead of wishing I was packing for Glastonbury. Right I better get back on with my show. I’ve got a preview tomorrow.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ROB AUTON: ‘THE TIME SHOW’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Isa Bonachera: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Adrian Tauss
Who? Isa Bonachera
What? The Great Emptiness
Where? Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market – Top (Venue 98)
When? 16:45

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

I cannot wait for the Edinburgh Fringe to start, I cannot be more excited about my show Isa Bonachera: The Great Emptiness, it includes my funniest writing to date, and plenty of surprises, including planetarium projections and wearable electronics.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The Great Emptiness is a tour of the weirdest parts of the cosmos, and a reflection on broken dreams and burn-out. An hour of original and offbeat comedy, filled with gags and plenty of out-of-this-world hilarious silliness. This show is the a real-life story about my obsession to become an astronaut, the extreme lengths I went to achieve that dream, and the events that lead to the death of that dream. This includes stories involving Mars Rovers, meeting astronauts, and my experiences accidentally being involved in some of the major scientific discoveries of the century, such as the discovery of the Higgs Boson. The Great Emptiness gives an insider view of the best and worst parts of the world of science, and critiques the toxic culture of overwork that preys on people’s dreams.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

As a performer from a working class background, I have really struggled financially to cover all the costs associated with the Fringe, this year has been especially difficult because of the exponential rent increase. I am lucky to have a full time job, so I can cover the costs of going to the Fringe without accumulating a massive debt (like many other performers do), but that means that I have less time to focus on my comedy. Starts are always hard, and I think that I’m close to getting to a place where I can make a living from doing comedy.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

I love the Edinburgh Fringe, I love that I conveniently can see as many shows as I want each day, and the non-stop gigging. There is no other place where I can live and breathe comedy 24/7 for a month. I feel that comedians that don’t go to the Edinburgh Fringe are missing out on a great opportunity to showcase their work and that is a pity because not everyone can afford to go to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I have too many to list here, I have already planned what I am going to see at the Fringe and it is more than 70 shows. To name a few, this year I am very excited to see Josie Long, Phil Wang, Kieran Hodgson, and Ahir Shah.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

I would like to be where I am now, gigging all across the UK but doing more radio and TV work (If you are producer, please come to my show!).

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ISA BONACHERA: ‘THE GREAT EMPTINESS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Jack Barry: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© James Deacon
Who? Jack Barry
What? Alien
Where? PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth – Cinema Room (Venue 156)
When? 20:55

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

I’m very excited! In the past I have found it very stressful, but a couple of years ago I finally realised that it’s all meaningless. We’re all going to die, so why worry about the Edinburgh Fringe? I just want make sure that everyone who comes to see my show every day has a lovely time and we all leave good friends.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

This year my show is all about foreigners! I love foreigners, my girlfriend is an immigrant, my grandmother is an immigrant and I was even an immigrant when I was a child (I lived in China). So I wanted to write a show about the funny things that make us all different, and how they should be seen as positives rather than negatives. Also, it’s good to see the funny side of trying to stop your girlfriend from getting deported.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

The hardest thing has been to finally talk on stage about my deepest, darkest secret. That I was in a low-budget Chinese feature film when I was thirteen. It’s excruciatingly awkward. I play an American character but refused to do an accent. My girlfriend and I have been together for five years and she’s only just found out about it. Usually I’m criticised for being an over-sharer, but this I’ve kept bottled up.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

I suppose so. When I first started going to the Fringe I was a bright-eyed student, who was just excited to be there. I went out every night and got drunk and then I’d be on the Royal Mile at 10am to flyer for six hours. These days I’m a grizzled veteran and all that youthful innocence has gone. I still enjoy it, but it’s in a much more restrained manner.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Plenty! There are lots of people coming from other countries to do their first Edinburghs, which is very exciting. Especially as my show is about immigrants. Ray Badran, Aaron Chen and Catherine Cohen will all have amazing shows. I’m also looking forward to Helen Bauer’s debut. I think she’s a bit German. I’m also always excited to see all my friends’ shows. My old sketch partner Annie McGrath has a new show. I’m living with Adam Hess, Mat Ewins and Rhys James, so shout out to all of them too!

