EdFringe Talk: Barbara Fernandez Singing, Sagging and Shagging

Posted in *EdFestivals 2024, *Written Interviews by

“For me a great festival is one where you can see lots of different types of shows, but you also have quiet areas (like the courtyard at Bar 50 which is my ‘Edinburgh home’ during the Fringe) where you can sit with people to chill and recharge.”

WHO: Barbara Fernandez

WHAT: “This show is a cheeky, hilarious, mellifluous romp through one singer’s colourful (and true!) past of cult-loving husbands, vampiric record producers, jailbird exes, shaggable therapists and diverse pharmaceuticals, peppered with lusty vocals delivered in bra-busting style. From lilting pop vocals to classical trills and belting cabaret-style show tunes, this new show from a first-time Fringe artist is a unique mix of musical snippets and comedy quips. ‘Musical mayhem comedy. Barbara had the room singing and clapping along whilst also keeping them in hysterics’ (Kyle Wallace, G&B Comedy).”

WHERE: Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 – Upstairs (Venue 151) 

WHEN: 21:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my first time bringing my own solo show to EdFringe, though my 3rd time up there – I just love it! The first time I went up to do spots on other shows and figure out how it all worked, as well as see lots of different shows, and the second time I did more spots, saw even more shows, and scouted venues for 2024. I adore EdFringe as a punter because I get to see wild things that you just wouldn’t see anywhere else (like Trash Salad – nuts! – and another one whose title I can’t remember but it started with a guy climbing out of a washing machine!). For me a great festival is one where you can see lots of different types of shows, but you also have quiet areas (like the courtyard at Bar 50 which is my ‘Edinburgh home’ during the Fringe) where you can sit with people to chill and recharge.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

The biggest thing I’m learning now – bringing your own show up to EdFringe requires a LOT of work if you want to do your best. Having the money for top PR would make it easier, I guess, but that’s not my case so I’m learning how to do my own PR – actually Fringe Connect has been invaluable with their free webinars on all things Fringe to help us producers/performers, including info on funding like Keep It Fringe, which I’m lucky enough to have received this year. I’m sure I’ll have a LOT to learn once I’m there doing my own show for the full run so am trying not to panic ha!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote my show out of trying to make the crazy things that have happened in my life funny. It’s a collection of stuff I’ve tested in comedy clubs which I later realized can come together to form a story. I think apart from therapy (which for me is done and dusted), joking (and singing) about difficult and even tramatic events is cathartic but in a fun way and it can bring people together so that we can laugh and be like ‘yeah life is weird, right?’. Also I really want to raise awareness around the awful stigma that people face who have what I do (I won’t say it here, come see the show and find out!) By the time Edinburgh comes I’ll have done a handful of previews, and my hope is that I’ll have honed the show to then tour it afterwards – first in the UK and then abroad.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Ooooohhh there are SO many! Pam Ford AKA SPAM Ford (Aussie true life stories), Sallyann Fellowes SALIEN (pure neurodiverse madness), Kimberly Policella and Kim Hope’s Is That Not Normal (ladies who lunch vibe), Jessica Fostekew’s METTLE (just very funny), Edinbra Fringe Comedy (compilation of funny ladies hosted by Rachel Morton-Young, also see her show Dutch Courage).

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