Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three (Venue 33)
When? 20:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
The feeling is positive! I’m really looking forward to showing people what I’ve been working on. I’ve created something that I think will be really fun to watch and also fun to perform, which is something I really concentrated on whilst developing the show
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
My show is an exploration of creative musical comedy and I’ve decided to do this by wearing a full-size keyboard for the entire show, which is physically challenging, but also definitely funny. The show is very silly and I think people won’t be able to see anything like it.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I think starting the show has been the hardest challenge for me. My act is quite low-energy which is a nice contrast on a mixed bill, but is a challenge in a cold open. Luckily, I found quite a silly way of getting the audience warmed up at the top of the show, which is now one of my favorite bits of the show.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I think it’s more of less stayed the same to me. It feels more like home every time I go up there. Edinburgh is always a place I go to challenge myself creatively, so I always go up knowing that I’ll come out a better comedian, which feels really great. I think the standard of shows has gone up, which is great as I love seeing my friends and peers produce shows that are really fun and inspiring.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I recommend seeing my Edinburgh favorites Mat Ewins, Alison Thea-Skot, Ed Night and The Travelling Sisters, but there are also really great new acts you may not have heard of such as Janine Harouni, Sophie Duker, Olga Koch, Jack Gleadow, David McIver and Jack Tucker, they’re all great.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’d like to be passionate about the next project, I have a few ideas floating about, but I can’t wait for a new challenge. Hopefully this show will run past Edinburgh, so I can perform it around the UK, I’d really like the opportunity to show people the show, who couldn’t make it up to Edinburgh.
Where? Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre – Just The Meeting Room (Venue 27)
When? 19:10
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
A hot mixture of excitement and untimely stress. As a Stand-up Comedian, I am essentially a one–man production team. So I am trying to do the roles of Director, Performer, and Producer all by myself, so it’s pretty full-on! That being said, I am very proud of the show. It’s something I think people will really engage with, so I’m ecstatic that I get to perform it for a month!
Also in my personal life, I’ve been trying to live my best life as much as possible (which links to the themes of the show). So I feel very fit, healthy happy going into the Fringe. I feel ready!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Here Comes Your Man is all about paramours, romance and the events of the last year of my love-life. In my debut hour, I talk about my relationship with relationships and about failing in love. It’s a narrative show, where I talk about how weird and romantically intense I am, and how that impacts me. As well as this, I also open up to talk about the need for men to discuss their feelings more.
The show delivers raw anecdotes, emotionally-honest routines and personable tales of finding and losing his first true love. However it’s not a sad show, its celebratory and upbeat and I take my audiences through a confessional yet sentimental journey about learning to turn break-ups into a positive and non-toxic experience. It’s the most romantic show about a break-up you’ll ever hear.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
This show has been a very personal show for me to write. As mentioned, the show main narrative arch is about the rise and fall of my first true love (which actually started at the Fringe last year). So I’ve had to be very honest and open my experiences, and I’ve had to revisit every fuck-up for the last year.
‘An unexpected result of doing a show entirely about love is that it has freaked out of lot of people I have dated. So this show has heavily impacted my life beyond the stage.
So I do speak earnestly about a break-up onstage (and also start a conversation about why male comedians are exclusively talking about their break-ups onstage). This requires me to be incredibly vulnerable onstage and emotionally expose all aspects of my personality. This is a tricky obstacle. However I feel that is what makes the show relatable, to see someone go through the hidden things which we don’t talk about. I’ve had people come up to me after previews to say that the show has touched them; hopefully it inspires to be more open with their emotions and to talk frankly with people. So the obstacles give texture and substance to the show.