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

I’ve been saying for the past ten years that I’m going to have a year off from Edinburgh next year, so hopefully I’ll be at home and not worrying about Edinburgh. In all likelihood I’ll be at home filling out a questionnaire for MoodyComedy, trying to get people to come and see my 2020 Edinburgh show.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR JACK BARRY: ‘ALIEN’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Milo Edwards: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Anastasia Zavolokina
Who? Milo Edwards
What? Pindos
Where? Just The Tonic at The Charteris Centre – Just the Sanctum (Venue 393)
When? 14:00

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

A little hard to say at this stage! There’s still some work to be done but I’m pleased with the show and I think it’s coming together nicely. I’m hopeful for good crowds and a successful run.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

My show this year is called Pindos and it’s all about the three years I spent in Russia and how I ended up becoming a TV comedian out there. The aim is to interweave that story with an analysis of language and culture and how those things shape our daily lives.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Probably choosing what stories not to tell. Talking about three years of my life (all of which I spent working in comedy in Russia) means that there’s a lot of material to choose from and there are a lot of things competing for space in the show. Paring it down to an hour that showcases the keys points has been tricky, but I think has resulted in a better overall show.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

It’s hard to say. I love the Fringe and really value the opportunity it gives you to perform loads for a month and really experiment with things that you usually wouldn’t get to do on the circuit. That said it’s certainly gotten much more expensive in recent years, which I think alters the ambience of doing it a bit.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Olga Koch’s new show If/Then is very good, and the other comics I always go and see are Pierre Novellie, Alex Kealy, Ahir Shah and Aidan Jones. If you’d like to see more of me I’ll also be in a mixed bill show of Russian TV comics every day at 11:35pm at the Caves called The Russian Comedy Experience and taking part in a live show of our podcast Trashfuture аt 9:30pm on the 10th.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

Ideally, working with a good agent to do more long form shows and touring, I’ve had a lot of fun performing this show around Europe and would love to do more of that next year, and also visit the Australian festivals. Beyond that I also love playing clubs in the US so perhaps going back to the US for a few months could be a prospect.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR MILO EDWARDS: ‘PINDOS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Rhys Nicholson: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Monica Pronk @monicapronkphotography
Who? Rhys Nicholson
What? Nice People Nice Things Nice Situations
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – Friesian (Venue 302)
When? 20:40

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

There is always a level of ‘holy shit is it August already? Ooft’ but that passes around the start of September. I’m feeling okay about it all really. I’ve been touring around Australia and New Zealand and having a pretty fun time. This will be my seventh Edinburgh. I can’t tell if I feel more confident or the six other years have just worked me down to a sociopath. Either way you should come and watch the result.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The show is vaguely about an email I got from a rather angry lady called Carol (spoiler alert). It is mostly just an hour of what I hope is funny talking. I’ve sent Carol an invite to the show. No response.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

I work with a guy who directs my shows. This man also happens to be my fiancé. Small world. The biggest obstacles are usually when he recommends I perform something in a certain way. I tell him he’s wrong and then go onstage and find out his is in fact nearly always right. Absolutely infuriating.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

I think I spent a whole bunch of years treating the Fringe like it was some sort of war to be won. I’d come back to Australia and talk about it like I deserved a medal. Actually, no, thinking about it those first few years were horrific and I do deserve a medal. Give me a medal. I’m a gift.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

There are some great people coming this year that I’m pretty excited about. My friend Liza Treyger is coming all the way from New York. Go see her. She is one of my favourites. Daniel Connell is an Australian and one of the best stand ups in the country. Go look at him. He’s a good boy. Also London is nice in August.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

Writing my Nobel Prize acceptance speech for my work in government and sciences. Failing that, I’ll probably be sitting here filling out Q&As for Edinburgh Fringe.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR RHYS NICHOLSON: ‘NICE PEOPLE NICE THINGS NICE SITUATIONS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Leo Kearse: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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Who? Leo Kearse
What? Transgressive
Where? Gilded Balloon Teviot – Nightclub (Venue 14)
When? 21:15

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

I’m scared. I’ve got a proper big promoter producing my show this year in a big room at the Gilded Balloon, so it’s an opportunity for me to do a good show. If this goes well they’ll tour the show, I’ll make money, I’ll maybe get famous. Then I can crush my enemies.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

