The Edinburgh Interviews

Rhys Nicholson: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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

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

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

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

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

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

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

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

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

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

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

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

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

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

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Leo Kearse: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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

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

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

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

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

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

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

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

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

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

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

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

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

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR LEO KEARSE: ‘TRANSGRESSIVE’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Luke Rollason: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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

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

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

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

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

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

An internet sensation and a real-life disappointment.

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

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Micky P Kerr: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Micky P Kerr
Who? Micky P Kerr
What? Kerr in the Community
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – The Dairy Room (Venue 302)
When? 17:45

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

The usual mix of self-belief, self-denial, fear and excitement. 

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

To make people laugh as much as possible. I’m going to do it through the medium of music videos, a loop pedal and some completely daft one-liners. I’ll be taking a look at the pop music formula and using it myself of course. Top 40 here we come!

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

Technology. I hate it, I’m a pensioner at heart. I’m showing three music videos within my hour and I’ve bought a projector and a fold up screen. I can’t work it and I am yet to switch it on. I’m scared of it. Yesterday the venue informed me they can’t facilitate a projector and I’m now on the hunt for a massive TV on wheels probably like the ones they used to wheel out on Friday afternoons at high school in the 90’s. If you’re on the hunt for a projector then hit me up.

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

I can’t remember what my attitude was before but I’m not sure it has. I’m still full of hope for the future. I’ve heard Edinburgh Festival can dispose of hope so we’ll see. It’s the biggest arts festival in the world so let’s go!

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

No, just mine – Kerr in the Community, 5:45-6:45 Bristo Square.

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

Metaphorically – successful (and rich).

Geographically  – Italy (best food).

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR MICKY P KERR: ‘KERR IN THE COMMUNITY’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Lou Sanders: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Megan Gisborne
Who? Lou Sanders
What? Say Hello to Your New Step-Mummy
Where? Monkey Barrel 3 (Venue 515)
When? 15:15

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

Sexual frustration. Only kidding – I am weirdly optimistic and looking forward to it! For real.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The premise is certainly not what I thought it was when I wrote the blurb for the brochure. Turns out it’s about relationships and me analysing whether I am efffd in the head.

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

Structure. I hate structure. It takes me ages. And if I will be judged on my searing honesty. Am I being too revealing y’know? But I think it’s important to not just reflect a sanitised, nicer version of yourself. I wanna see the more challenging/challenged side of people too.

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

Yes, I like it more! I see more stuff and I stress less.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Luke McQueen, Annie McGrath, Ray Badran, Gaby Best, John Kearns, Adam Hess, Kate Berlant.

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

Hawaii. Just for a bit.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR LOU SANDERS: ‘SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEW STEP-MUMMY’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Dan Soder: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Mindy Tucker
Who? Dan Soder
What? Son Of A Gary
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – The Dairy Room (Venue 302)
When? 19:15

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

I’m very excited to be a part of the festival this year. It’s my first Fringe.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

The premise, is that the world is over populated, I had a deadbeat Dad and now I’m deciding if I should even consider being a Dad. Maybe I’m too dumb.

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

There are some dead Dad jokes in the show and at first, people were pretty tight about them but now that I’ve relaxed and realized more where they are coming from, they go over a lot better.

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

I was supposed to do it years ago and had to cancel, so I’m glad I finally get to do it.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Sean Patton and Liza Treyger are two friends of mine, and I love their comedy, so I’m excited to see both of their shows.

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

Hopefully have turned this show into a successful special and am touring with new material.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR DAN SODER: ‘SON OF A GARY’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Milo McCabe: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Steve Ullathorne
Who? Troy Hawke (Milo McCabe)
What? Tiles of the Unexpected!
Where? Underbelly, Bristo Square – Dexter (Venue 302)
When? 17:30

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

Right now, excited to get the loose ends of the show tied up. As I write this I am six previews deep with twelve to go and there’s work to be done! There’s a distinct moment when the energy of a show shifts from relaxed knockabout presentation of new ideas that everyone knows is ‘new stuff’ to it actually starting to become a finished product and I’m straddling that at the moment.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

I don’t want to give too much away but essentially my character Troy Hawke is investigating deep governmental ties between a presumed defunct mind control program and a ubiquitous furniture giant!

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

I’m facing it right now as it’s an ongoing investigation! When I’m writing a show it always seems like the hardest thing to do in terms of the show, the thing that would require the most effort, is always the right thing to do. It’s so annoying!

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

I still get excited about it, even though I’ve been up several times now. I think it’s pretty hard to not get excited during the festival. There’s like a buzz in the air all the time constantly.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Tom Houghton, Elliot Steel, Gareth Waugh, Mark Nelson and Ryan Cullen all have shows I’ve seen/heard part of and I can 100% recommend all of them. Elliot and wee Ryan are doing Free Fringe too, so definitely put them on your list.

