Where? Assembly George Square Studios – Four (Venue 17)
When? 17:10
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am going to be found out.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
In January 2019, a B list French celebrity made the global headlines when he said that a woman once she turns 50 is unlovable and invisible. I turned 50 a few weeks later and mostly just wanted to know if by August anyone would be able to see me. So I decided to put on a show.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Money, kids, time, self-belief, public transport – not always in that order.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I used to work on the other side of the fence – as a person with alleged influence in the world of telly – so it’s gone from everyone wanting me at their shows/parties to more of a ‘Cally who?’ approach.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Where to begin? Flo & Joan, Jenny Bede, Maisie Adam, Luisa Omielan, Sara Barron, Yuriko Kotani for starters.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In my lover’s arms on a Thai beach. Only kidding. My lovers can’t afford to take me to Nando’s let alone a Thai beach, so I’ll go with doing this again, but with an even better show.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
There’s some trepidation, but so there should be! Who the flip do I think we are just changing lanes on our musical (not that kind of ‘musical) past at this stage of the game? At some level being older makes certain moments land with a thud (most recently when I had an out-of-body experience during a particularly empty preview show watching myself flail around pretending to be a dying robot) and others land a little lighter (namely what other people think as I’m looking less for validation from people). Of course I still want people to come and see it and love it more than their children.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
What begins as a self-help seminar led by frontman Felix Scoot and drummer Lee Delamere, spins out of control and crashes through the wall of ‘lies’ each of them have erected to predicate a life of grasping after something as unnatural and ethereal as the validation of mass-approval, aka ‘fame’. There are songs. There is dancing (both classically trained in tap, ballet and hip hop) so it would be a waste not to show off these hidden talents. We split our britches writing this. That was a lot of fun. Now it’s time to get to work.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Covering our likely losses and justifying the investment. We’re still honing it to ensure that we’re saying everything we want to. We’re basing the show on our experiences whilst not letting the truth stand in our way. As we dug into the writing we found we’ve a lot of complex feelings around the subject matter and we wish the show to serve as the most fun cautionary tale we can muster.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I ran tech for two shows a day back in 2003. That was the last time I was there, so I don’t really have an attitude to the Fringe owing to my inexperience of it. I look forward to answering this next year. Al and I went as punters last year and the scale of it blew me away. Like the Glasto of comedy festivals. It’s overwhelming. I marvelled at the sheer number of creative people out there.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Looking forward to seeing what Spencer Jones and Phil Nichol call fourth from their sick-puppy minds.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In a position where it doesn’t make sense NOT to bring a show to Edinburgh. Get your head round that. Took me a while and I wrote it only a moment ago. Let’s see what happens this time around…
Where? Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market – Bottom (Venue 98)
When? 17:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am actually excited this time. A stark contrast from my first show, I wanted to run screaming from it.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
My life in the UK after my move from LA for love fell apart. But also about the choices I have versus the choices my parents had, and about control and flatmates.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Is this enough? Is it funny? Do people care? All the same thoughts I have with every set.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes, I am more mentally prepared for it than I was my first hour. It’s a beast of a festival and very trying financially, mentally, and physically and I always complain about it, but really it has helped me grow as a comedian more than anything else I’ve done.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Helen Bauer: Little Miss Baby Angel Face, Nick Elleray: Big Nick Energy, Esther Manito: Crusade, Daniel Audritt: Better Man.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
A mixed bag of feelings! You never really know what to expect and it’s always a risk taking a show up to the Fringe. Both artistically and financially!