I was banned from my venue at the Perth Fringe in Australia because people complained that my material is transphobic. But I wrote that material with a transgender woman I was dating (a hot one) because I’m so woke I dated a transgender woman. Most people who complained weren’t even transgender – there were straight people who say they’re queer because they think it makes them more interesting, and there were drag queens. Drag is trans blackface. A drag queen complaining about transphobia is like a minstrel complaining about racism. So my show is about the tyranny of ‘wokeness’, victim culture and how all these right on lefty pricks are ruining everything for everyone, including themselves.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

I’m really lazy. It’s easy to fall into the trap of sitting about all day playing games on my phone and wanking. Everyone applauds Stephen Hawking for pushing forward the boundaries of physics despite his disabilities, but I’d be able to focus and achieve lots if I couldn’t form a fist around my dick. The only thing that really motivates me is spite. 

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

I like it because all my friends are there, I make money and it forces me to write new stuff. Anyone who says they lose money at the Fringe is doing it wrong. Likewise, any comedian who says there’s no money on the live circuit is really just saying that they’re too shit to get booked for the good clubs. The importance of the Fringe has dwindled as social media allows people to connect directly with their audience and build a following. But I am too lazy to put up videos all the time. If I had the self discipline to sit at a computer putting subtitles on videos, I’d get a proper job.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Darius Davies: Persian Of Interest. Darius is hilarious and totally Islamic even though he looks like a white guy. For years I’ve been telling him to do the Muslim thing so that the white saviour-complex diversity fetishising liberal comedy gatekeepers let him on TV. He refused, saying they should book him because he’s funny. It doesn’t work like that – they’d rather book someone who fits their patronising, reductive, box-ticking idea of what an ethnic comedian should be. So now he’s doing a show about being Muslim or Iranian or something so that they let him on TV. He’s very funny. He also MC’s my late night show Hate ‘n’ Live which has a panel of comedians hating on audience suggestions. It’s brilliant raucous improvised fun and we’re doing it in the Big Cave this year.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

I don’t know. I’m already doing better than I thought I would. I drive a bright red shiny Audi and I spend winter in the tropics. I’d quite like to get famous and powerful so I can marry a really really hot woman like Melania Trump and smite anyone who has crossed me.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR LEO KEARSE: ‘TRANSGRESSIVE’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Luke Rollason: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Matt Highton
Who? Luke Rollason
What? Luke Rollason’s Infinite Content
Where? Monkey Barrel 4 (Venue 515)
When? 12:00

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

Like the prodigal son returning, but he’s got the wrong address.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The premise of my Edinburgh Show is that the audience is immersed in a live comedy version of what happens to their brains when we go online. I get delivered in a box by Amazon and it’s pretty much non-stop disorientating fun from then on in. Along the way I pretend to be a printer, bombard you all with advertising and everyone’s data is harvested for marketing purposes. Physical comedy so intensely captivating you’ll get motion sickness. It’s a lot more esoteric than last year’s show, which I hear is a real hit with critics.

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

The biggest obstacle I’ve faced this year is making a show about what the internet does to your ability to concentrate without succumbing to this exact thing, rendering me incapable of thinking in any depth about the internet and what it is doing to my ability to concentrate. Someone is reading this on the internet. They’ve probably got bored already.

Second biggest: powerpoint. I’m trying to run a whole show about modern technology off a version of powerpoint from 2007. Good god.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

Yes! I’m relieved not to be carting around the wheelbarrow of expectations (your own and those of others) that comes FREE with doing your debut hour. There’s something very nice and liberating about not winning awards. I don’t know what the alternative is but I imagine it’s horrible. The last week of Edinburgh last year was perfect – there were no more reviewers, judges or arts industry coming – just audiences. I was staying out later but felt the most energised I had all month. That’s important – without all those other pressures and promises of intangible rewards, it has to be fun.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Privates: A Sperm Odyssey, because I play a sperm in it. But in the narrow category of ‘shows in which I do not ejaculate’ I would recommend Dave McIver: Teleport. And you know that’s from the bottom of my self-destructive heart because he is literally on at the same time as me. The show I’m most excited about which I can actually see (alas, I will never see myself perform live) is Tom Walker: Very Very.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

An internet sensation and a real-life disappointment.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘LUKE ROLLASON’S INFINITE CONTENT’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019