Interviews

Robyn Paterson: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© The South Afreakins
Who? Robyn Paterson
What? The South Afreakins
Where? theSpace on the Mile – Space 2 (Venue 39)
When? 15:05

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

I’m a bundle of nerves bringing up two solo shows. The first show, The South Afreakins, did so well in 2016, I feel myself putting pressure on in order to help the second show The South Afreakins: The Afreakin Family, be as successful.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The South Afreakins (Show #1): Gordon and Helene are stuck in South Africa and in their rut. One longs to get out and experience everything retirement has to offer while the other won’t leave his milk tart. When they finally immigrate to New Zealand, the result is hilariously heart breaking as they discover ‘home’ is hard to find.

The South Afreakins: The Afreakin Family (#2): Set in the present day, parents Gordon and Helene are joined by sisters Rachel and Kelly on the day when the family reunite to celebrate Gordon’s 70th birthday. The South Afreakins: The Afreakin Family offers audiences a witty yet achingly raw look at real family life. Old tensions, misunderstandings, regrets, jealousies, longing, choices made, fairness and unfairness are all up for debate as emotions erupt not unlike Helene’s extravagant chocolate lava birthday cake.

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

Juggling the responsibility of giving both shows equal attention and making sure that The Afreakin Family matches the energy, pace and emotive energy of the first successful show. I found the new show really took a lot of my energy and focus and it was hard not to let the creative input fall to the wayside while also producing both shows.

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

Nope! I’m as excited for it as I’ve always been!

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

The Hiccup Project – Lovely Girls; Hitting Head Productions – The Struggling Life of an Artist; Sone of Dyke.

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

Touring the world with The South Afreakins and The South Afreakins: The Afreakin Family.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘THE SOUTH AFREAKINS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Joe Sutherland: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Peter Fingleton
Who? Joe Sutherland
What? Sour
Where? PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth – Cinema Room (Venue 156)
When? 22:10

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

All of them. All feelings. Excitement, dread, occasionally indifference. The more Fringes you do, the more you develop a routine for getting into the rhythm of it. I wish I could go back and tell myself five years ago that six hours of yoga (aka re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is the only way to get through it.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

How the reunion of a certain 90’s girl group gave me an existential crisis.

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

The many court appearances I’ve had to make to defend libellous jokes against former Eastenders stars.

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

Having done a few, I now see it as a chance to work and just get on with doing what I do and learning how to make it better. I try to tweak the show every day so that by the end of the month it’s perfectly aerodynamic. Some people would have you believe that a show should be in that shape at the beginning of the month but when previewing to five drunks in the back of a pub, who all have one eye on the telly above the bar, is not always going to aide the development of your narrative arc.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

So many: Helen Bauer, Sophie Duker, Mickey Overman, Maisie Adam, Chloe Petts and Sam Lake, Nathan Roberts, Kai Samra, Janine Harouni, Yuriko Kotani, Patrick Spicer, Huge Davies, Olga Koch – they’re all brilliant performers doing first or second shows so they’re buzzing with fresh ideas and creativity.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR JOE SUTHERLAND: ‘SOUR’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Francesco De Carlo: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Karla Gowlett
Who? Francesco De Carlo
What? Winning Hearts and Minds
Where? Underbelly George Square – The Wee Coo (Venue 300)
When? 17:20

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

This is my third time at the Fringe and I hope to be able to use all the stuff that I’ve learned in the previous editions. I want to eat healthy, don’t drink too much alcohol, run in the morning and go to sleep early at night. It is a very stressful experience and I really hope to behave in a proper way. At least for the first couple of days.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

I want to investigate why liberal ideas are not convincing people anymore, in Europe as in the States, in Italy as in the UK. If we are so clever why we are losing elections basically everywhere? I’ll do it telling the audience some personal experience and the story of my (very) Italian family.

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

Translating it. Given that it is a second language, I would need more stage time, but it is very hard because I spend too much time in Rome and in the UK there are so many good comedians. I use every chance to test new material. Can you believe that I’ve tried new jokes during a showcase, where you are supposed to bring well rehearsed material?