I’m currently having loads of fun performing the show and so I’m pretty excited to debut it to Edinburgh audiences. I’m hoping they’ll get as much enjoyment from it as I do.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a character comedy show about a washed up 80’s power ballad singer called Yasmine Day who attempts to put on a concert extravaganza! It borders on cabaret and it’s a really silly late night show.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
This is the first solo show I’ve done and so working alone is always scary. I think when you’re writing with other people you have a sounding board and people to share ideas with. So working on your own sometimes feels harder!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I think it’s learning to not expect much, or think you’re going to get huge amounts out of it career wise. I think it’s healthier knowing that you’re going to spend the month getting really good at something. I think the fringe definitely helps you to become a better performer and so really making the most of doing that is the best thing you can get out of it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
There are loads of really great shows this year and a lot of fantastic debut solo shows. Sadie Clark is doing her play Algorithms at the Pleasance,
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’m having loads of fun with this show and would love to keep doing more things with the character I’ve created. Hopefully she’ll pop up at the fringe next year.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am very excited not to go to work for a month! I work with kids and they make me very tired and spit on me quite a lot. The other day a little boy smacked me in the face with a spade. As long as that doesn’t happen in Edinburgh I think I will have a comparatively fun time.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a character comedy show in which I recreate an online roleplaying game. I’ve invented my own World of Warcraft-style game, and I enlist the audience as players in a quest to gain a magical spell book that will teach me how to teleport. On the way we meet an oracle, an enchanted amulet and a bunch of other fantasy characters. I was obsessed with these games as a teenager and this is an attempt to get some value out of playing World of Warcraft for five hours a day for a significant portion of my youth.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The show makes some reference to a fairly heavy autobiographical story, but in the early previews this was a huge part of the show and it was incredibly depressing and not fun to do. Fine-tuning the perfect amount of emotional heft has been, and with a month to go until the Fringe, still is, the biggest challenge. Also I use a big hula hoop as a prop, and when I’m walking to gigs sometimes men on public transport will shout things like ‘hula hoop!’ at me, which is pretty hurtful.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
It kind of used to be an excuse to get drunk with my friends every night, but now I think I have to be more sensible. I’m a lot healthier now and I’m gonna go climbing twice a week and eat lots of fish. Maybe I’ll go for a swim at the beach – I’m an ice junkie now and live for the cold thrill of the ocean.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Will Rowland is one of my favourite stand-ups and he’s doing his debut hour this year, called Cocoon. He’s very thoughtful and sensitive, and his show will be more rich and considered than some fringe shows from acts that have been going for a decade.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Back at the Edinburgh Fringe 2020 doing another hour of financially unviable alternative comedy in some sort of hot basement.
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33)
When? 21:15
What are your
feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
This is my sophomore year and I’m excited! As the Edinburgh
Fringe kind of coincides with the academic year, it’s a bit like being back in
school and working towards exams. Last year I’d say I felt like I’d studied,
but then when I got there none of the questions were what I expected, my pencil
broke and I needed the toilet whereas this year I feel much calmer and more
prepared. By which I mean I will be wearing adult diapers.
What is the premise
of your Edinburgh show this year?
This is a much more personal show than my last show. I talk about childhood, identity and what it means for me to be a foreigner in the UK. It’s also a much more topical show that dives into some of the grey areas surrounding the #MeToo discussion. This sounds more serious than it is. It’s a very silly show about being defined that pays homage to my home country. I won’t say where I’m from to keep an air of mystery but we’re known for tulips and prostitutes…
What is the biggest
obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I’d say that this year I really tried to integrate the
sillier side of my personality, which in the process of writing the show seemed
to clash with the straight-talking part of me that wants to be able to joke
openly about things like sex and gender expectations. But I really think I’ve
done it, and it’s a perfect balance of both sides of me.
Has your attitude
towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Well, five years ago I didn’t even know the Fringe existed, and that’s still pretty recent, so I would say it’s changed a remarkable amount. It’s less scary now than it was three years ago when I first went up to do a double-header. The more people I get to know, and the more I feel a part of the community, the less frightening the Fringe becomes. It is starting to feel more like ‘that thing I do in August’ now, which is nice. But I am still a baby comic in many ways and I can’t wait for the day when I feel completely at ease at this festival.
Do you have any other
Edinburgh show recommendations?
Oh yes! First, go check out Helen Bauer’s amazing debut Little Miss Baby Angel Face and see for yourself one of the funniest new voices in comedy. She will make you laugh and make you want to be her best friend – she’s incredible. Also check out Nathan D’Arcy Robert’s debut Glowed Up, which is a stand-up show inspired by his love of cinema. Nathan is one of the funniest people I know and an incredible writer, you won’t regret it! Also check out my fellow sophomore Heidi Regan, whose show Heidi Kills Time is for anyone who likes their comedy both silly and smart!
Where would you like
to be in a year’s time?
Heading back to the Fringe, I hope! I really enjoy making
shows, so I hope to keep doing that for as long as I can. Hopefully I’ll get to
do more fun things like writing for TV and acting, but the dream is to keep
getting better at stand-up and gig in as many places in the world as will have
me.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m buzzin’, mate. I lead quite an Anchoritic existence. If I’m not reading alone in my room I’m in a care home chatting to people with dementia. And they do things like deposit lumps of poo behind the radiator ‘to stop the temperature from breaking’. Which is great – but I’ve started to question their knowledge of thermoregulation. (To be fair, the temperature didn’t break at any point after the poo was dropped behind the radiator.) So, yeah, I’m looking forward to a month away from that.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
I’ll be closing Bound & Gagged’s AAA showcase at Gilded Balloon alongside the wonderful Nicole Harris and Adam Riley. That’ll be my usual 20 (featuring dementia, drugs, wound-dipping and a woodlouse’s pregnancy sack). I’m also bringing the critically acclaimed Pope’s Addiction Clinic to Monkey Barrel. Pope’s Addiction Clinic is a show that’s similar to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. It’s a place where comedians and audience members can share the stuff they’re most ashamed of and initiate a process of purification through confession. I might talk about the time I swallowed cat litter soaked in morphine.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Asking comedians to cut the safety net of prepared material and bring something to the room that’s an undiluted account of their personal experiences. Having said this: I also fall back on prepared material because if I’m too candid I’m scared I’ll say something where the audience is like ‘Oof. You showed your true colours there, son. We were on board with the anecdote about putting your hand in a diabetic ulcer but we cannot, WILL NOT, tolerate you undermining radiators!’