Also logistically, it’s really difficult to write an Edinburgh Fringe show about your real-life. I started previewing this show in November. I had the basic concept for what I wanted to talk about, but a lot of the story hadn’t quite happened in my real life just yet. So I would be talking about a story with no ending. It was a bit like that scene in Wallace & Gromit’s The Wrong Trousers, in which they’re on a moving train and Gromit is laying down train tracks as they go. This did allow me to focus on writing the jokes and developing a fierce gag-rate. The ending did eventually happened and I think the end result is quite unexpected and has turned out accidentally perfectly.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes, in a way. So I’m a relative newcomer compared to others. So this is my second full-run at the Fringe, so I’ve recently had the transition from comedy fan/punter to Performer. The changes are pretty obvious: I feel a lot more fatigued as a performer and I don’t see as many shows. The biggest attitude shift was, as a punter, i thought and kind of assumed that everyone who went to the Fringe would turn out to be really rich and famous afterwards (you do not). So I suppose my attitude changed into a professional mind-set, and treating it as a job. However my excitement for the festival still is the same, just that the parameters have changed.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I have so many! It’s hard to limit it to a handful of recommendations. However I think that Laura Lexx will absolutely smash it out of the park with her new show Knee Jerk. I work a lot with Laura and she has been a massive inspiration for my show this year. She can excellently tie an emotive story with the best gag-rate you have ever seen. That’d be my hot ticket that I would recommend. (Gilded Balloon Teviot -The Turret – 5:15pm)
The show I am most looking forward to see, as a comedy nerd, is Tom Parry: Parryoke! I’m a big fan of Pappy’s; they taught me to be anarchically playful whilst entertaining an audience. Tom Parry in particular showed me in his 2015 solo show, Yellow T-Shirt, how to spread pure joy over the course of an hour. I imagine this show will not be any different! (Pleasance Courtyard – Beside – 18:00)
Bec Hill’s new show I’ll Be Bec is a really fun sci-fi /comedy concept. Bec is a comedic genius onstage and an utter delight offstage. I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this show. (Pleasance Dome – 10Dome – 17.40)
Alice Fraser – Mythos. Alice is a Fringe show champion. Her writing is impeccable, she’s incredibly intelligent and her ideas are so innovative. Her shows can be utterly moving too. I can’t wait to see her next instalment. (Gilded Balloon Teviot – Billiard Room – 20:45)
Michael Legge: The Idiot – Michael is one of the loveliest people in the world and an utterly wonderful comedian. His last show, Jerk, was a masterpiece and always think about some of his quotes on a daily basis. I will never tire of watching Michael’s shows. This show will be a delight (if you find an angry Irish man delightful). (The Stand Comedy Club 1 – 12:00)
Finally – Sean Morley: I Will Soon Be Dead and My Bones Will Be Free To Wreak Havoc Upon Earth Once More – now, when people ask me for recommendations, I ALWAYS want to say ‘Sean Morley’. However, I know a lot of people who are going to Edinburgh for the first time and may not appreciate Morley’s ‘alternative’ vibe. But if I ever meet any comedy nerds, I always wholly recommend Sean’s show. Genuinely innovative and highly hilarious – he creates some of the best and most original comedy to date. I’m convinced he will win award very shortly for one of his shows. Go at your own peril. (Heroes @The Hiive – The Bunka – 15:20)
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
My smart-arse answer would be ‘In the Bahamas, on my private plane with my own entourage, whilst I sit with all my Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards’. However, the earnest answer would be ‘Slowly stressing out about my second Edinburgh fringe hour, but being quietly happy, as I believe it to be EVEN better than Here Comes Your Man (whilst I sit with all my Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards)’.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
The closer it gets the more excited I am. Which isn’t always the case but this year I’ve taken more time to get my show how I want it and hopefully I’ll peak at the right time. It’s also my first time doing Free Fringe (PBH) so again my focus is less on admin or worrying about ticket sales and more on the creative side of making something I’m proud of and that people will want to see!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s basically just me recreating the 1991 film Hook. I’ve got a bit of the old Peter Pan Syndrome so I put myself in Robin Williams’ (my comedy hero) shoes and think ‘what would Neverland look like if I were Peter Pan?’. Who would be Rufio and the Lost Boys? What would that stupid ass crocodile say to me now I’m older? All told through my usual style of songs, sketches, stand up, storytelling and lots of [friendly!] audience interaction – including the Choose Your Own Adventure Game ‘Drunk Auntie at a Wedding’! Oh and there’s also lots of pictures of my cats Snoop Catty Cat and Bibby Smalls.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
It is a happy and silly show about looking forwards but the writing process meant looking back and using some darker parts of my life and my mind to inspire it. I always want my shows to be fun but sometimes combining that with honest discussions about dealing with stress and anxiety made the initial writing stage quite difficult. But I’m so glad I went there because I think this is the most honest thing I’ve ever written.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
It’s easy to get a bit down about the Fringe because the wealthier acts end up sucking attention away. But having watched dozens of shows down the years and spoken to a lot of other comedian friends I’m so excited to do the Free Fringe this year. The general consensus is that is where the most fun is to be had and the most originality.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Well yeah I’m also doing a live version of my football show/ podcast Jim and Dave Have Lost the Dressing Room. I also love what Lewis Doherty does and the line up in my venue, Globe Bar, is amazing. Just stick around for all of those I’d say!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
My next show Life: The Gameshow is already at the back of my head shouting to be let out so I’ll probably be answering your questions about why everything I said in 2019 is horse shit but I’ve figured it all out so LISTEN TO ME NOW!