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

I deeply love the fact that art and culture change so much during the years. Comedy is not an exception: it keeps changing year after year and I like it because it stays alive. In the UK I have the feeling that every comedian can contribute to this progress and that it is very important to describe the present and anticipate the future. In Italy we love to celebrate the past (dead comedians, dead actors, dead directors…) and it is very hard to create a new scene. Even if recently something is changing.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I’m sharing my flat with three great friends and amazing comedians: Anuvab Pal from India, Loyiso Gola from South Africa, Orlando Baxter from the USA. I can’t wait to see their new shows, even if I feel that the best entertainment would be in the house.

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

For an Italian is very hard to not spend August on the seaside, drinking white wine and eating spaghetti with clams. In the last years I’ve been in Scotland, so I hope to spend some time on the beach in twelve months. But I promise this to me every year, and every year I end up in Edinburgh. I’m in love with the Fringe Festival.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR FRANCESCO DE CARLO: ‘WINNING HEARTS AND MINDS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Naomi Karavani: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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Who? Naomi Karavani
What? Dominant
Where? Just the Tonic at Marlyn’s Wynd – Just the Wyndy Room (Venue 296)
When? 20:05

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

I always feel pretty corny saying ‘I’m excited’ so I won’t say that. But I am ‘charged’ and I have a thesaurus. A lot of comedians I love and respect have done the Fringe. I think it takes you up a level in talent and skill when it comes to stand up. It’s rare opportunity to do this many shows in a short amount of time.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The show is about how women can be assholes too, not just bitches. It’s stand up about evil things that I think and do, and also how white men don’t have a monopoly on evil. I think that’s important to consider as we enter an age where everyone is talking about how having female leaders will solve all of our problems.

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

I wanted to avoid talking about the president as much as possible, because everyone is so tired of Trump jokes in the US. But the way the election impacted my family was so tragic and funny, I had to talk about it.

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

This is my first year doing it, so I always thought the festival was so cool and out of reach. But now it’s less cool because I’m doing it now.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Some of my favorite comedians will be at Edinburgh this year. Anna Drezen @annadrezen; Langston Kerman @LangstonKerman; AndersLee @andersleehere; Liza Treyger @GlitterCheese; Catherine Cohen @Catccohen.

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

Hopefully back in Edinburgh, if this year doesn’t lead to some really specific performance related trauma.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR NAOMI KARAVANI: ‘DOMINANT’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

The Wonder Jam: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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Who? Lorna-Rose Treen, Belinda Anderson-Hunt, Dougie Baldwin and Rose Maher (Director)
What? The Wonder Jam
Where? Heroes @ Black Medicine – Basement (Venue)
When? 00:00

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

Excited. Nervous. Terrified. Delighted. Eager. Funny.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

It’s a late-night clown comedy party. It’ll be a new show every night where we’ll be improvising, working on characters, and clown numbers. It’s basically an experimental workshop to develop material for future shows with an audience. We believe the best way to write and find stuff is with a live audience. We’ll have fantastic guests every night trying out new material too. It’s exciting because we could do literally anything. The show is a safe space for new clowns to incubate and grow as performers. We inherited the show from Luke Rollerson, Christian Brighty and Tom Curzon this year (the team behind Planet Earth III – SOHO Theatre, ★★★★★ Ed Fest Mag), and in a few years we hope to pass it on to other young clowns.

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

As we inherited the show, we’ve really tried to make it our own, and put our own twist on things. We have no MC, and we’ve tried to nail down a format which works for us, our guests and our audiences. The show is framed as a party, and our aim is to have as much fun as possible.

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

Lorna: I’ve been doing the Fringe for the past six years. I went to university here, so first got involved with the student scene. I then joined the Improverts, Edinburgh’s longest running Improv group and a Fringe staple, and you really get to see the inner workings of the fringe by doing a half-midnight show, every night. The Fringe has changed a lot since I first came – there’s much more recognition for women and clowns (two sections of humanity which I love).

This will be Belinda and Dougie’s first year here, but Bel is quite familiar with the Auzzie scene. She says that Edinburgh feels huge, full of history and magic. She’s been on two ghosts tours already. Dougie loves Harry Potter.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I Just Want Someone to Know I Was Here, as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint. It’s a beautiful story telling show about life and death, and you get a bloody pie! 12th-16th at McSorley’s (venue 280). 12:45.

Privates: A Sperm Odyssey: Luke, Christian and Tom’s hilarious show. Saving Private Ryan meets a sex ed talk. They’re insane. Heroes at Boteco’s, 17:20.

Luke Rollason’s Infinite Content. Luke’s a genius idiot. Monkey Barrel 4, 12:00.