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I preferred it last year because I had a girlfriend.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
There’s too many to list but I’ll go for these two: Joz Norris is Dead. Long Live Mr. Fruit Salad. Joz has created a tulpa that allows him to vent any latent insecurities; any hang-ups or anxieties about feeling out of step with the world. As you’d expect from a show by Joz it’s silly and hilarious but the premise of disassociation provides a poignancy and psychologically depth. Similar to Edogawa Rampo’s dopplegänger fictions Joz uses the performative function of repressing his body and identity – in the character of Mr. Fruit Salad – to rid himself “of the restlessness in [his] heart”.
And Kelly Convey: Telephone Voice. Kelly and I started comedy about the same time and it’s been a joy to watch her go from strength to strength. She owns the stage with a Medway swagger and uses her unabashed coarseness to undermine the affectations of the upwardly mobile. She’s the ‘Chatham girl done good’ and she’s hilarious.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Stewart Lee said after he returned to stand-up in 2005 he wanted to build an audience of 3000 followers who were willing to pay £10 a year to watch him perform. I’m aiming for that.
I’d also like to remain in the care home, sitting in the garden while the evening sun purples the sky, ignoring all the residents who are tangled up in SCART leads or lying on the floor having fallen out of bed. (For legal reasons I’d like to state that this is obviously a joke.)
Where? Just the Tonic at The Caves – Just Up the Stairs (Venue 88)
When? 13:05
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Very nervous. Every year I go to Edinburgh, I’ve just gone up to get better as a comedian, but this is the first year I’ve done my own hour long show. I have purposefully never been seen by industry, reviewers etc… for years and this year is the first time that I have invited that level of scrutiny and that does worry me. It feels like I’m poking my head up from the parapet and I have no idea what to expect on the other side…
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s a joke filled stand up show about love, relationships and masculinity.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
My daily fight with myself. I have very high standards of myself which I inevitably fall short of. I’ve been running around doing as many gigs as I can a night, trying to get the material ready. There have been a lot of times this year where I’ve had to remind myself that comedy is meant to be fun and to stop beating myself up when a new routine isn’t perfect.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Every year I take it a bit more seriously… I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. I still love going up there and look forward to it all year, but this year has been the first time when it’s felt like it’s coming around too quickly rather than not quick enough.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Yes! So many… a fellow stand up debut by my friend Janine – Stand Up with Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated). She is a brilliant stand up and I’m really looking forward to seeing that show. She was also in my Comedy Central series Modern Horror Stories where I got to see every day how annoyingly talented she was. My writing partner Kat Butterfield is the funniest person I know and she’s one third of the sketch group Northern Power Blouse. Their very silly show gets audiences laughing like no one else can. Two US comics who are coming over that I’m really looking forward to seeing are Emmy Blotnick (Party Nights) and Anna Drezen (Okay Get Home Safe!!). I’ve heard Emmy’s show as an album already and it’s really funny and Anna is one of SNL’s best writers.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Me and my writing partner Kat Butterfield (of Northern Power Blouse – a sketch group also up in Edinburgh this year) are developing a lot of TV projects, so a dream situation would be to have one of those in production.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Keir: Much like I imagine a grouse feels as it enters into shooting season. I would love to tell you that I felt healthy nervous anticipation and excitement but despite this being my 15th Fringe at this stage it’s all angst, baby – pure, unadulterated angst…
Jojo: Excitement mixed with nerves and flashes of blind panic!
Jay: It can’t be that time of year again surely? It feels like I just finished last year’s show. It’s one of my favourite times of the year as I live in Edinburgh, so it feels like all your pals come up to your but for a month-long party. Although this year’s party might be somewhat tamer than the last few…
Paul: Every July, I have the same feelings of deja-vu, mixed with disbelief that another Fringe has come around so quickly. On top of that there is a mix of anticipation, fear and excitement.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Keir: I have a new play called Madame George about a psychic. I wanted to explore the nature of the things we choose to believe and how bitterly we will fight for those beliefs even when all evidence is to the contrary. Essentially, it’s about delusion which I feel is a very topical right now.
Jojo: A smart political observation of Brexit and Scotland’s place within that, beautifully disguised within the mind of a delusional psychic.