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m excited – it’s really easy to focus on all the scary things – to obsess everyday over ticket sales and bottom lines, but actually it’s a month where I get to do the thing I love doing every day for an hour. I also get to hang out with my peers and see some great stuff. What’s not to love? Apart from the eternal hills, the rain, hours of thankless flyering, freezing to death and then boiling your eyeballs out, watching other people pile stars onto their posters and… it’s all fine. It’s really all great…
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
This year my show is about life as a step parent. Blended families are becoming the new norm now and my life has gone very quickly from gin and tonic to fish fingers and peas. It’s a learning curve. And for some step parents it can be hard to publicly admit that kids are hard work – it’s taboo to say that things aren’t 100% perfect; but for natural parents it’s fine to say your kids are draining sometimes.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Because the show is about my family, I’ve had to be really careful about what I put in it and how far I go with being rude about them! My partner doesn’t give a monkey if I slag him off in my shows but with the kids it’s a different matter. I’ve tried to be really open about what I’m writing about. I haven’t exactly given them veto rights, but I’ve been honest about the things I’m telling people about them.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
A bit, I guess. It’s just so expensive. I love it (despite all those things I said) because I love writing an hour – I love the chance to create a piece of work with a story arc – with heart and soul. But with the price of everything going up I’m not sure how many more years I will be able to do. Ticket prices are having to reflect the cost of doing the show and so it’s harder and harder to get the good folk of the fringe to part with more and more money to see a comic who hasn’t been on TV.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Loads! Sooz Kempner (who has written an AMAZING song for my show!), Myra Dubois, Grainne Maguire, Amy Howerska, Robyn Perkins are all fab comedians to see. Also, Peter Henderson’s Who Did I Think She Was? is going to be a great piece of theatre to see.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I’d like to write a book. I feel like this show would make a great book or a fun sitcom. So I’d like to have turned it into one of those.
Where? Just The Tonic at The Mash House – Just the Bottle Room (Venue 288)
When? 16:50
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Optimism and excitement, but also, for the first time, I don’t really care how it goes. When I say that, I don’t mean that I couldn’t give a shit, but I don’t have what I have had in previous years, which was a desperation of recognition and need for ‘this year to be THE year’. Now, I can honestly say, I’m happier with my show more than any other show I’ve done, it’s the closest to me that I’ve ever been and I’m looking forward to having fun exploring a new show in the greatest arts festival in the world.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
This year, the show is all about existence and reality. I think everyone comes to a point in their life when they begin to question the reality of their situation and life in general, they understand more, but with that extra knowledge, more things don’t make sense – that’s where I’m finding myself at the moment. Asking a lot of questions about the nature of existence, our place in the world, our arrogance as a culture… There’s a couple dick jokes in there too, I try to please the masses.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Making the darker stuff palatable (and funny without being mined for shock value) and pushing myself to explore things that I never thought about.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yeah – I’m not taking it as seriously as I have. In reality, it’s a privilege to be able to go up and bring a show and talk about literally whatever I want. Not everybody gets to do that. There’s a lot of stuff around the Fringe that I think can cloud the mind and bring on stress – sometimes it feels like an obligatory thing for comedians to do; it’s not. It is a luxury and a privilege and I think the less seriously we all take it, the more fun we will have.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Mine – and just go on a random one. Find something that looks absolute shit and see if you’re surprised or not.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Alive would be good, thriving would be great, relevant would be amazing.
