Where? Pleasance Courtyard – The Cellar (Venue 33)
When? 20:30
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m really looking forward to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. I’m doing my debut hour this year, so it feels like there’s a bit more pressure to do well compared to previous years, but overall I’m just really excited to be going back.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
My show is basically about my experiences as a 27 year old man, living with my mum and Vietnamese refugee.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
The biggest obstacle I’ve faced is just trying to piece together the hour of material and structuring it the best way possible. As it’s my debut hour it’s a completely new experience for me, but one I’ve really enjoyed learning how to do.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
My attitude towards the Fringe hasn’t changed that much in recent years. I still love the experience as much as I did the first time I went. But I guess each year you learn more and become more savvy. The first year I went I had no idea what was going on or how it all worked. Gradually, I realised how important it is for things like building a fanbase, getting recognised by industry folk and generally just helping you improve as a comedian.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
There are loads of amazing shows that I’m really looking forward to seeing this year. A few being – Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Dreamboat; Marc Jennings: GettingGoing and Rosco McClelland: MagicBelly.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
In a year’s time I’d like to be retired, on a private island, due to the success of my debut Fringe hour. But if that doesn’t happen I guess I’d like to be working towards doing my second hour.
Where? Underbelly George Square – The Wee Coo (Venue 300)
When? 18:40
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
Disturbingly fine and worryingly excited. Of course, come July the panic will set, Maddy will be crying and binge-eating naked in the corner of a dark room whilst Marina will be profusely hoovering. This is our third year in a row as Siblings so we think we know what to expect but every year is so different, come day one we will be lost all over again like confused ferrets on crack.
What we are happy about is that we think we might be past the stage of playing human whiteboards now (a sketch in our first show where Maddy ran around in a bed sheet with a hole in the top and a silver swim hat to play an ‘interactive whiteboard’… The audience thought she was just having a break down). Maddy wants to bring it back, but we have now written characters who are humans. We love them so can’t wait to get back into our Wee Coo and show them to Edinburgh.
So long as we don’t gain a dad bod from the mac n cheese van outside the venue and destroy our liver with cider, it should be a good year.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Our shows have always been a strange mixture of sketch, character comedy, complete absurdism, trained clowning, classically trained acting and a whole closet full of violently synchronised dance. We both can’t dance, none the less it’s in there against all odds. We don’t have a name for what kind of comedy we have just created…. yet… Our show is an hour of real sisters playing characters from all walks of life, full of insanity and debauchery. It is a lot of fun and we want to suck the audience into our strange minds for an hour and leave wanting to party hard, whether it’s to aggressively dance away their trauma, or carry the full frontal energy we gave them straight to the Underbelly bars.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
It is very difficult to let go of a show that you know so well. Making a new show is incredibly exciting but also scary. You have to push further to start from scratch and really believe there are more characters and more sketches to be written. We also had a bit of a different year this year where Maddy was working in a big PR company and Marina was in an Ibsen in the theatre being professional, so we had to write late at night and early in the mornings and all weekends to make it work as best we could refusing to not do a trilogy of Siblings shows in Edinburgh!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
The Fringe changes every year, as do the shows, comedians and especially the way comedy changes itself! It’s very unpredictable which makes it exciting as you have no idea what or who is going to be the talk of the town each year. That’s our favourite part. For us, our main Fringe mantra is to try not to take it too seriously. There is so much that goes into a Fringe show, not just writing it but paying for it, organising it, admin is falling out of every orifice. It is easy to let it overcome you completely, you eat, sleep, breathe, sweat and wee out your Fringe show but once we are there we try to go with each day as it comes and have as much fun as possible. We have gone through our fair share of meltdowns in the years but we have always come out chubby and brave. Also, when in doubt, go to the mac n cheese van.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
SO many. This year is bursting with too many brilliant shows the list would go on and on. To name a few, we love Jayde Adams, Jordan Brookes, Christopher Bliss, Lucy Pearman, Roisin & Chiara, Double Denim, Rosie Jones, Zoe Coombs Marr, Yuriko Kotani. We cannot BELIEVE Celeste Barber is doing a Fringe show and we screamed and fainted when we saw the name Eric Andre in the brochure…
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three (Venue 33)
When? 21:30
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m beyond excited! I’ve always loved visiting the festival and I am looking forward to being there this year for the entire month, performing every night! I have done runs of the show now all over the place and it’s a show I am very proud of. I am excited to share this material with people. We also don’t have Urban Outfitters in South Africa and Topshop here recently closed down, so there’s also that.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
No one knows me in Edinburgh, so the premise of the show is to introduce myself to audiences, to tell them a little bit more about where I come from and to poke fun at us and them. And as in every comedy show the premise is to make people laugh. And I am pretty certain the show does that.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
I think the biggest challenge so far has been putting together an hour that can talk about me and South Africa, but that is still relevant and relatable to someone who is not from South Africa. It’s easy to make someone laugh in your own country. You can fall back on ‘inside jokes’ in a way. The hard part comes in when you need to make people laugh that are not from where you come from or maybe even have no idea that where you come from even exists. You, reading this right now, maybe even thought that South Africa refers to the Southern part of Africa. Surprise! It’s a country!
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I have only been there once. This will be my second year. My impression of the Fringe is that it is a great festival, which offers amazing opportunities for all levels of comedians from all over the world. But when I wake up after a long night of partying with the other comedians my attitude towards the festival is slightly different to when it is when I don’t have a massive headache.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
I stumbled across Josh Glanc and Eli Matthewson. Those are the best kind of shows. The ones where you just think the poster looks interesting or someone recommends it to you and you walk in not knowing what to expect. The guy who was flyering Josh Glanc’s show just said to us: “At some point he licks a dead fish.” And I thought: I have to see this show. Who doesn’t want to see someone licking a dead fish?!
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Well, in a year’s time I hope to be answering these same questions again regarding my second international one man show at the Edinburgh Fringe. I’d also, by then, like to be able to grow a full beard.
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 PoliceCopsinSpace 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 TheEnd. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!).
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.
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.