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

Next year I’d like to be just as stressed as I am now about my new show having just completed a huge theatre tour of this one! It’s challenging writing a new show every year with the inevitable moments where you have tough previews and material that isn’t quite working but the rush when it comes together is one of the best feelings there is in my opinion.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR TROY HAWKE: ‘TILES OF THE UNEXPECTED!’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Catherine Bohart: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Matt Crockett
Who? Catherine Bohart
What? Lemon
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs (Venue 33)
When? 18:00

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

I’m really excited for the Fringe this year. Lemon is my second show so I don’t have the same levels of fear that I did last year that I wouldn’t be able to write the show or that I couldn’t make it through the month. Of course, there are new reasons to be anxious (it wouldn’t be any fun if there weren’t), I want the show to be better than last year’s and truer to my comic voice but mainly I’m looking forward to it. I just want people who come back to have a good time and for people who’ve never seen me before to get a clear sense of who I am. I think the show is funnier than last year’s though and that’s a good place to start. I say ‘the show’, I obviously mean the crumpled, tea stained notebook I carry everywhere.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

Lemon is about sex, relationships and love. It’s mainly jokes about societal expectants of those things and how they are perceived when between two women. I’ve dated men and woman and though I don’t buy into a gender binary in any strict manner, I hope the show is a fun exploration of how those experiences have differed and compared for me. It’s pretty smutty, I didn’t mean it to be but it seems that all that tea has been making me kind of rude.

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

Scheduling time for crying. Big part of my process.

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

I’m more positive about it than I have been in the past. I mean, sure it’s hard and long and expensive. But also, all your friends are there and you get to perform everyday to people who meant to see you (this may change this year as another comic has the same show title as me), and you see some of the best comedians in the world every day. Whereas before I was quite scared by it, now though I am still terrified, it feels like a fun goal for the year rather than a looming spectre. Most days… I think… yeah, let’s say that.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Oh yeah, so many! Ahir Shah, Laura Davis, Sarah Keyworth, Chloe Petts, Liza Treyger, Lou Sanders, Helen Bauer, Sophie Duker, Ed Night, Larry Dean, Rhys Nicholson.

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

Answering Q&As for my Edinburgh Fringe Show. I like to set achievable goals.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR CATHERINE BOHART: ‘LEMON’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Ben Pope: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© James Deacon
Who? Ben Pope
What? Dancing Bear
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33)
When? 20:00

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

I’m excited, I’m nervous, I’m looking forward to a haggis pie.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

It’s a show all about work. Using stories about all the jobs I’ve ever had, I try and shine a light on the current nightmare work atmosphere we’re experiencing – zero hour contracts, unpaid internships, caffeine addiction and the erosion of sleep – and persuade you to work less and live more. Plus there’ll be jokes!

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

The sheer wealth of amazing (and deeply depressing) research and writing there already is on the topic of work. Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber, Not Working by Josh Cohen, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker… there’s so much exciting literature around at the moment. Trying to convert my sincere opinions and all the fascinating information and stats I’ve learned into solid material has been TOUGH. But very rewarding.

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

When I first came up in 2013 as a fresh-faced and -livered student, the Fringe was complete spiralling Gothic wizardry. This year will be my 7th Fringe in a row, so the varnish has come off – I think I’ve seen too much of the android machinery behind the Wizard of Oz curtain. That said, every year something completely blows my mind or breaks my heart, and if you boil it down, it’s a lot of hope-ful, wonder-ful creative people gathering together and grasping for something live and meaningful in a room and I think that’s really beautiful.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I saw some of Ed Night’s new material and he’s going to have a blisteringly sharp show.

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

On holiday in Scandinavia. But if my incessant need for validation is anything to go by, I’ll be back at the Fringe doing another show and filling my body with deep-fried haggis pie.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR BEN POPE: ‘DANCING BEAR’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Sukh Ojla: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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© Polly Bycroft-Brown
Who? Sukh Ojla
What? For Sukh’s Sake
Where? Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Nip (Venue 24)
When? 17:15

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

This is the first year I will be performing for the full run so I guess sheer terror laced with excitement. I’m really looking forward to bringing my show to a wider audience as well as seeing a variety of shows and eating lots of jacket potatoes. Of course.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

For Sukh’s Sake is about moving back in with your parents at a time when all your mates are buying houses and having babies. It’s about finding yourself crying into a cheese and onion pasty at Rochester train station on a Tuesday afternoon, living a double life, and the extreme lengths I went to in search of happiness.

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

Finances. It was the only reason I ended up applying later than I wanted. I had absolutely no idea how I would pay for it. Thankfully a combination of extreme saving, acting work and the fact that I hate socialising has helped.

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

Not really. I still think the Fringe is inaccessible to people from low income, working class and BAME backgrounds. If I didn’t live with my parents and have an over inflated sense of self there is no way I would be able to go up for the whole month.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

I caught a preview of Tamsyn Kelly’s show, Petroc, which is about her experience of growing up on an estate near Lands End with a dangerous father and a disabled mother.

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

Not living with my parents.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR SUKH OJLA: ‘FOR SUKH’S SAKE’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019