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – The Dairy Room (Venue 302)
When? 16:15
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Very excited to back with something a little different from my last excursion in 2010.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s character based. Robert Lemon Alackadaddy is an alcoholic in denial, living in a fantasy world. He’s very happy about it. Reality, whatever they be, is not a country who’s border he will cross…. very often. It is very safe to say that he has issues.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The wonderful and very helpful committee that lives in my head, that kindly tells me… ‘you don’t wanna do this piece you’ll make a holy show of yourself’ I wish them well and do it anyway. Because I know they’re just a bunch of liars.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Yes. I’m less worried about outcomes now. I’m doing it purely to honour it as a piece. I’m not worrying too much about what people may or may not think of it. I realise now we only have a short span on this hurtling orb we call earth, so I may as well enjoy it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
That’s a question I’ll probably be able to answer when I’ve been there a while.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In a library whispering to myself saying…’I’m really glad I did Edinburgh 2019!’
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Oh you know, the usual sense of trepidation and dread sugar-coated with a wild excitement! Like a knickerbocker glory sundae that overfloweth with wondrous treats, but also makes you feel slightly sick..! Honesty is the best policy… right?!
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
LOIS, my second character comedy show, was born out of me imagining my life if I had been called Lois (which Mummy Farrett wanted to call me but Daddy Farrett said no!). Lois is my alter-ego action hero that I take on a wild and very stupid journey to fight a baddie and I learn a little about how I feel about my own identity along the way. Lois’ sidekick is a crow named Colin – I reckon that’s reason enough to come right there!
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I started to write the show not about an action hero, but about my perfect self. The character had a perfect face, a perfect body, a perfect brain. A little piece of advice: writing a show about your perfect self is one-way-ticket to feeling like absolute crap. I started to feel pretty sad and bad about myself, so I completely reworked the premise of the show in a short space of time earlier this year. So essentially, I self-therapised using this show and the result makes me feel like I’m putting a much more positive piece of fun into the world. Phew!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
The Fringe has grown at an alarming rate since I started coming with Belt Up Theatre back in 2008, which is wonderful, but can feel overwhelming wowee because there are more venues and performers working their butts off than ever before. My attitude has sort of remained the same in all these years though – enjoy the ride, cause it will be both thrilling and bumpy baby!
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
TOO MANY! Werewolf: Live!, Holly Morgan: Is a Witch, Get Her!, The Wild Unfeeling World, Ryan Lane Will Be There Now in a Minute, Bobby & Amy, Georgie Morrell: Eyecon, Bryony Kimmings, Oh Yes Oh No from Louise Orwin, Paul Foxcroft, John-Luke Roberts, Faulty Towers Dining Experience, Confetti & Chaos, Pamela’s Palace, Mr. Thing and literally any other solo character comics cause we’re fun and reckless! More probably – call me!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Uhhh… the moon?? We haven’t there in a while. Maybe I could help with that. Ambitious enough for ya?!
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – Jersey (Venue 302)
When? 21:05
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Much better than last year! Turns out doing a high energy audience interaction show (last year’s version of Werewolf: Live) and taking your first play (Courtroom Play: A Courtroom Play) is A LOT. This year we’re being much more sensible (just the one show) so I’m feeling far more prepared. It’s like I’ve done a bunch of training already, though metaphorically. I have not been training physically.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s Werewolf: Live, Becca, but not as we know it. Last year the game was all audience players, and was fun but fairly throwaway. Also last year we did a one-off charity show with comedians playing Werewolf, and they. were. incredible. So the show is now a panel show where the audience watch as very good and funny comedians brutally lie to each other and question everything they ever thought they knew. It’s super fun!
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The whole journey of taking an existing game and making it into a show has been one of slowly sanding down over many, many years. When we started doing it in 2015 in Australia, it was a full-on, 3-hour immersive theatre experience with food and multiple roles and it was a nightmare. Loads of fun, but completely unsustainable. Our development of it has involved carefully removing elements and checking the house of cards doesn’t tumble down, and then pushing out another Jenga block and seeing what happens. If I may mix my gaming metaphors. So the biggest thing has been keeping the solid core of ‘people trying to figure out who’s lying’ while removing as much of the fluff as possible. We’re pretty happy with where we’ve got it!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I actually took a big break, not doing the Fringe from 2014-2017, so when we first came back last year after a long absence, things were really different. The whole tone of it felt more… corporate, perhaps? But our goals have changed, we now have really clear reasons to go and clear goals we want to achieve, so it’s less of a wild party, running around getting drunk and seeing shows, and more of a month-long professional engagement. Which may sound a little dry but in reality it means taking care of yourself, really thinking about what you want and making the most of it. It’s also insanely expensive! We can’t afford to tit about; it’s got to be worth it.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I’ve heard amazing things about Lois by Lucy Farrett, who is a regular on Werewolf: Live, and we’ve met and cemented friendships with so many great comedians doing this show. Ahir Shah is always a delight, Stevie Martin (another of our regulars) is excellent, Nish Kumar is brilliant, Nick Helm will always be a barnstorming presence. I’ll definitely be at all their shows, and excitingly we’ll get to meet a bunch of people there and find out what cool stuff they’re doing!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Our big goal is to get Werewolf: Live on TV. We’re getting there, but in a year’s time? On that box. Or Netflix. Or however TV works these days.
Where? Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 – Marquee (Venue 151)
When? 13:45
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I am excited to be coming back; my first Fringe was 2017 and I was going in completely blind. I think I will be much more prepared this time around and also have a better understanding of what I am trying to accomplish. And I am excited to see other shows, some of the shows I saw in 2017 have still stuck with me so I am just excited to explore what is there and be inspired by it.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It is an hour of stand-up and storytelling about adolescence and growing up. I found a journal from a theater camp I attended when I was 15 years old and it is so painfully earnest. I started to read some excerpts from it onstage and people found it hilarious, especially as I was cringing at how embarrassing it was. Through that I found so much more material about first kisses, bullying kids, getting bullied, pubes, trying to be cool and all the things that we all went through and are glad is behind us.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I just filmed my previous show The 30 Year Old Virgin for a comedy special and the best feeling in the world is doing material that works and you are in the zone with. Just a month later I had my first full performance of Loud Blond Bald Kid and it was a great reminder of how much new material doesn’t get better without time and constant reworking. I always was surprised how many tender and emotional aspects of the show I have had to push into, because some of the pain from that time in life can be easy to dismiss and it’s been interesting trying to make those painful stories truthful and funny.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I appreciate it more than I did before. After doing it once I knew I wanted to do it again and that I had to know what I was going to bring and know that it needed to be good and by the end of Fringe it could be great. We just don’t have anything like this in the US and it forces you to drill down into what you want to say and why that is beyond just ‘I want to be funny’. I appreciate how it challenged you to separate yourself and be in competition with 3000 other shows because it forces me to ask ‘why should they come to your show?’ and then hopefully have a good answer for myself.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Dan Soder and Emmy Blotnick are both amazing New York comedians that people should not miss.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I would like to have The 30 Year Old Virgin out in the world for people to find and to have filmed Loud Blond Bald Kid as a comedy special and be getting ready to be writing a third hour of stand-up and storytelling about whatever is most important to me at that time. I think I have an hour in me about God and religion, I grew up in a conservative Christian home. And hopefully have more material out there for people to find me and sell more tickets to my shows.
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Very upbeat, my show is kick ass, I cannot wait.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
I’ve been single since 2007 and realised that I’m terrible at intimacy, but I’m amazing at sex. So I thought I’d start charging for it.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Being a perfectionist. I’m a nightmare getting everything right. I’m a bit intense at the best of times but Edinburgh season really does bring it out of me.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
Not really, I think the days of it breaking an act is over, but it’s a place to get better, bump into old friends, work on a show and create new relationships. That’s the least I expect, anything else on top of that is a bonus.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Go see Garrett Millerick who is a legend and had a great year last year… And my bestie, Daisy Earl who is doing her debut show.