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

Dougie: To have at least an hour of character material I feel confident in! To be smarter too! I want to be smart!!

Lorna: To be in the position to start writing a solo show that I’m excited about. Also to have loads of money. LOADS. I want too much money.

Bel: I want to be free of this flesh vessel.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘THE WONDER JAM’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Only Fools the Cushty Dining Experience: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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Who? Kat Mary
What? Only Fools the Cushty Dining Experience
Where? Imagination Workshop – The Principal (Venue 119)
When? 20:30

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

Very excited. This is the first time I have been part of a show that has sold over 50% of the tickets before we have even arrived. It’s a completely new experience for me to be part of a show that has such a strong momentum behind it.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

A fun filled, immersive Only Fools & Horses tribute dinner show. Set at The Nags Head pub quiz final, run by Delboy, Rodney and Co, the audience become part of the action, as if they are in an episode of the iconic sitcom.

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

Budget, budget, budget.

© Xavier Young

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

As the years go by, you learn to approach it with a clearer head and less hysteria! I tend to have more realistic expectations and to take every review, good or bad with a pinch of salt. It’s a wonderful platform to engage new audiences and hone the show over a focussed time period. I am looking forward to being part of a HUB [Imagination Workshop]. That is another new experience for me and I feel the camaraderie will be a great benefit to everyone involved.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Notflix at the Gilded Balloon – Improvised musical based on suggestions from the audience. These girls are hilarious and they can really sing! Stand Up Poet – Gavin Robertson – at Imagination Workshop. Very funny, insightful poetry.

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

We are a happy crew who are loving finding new audiences. Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is our big sister show. If we can start gaining the loyal audiences and mirror the success of our sis, we would be very chuffed. Maybe next year we come to the Fringe with 75% already sold!

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR: ” HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Faulty Towers the Dining Experience: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Interactive Theatre International
Who? Jack Baldwin
What? Faulty Towers the Dining Experience
Where? Imagination Workshop – The Principal (Venue 119)

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

I’m slightly trepidatious this year as I’ve had a couple of Fringes off and am worried that I’m too excited.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

It’s the original (and best!) tribute show to the legendary BBC TV show, Fawlty Towers. The audience are guests at the disastrous hotel’s restaurant and are served a 3-course meal whilst farcical havoc ensues around them. Part script, part improv it really is a ridiculously fun show for both fans of the TV show and fans of immersive comedy ages 8-80.

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

I didn’t put this show together – it started in Australia in 1997 and has been touring the world ever since. I’m one of 57 actors who are in it, though the cast for any one performance is only three – Basil, Sybil and Manuel.

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

There have been some years where it’s felt overly commercial and reliant on big name comedy acts at the big venues but this has changed – Fringe is in constant flux because it’s fringe, that’s my favourite element.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Comrade Egg & The Chicken of Tomorrow (Pleasance); The Dots (Imagination Workshop); The Wrong Ffion Jones (Udderbelly). There are plenty of others but that’s it off the top of my head. Oh – and Confetti and Chaos (Imagination Workshop), which I directed!

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

Returning triumphant from Hollywood with a new show premiering at the Fringe.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR: ‘FAULTY TOWERS THE DINING EXPERIENCE’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Confetti and Chaos: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Xavier Young
Who? Jack Baldwin (director)
What? Confetti and Chaos
Where? Imagination Workshop – Hanover Suite (Venue 119)
When? 17:00

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

I’m slightly trepidatious this year as I’ve had a couple of Fringes off and am worried that I’m too excited.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The premise is that a bride and groom have had a very small (Bride’s parents & groom’s best man) wedding ceremony but that the Mother of the Bride has invited all her extended friends and family to a surprise wedding reception – the audience are the invited guests so there’s quite an immersive element and some very mild interaction.

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

The show was known as The Wedding Reception before, but we’ve re-imagined it a bit (a lot!) and renamed it, so we need audiences to know that – it’s both reliably established and brand new! And time has been a factor for the cast going to Edinburgh: due to various constraints and commitments we’ve only had about four full days together. Thankfully most of the script was already written and the cast were fantastic from the get go.

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

Having been in London for the past two Fringes I found myself yearning to be in Edinburgh. I’ve been at twelve of the last nineteen so this year will be thirteen in twenty (maybe that number’s why I’m feeling a little nervous), and whilst every year is different there’s always a very definably Edinburgh Fringe feel.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Comrade Egg & The Chicken of Tomorrow (Pleasance); The Dots (Imagination Workshop); The Wrong Ffion Jones (Udderbelly). There are plenty of others but that’s it off the top of my head. Oh – Faulty Towers The Dining Experience (Imagination Workshop), which I’m in!

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

Returning triumphant from Hollywood with a new show premiering at the Fringe.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘CONFETTI AND CHAOS’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Nicky Wilkinson: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Claire Ford
Who? Nicky Wilkinson
What? Game On
Where? Laughing Horse @ The Lock Up (Venue 238)
When? 15:45

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

I tell you what, I’m feeling dead excited about this year. It’s gonna be good, I can feel it in me waters.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

It’s all about me and my competitive nature and how that’s not always such a great thing. There’s stand-up and games and prizes. It’s loads of fun and I can’t wait to get cracking!

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

Time. It’s always time with me. I’m one half of physical comedy duo, The Kagools and we’re also doing a new show this year called Cirque du Kagool. It’s been hard trying to get BOTH shows ready in time but I think we’ve just about managed it.

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

I love Edinburgh, I really do. The only thing that increasingly disappoints me every year is the cost of it all. It’s an open access festival yet the cost of everything involved in putting on a show is becoming more and more for the elite. Mostly it’s the rising accommodation costs. My parents love Edinburgh too and have been up every year, they watch all sorts of shows and I love catching up with them at they end of their visit to see what they loved (and what they didn’t)! As a retired couple on a crap pension, it’s a real struggle to find affordable digs for them.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

The Kagools: Cirque du Kagool of course! It’s the most fun you can have in waterproofs. Dr Lara Love, Hayley Ellis, Javier Jarquin, Mick Neven, Bart Freebairn, Maisie Adam. Oooh, I can’t wait to see Rob Rouse and his gorgeous wife, Helen, in a play they wrote together called ‘Funny in Real Life’. Rob Deering’s Beat This will be fun – I’m going to guest on that. Me old mate from Hull, Jack Gleadow’s debut hour and gawd… there’s too many!

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

I think I’m going to bring the same shows back to Edinburgh in 2020 so this time next year, I’d like to be on a beach stroking a cat, relaxing in the knowledge that I am totally prepared.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR NICKY WILKINSON: ‘GAME ON’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Ladylikes: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Adrian Tauss
Who? Ladylikes
What? Top Secret House Party
Where? Just the Tonic at Marlin’s Wynd – Just the Wyndy Room (Venue 296)
When? 21:25

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

A mix of excitement and terror. We flit between being raring to get the show up on its feet and wondering what major thing we have forgotten to do. However, we know that we make a great team and that we have each other’s backs. We can’t wait to open Top Secret House Party and to spend a month performing and watching the shows of the people we love and admire! I think we both feel conflicted about spending a month eating tuna pasta bakes…

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

We are taking our debut sketch show, Top Secret House Party to Just The Tonic’s Marlin’s Wynd. Our show is a comical (and sometimes terrifying) exploration of what it means to be a modern-day party girl. It’s a tale of friendship, finding your way in your late twenties, and the anxieties that come with party culture. Expect wacky characters, outlandish scenarios and a good dose of musical comedy

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

Time! Obviously, as we are just at the start of our comedy career we have spent the last year balancing other commitments and pay the bills jobs just to be able to get our show up to the Fringe. Phoebe co-runs another theatre company and Miztli has just done her first run as a director on Newsrevue! We both work a million side-hustles but we’ve managed to make it work and have also had the support of other creatives who have lent us their time and skills for free. We hope we can repay the favour when we are award-winning millionaires…

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

I know people are saying it’s getting more and more expensive every year to perform and we think it’s such a shame. We’ve heard that press coverage has been slashed this year too which makes it harder if you are at the start of your journey. However, we’ve learnt it really is a marathon and not a sprint so we are excited just to have a month practising and honing our craft (and having fun).

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

We know so many amazing comedians heading up this year it’s hard to pick! But we can’t wait to see Algorithms by Sadie Clark, Petroc by Tamsyn Kelly and Janine Harouni’s debut comedy hour! There’s too much awesome stuff to see!

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

We would love to have toured our show around – we think it should have a good life post Fringe. We’ve also got a few ideas for a sitcoms and more filmed sketches! Watch this space.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘TOP SECRET HOUSE PARTY’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019