Jay: I am really lucky to have two Fringe shows with the Gilded Balloon this year. Alongside my 3rd solo show Jay Lafferty: Jammy, an uplifting show that turns the concept of luck on its head. I am also treading the boards as an actor. I was delighted to be offered the part of Jane in award-winning writer Keir McAllister’s brand-new dark comedy Madame George. The premise of the play is ‘a psychic in a slump’; a satirical examination of isolation and delusion with a subtle nod to the social and political stramash of ideas about identity in contemporary Scotland. I have had real fun getting into the character who isn’t all that she first appears to be.
Paul: I am doing two shows this year. I am acting in Madame George written by Keir McAllister, a dark comedy about our own delusions with a nod to the political stramash we currently find ourselves in. It’s on every afternoon at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose. My solo stand-up show 60 Minutes To Save The World, which is at The Stand’s New Town Theatre is all about trying to find positive solutions to all the challenges civilisation currently faces such as Brexit, Trump, Climate Change and the current state of Scottish football.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Keir: Funding, funding, funding. If it wasn’t for the wonderful Korens (Katy & Karen) at the Gilded Balloon co-producing this with Watch This space Productions (as they did with last year’s hit The Bench) this play would simply not be on.
Jojo: I genuinely can’t think of any; I get to spend my days playing around with some of my favourite people.
Jay: As hinted at early by the curb of my partying comment – I will be 7 months pregnant by the time August rolls around – eek! This is my first baby so I have no idea what I’m letting myself in for also just to make it super fun all my venues include a lot of stairs so if you see a pregnant lassie sitting on stars don’t worry I’m just having a rest. I have had to consider my mobility, stamina and costume for hiding said bump during the play.
Paul: Finding enough hours in the day, and enough days in July, to do all the shit that needs to be done before the start of August.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Keir: My attitude to the Fringe changes every year. Because I live in Edinburgh, I see close-up how the Fringe evolves and changes. I think one of the main changes is that the expense for performers has risen dramatically. That needs to change if the Fringe is going to be sustainable and inclusive. It can’t be allowed to become the privilege of those who can afford it. Performers and venues must respond to this too – an example this year is both The Monkey Barrel and Gilded Balloon offering half hour slots for performers. I think this is great idea.
Jojo: I’ve been participating in the Fringe for over 20 years and not one has been the same, it’s always wise to go into it with an open heart and mind (I’m quoting from the play!) but I do believe that in real life.
Jay: I have become more aware of the industry side of things – the potential to make amazing connections that can bring you amazing opportunity outside of the Fringe. Last year Keir’s play was picked up by one of the biggest international publishing companies Josef Weinberger Ltd. when you have an experience like that it just reminds you that you never know who is sitting in that room watching you so every show has to be the best show you can do – ha! – nothing like adding a bit more pressure.
Paul: Every year, the older I get it seems to come around a lot faster than it did before. Is it really 2018 already?
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Keir: All the cast of my play are also doing solo shows and they are all brilliant so I’m going to recommend them – Jojo Sutherland: Riches to Rags, Vladimir McTavish: 60 Minutes to Save the World and my wife Jay Lafferty’s show Jammy.
Jojo: Well I’m going to egotistically recommend my solo show Riches to Rags, Gilded Balloon, Teviot 4.15pm.
Jay: Oh wow! I have so many friends performing someone will get mad for me missing them out. I would love to recommend Liam Withnail: Homecoming at Monkey Barrel Comedy. I have been doing my preview runs with Liam and his show is brilliant he gets better every year. Also, it’s not a show but do yourself a favour and visit one of the Bross Bagel pop ups at Gilded Balloon’s venues – they are the best bagels I have ever tasted – you won’t regret it!
Paul: Glasgow is very nice at this time of year.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Keir: Right now – I think just anywhere not having anxiety dreams about doing another Fringe… but I think we know I’m going to be right here, doing exactly this.
Jojo: Alive.
Jay: Wondering how I’m going to get through the Fringe with a 10-month old on my hip? A themed mother and baby show perhaps? I doubt it though not with my penchant for the potty mouth.
What are your feelings as you enter into
this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
We are ramping up to
Edinburgh! Pumping the hair dressing show playlist currently via Spotify. We
had a gig in Exeter and Barnes over the weekend and we are very much looking
forward to the late night shenanigans that our 10:40pm spot will bring.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh
show this year?
Pamela Jones has
come face to face with herself… in the Stylist of the Year Competition. The
audience participate as hair models. All haircuts are consensual…
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d)
while putting this show together?
The biggest
obstacle are how many versions of the show there are. We are currently sitting
on number 5! Makes for some serious brain melt remembering which universe we
are inhabiting.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe
changed at all in recent years?
I think it’s good
to go up with positive vibes and an open mind. You never know how it’s going to
Pam out. (Ugh)
Do you have any other Edinburgh show
recommendations?
Yes! Medea Electronica: Pecho Mama, Witch Hunt: A & E Comedy, Josh Glanc: Glance You For Having Me, Lucy Hopkins: Ceremony of Golden Truth, Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience.