Monthly Archives: July 2018

+3 Interview: Matt Price: Last Night a Weegie Saved My Life

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“I enjoy being in one place for a month and not having to travel.”

WHO: Matt Price, Performer

WHAT: “Friendly Cornish giant Matt Price was going out with a woman. The only problem is that she wasn’t going out with him, so Matt spent a year of his life looking like the world’s worst stalker. The experience triggered a memory from his childhood. Find out why he pretended to like death metal, why he loves bad performance poetry and how a five-foot-one Glaswegian woman saved his life. ‘Fearlessly funny’ **** (Scotsman). ‘Extraordinary’ **** (Chortle.co.uk). ‘Wonderfully funny’ ***** (BroadwayBaby.com).”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Wee Room (Venue 14) 

WHEN: 19:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my 8th solo show and I think the 13th time I’ve performed at the Festival. Someone once described the Edinburgh Festival as end of term exams for comedians. I enjoy being in one place for a month and not having to travel. I also enjoy doing an hour long show.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I’ve started using my slow cooker more and as my partner is vegetarian, I’ve learned how to slow cook Quorn. It’s surprisingly good. I make a Quorn biryani, which I really like.

Tell us about your show.

My show is called “Last night a Weegie saved my life”. I wrote it and it’s the most personal story I’ve told to an audience, but it’s funny and uplifting too. It’s being promoted by Bound and Gagged and I’m looking forward to performing it. I’ve been previewing at various places this year and I have no idea where I will take it after Edinburgh, but I’m interested to find out. Possibly somewhere overseas or back home in Cornwall.

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

They should tell other people about the show if they liked it. It’s helpful to have audience recommend shows. Then they should go and see my partner Martha McBrier do her show. It’s very different to mine but as she features in my show, it might be interesting…

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+3 Interview: Sarah Keyworth: Dark Horse

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“I used to do children’s theatre when I was a teenager, please don’t research it, it’s not pretty.”

WHO: Sarah Keyworth, Performer

WHAT: “You’ve seen her on Comedy Central, you’ve seen her on the BBC. Now see Nottingham-born rising star Sarah Keyworth’s debut hour. Join Sarah as she tells you about her life with an important little girl and her battle against every expectation of what being a girl means. Think Girls Just Wanna Have Fun but British, deadpan and in no way similar. Tour support for Dane Baptiste, Stewart Francis and Kerry Godliman. Funny Women runner-up. ‘Charming’ (Independent). ‘Excellently deadpan’ (HuffingtonPost.com). ‘I liked that joke about her fanny’ (Sarah Millican). ‘A complete breath of fresh air’ (EdFestMag.com).”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 17:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my 9th visit to the fringe but my first hour show! I used to do children’s theatre when I was a teenager, please don’t research it, it’s not pretty.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

It’s actually been a steady stream of nice things since last Edinburgh. I won a bursary for the new show, I got a resident MC spot in Leicester Sq and a few other things that I can’t actually tell you but I’m very pleased about.

Tell us about your show.

My show is a hour of solo stand up. I wrote it and it is being produced by a fantastic company called Fight In The Dog. I’ve been previewing it all over the UK but in very rough forms and I hope it will go further after the Fringe but it depends on how successful the run is!

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

I’m excited to see Sean Mcloughlin, Jordan Brookes, Sindhu Vee, Catherine Bohart, Ed Night, Brennan Reece, Adele Cliff – I could go on and on!

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+3 Interview: Barry Ferns: Barry Loves You

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“The streets are carved indelibly in my mind. And also knees… in 2012 and 2013 I did a show on TOP of Arthurs Seat EVERY SINGLE day of the festival – I now have no cartilage in my knees.”

WHO: Barry Ferns, Writer Performer

WHAT: “An hour of entertainment on what it is like to be the human being Barry Ferns living life in the 21st century*. Here is previous review for a previous show: ‘A marvellous, personal, beautifully constructed, laughter-packed hour’ **** (Scotsman). *This century.”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Tron – Just the Tonic at The Tron (Venue 51) 

WHEN: 21:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is not my first rodeo. I have been to Edinburgh many times – I even once had a partner that lived here. The streets are carved indelibly in my mind. And also knees… in 2012 and 2013 I did a show on TOP of Arthurs Seat EVERY SINGLE day of the festival – I now have no cartilage in my knees.
Oh – I’ve also won a “Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Edinburgh Fringe” award and a “Malcolm Hardee award”. But don’t tell anyone. I want to keep it a secret (doh!)

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I did my premiere of this show in New York City. It was awesome. Such a great venue and place – David Cross was on a few days before me at the same venue and I “hung” with Aziz Anzari and Jeanne Garafalo. Touch me. I’m cool. Actually, it felt more like someone else’s life. But it was an awesome experience and I’d love to go back very very soon.

Tell us about your show.

The show is called Barry Loves You. I wrote it. I produced it. The company game together inside my mother, in Dorset, many moons ago (Sorry for that image…).
It’s about connection, about love, about confusion and about biscuits. Actually, it’s mostly about biscuits*. But if I called it “Barry Loves Biscuits” I would have sounded like a dog. But who doesn’t love biscuits**?
*It’s not about biscuits
** hipsters probably

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

They should most definitely go and see the show of the first flyer they get handed when they leave my show.
Recommendations are random anyway – most people have 5***** for something or other. You can never tell what someone unknown is going to be like. So take the lottery and play russian roulette with an hour of your life. It’s the most exciting way to play Edinburgh. Blindly pulling that trigger and with a war veteran near by.
That – of go and see Nick Elleray, he’s great.

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+3 Interview: J’n’R

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“Our productions explore the human condition in all its messy, humorous splendour.”

WHO: Fiona Leonard, Writer / Producer

WHAT: “It’s 4am, you’re stuck in the middle of an airport, and you’re downing coffee to stay awake. You also suspect you might be falling for the weird, oddly familiar guy in the corner who seems to have a thing for iambic pentameter. Problem is, you’re going to Hong Kong, he’s going to Morocco and you have one hour until your flight is called. What do you do? J’n’R is a fast-paced comedy loosely based on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. It may or may not be a love story.”

WHERE: Greenside @ Infirmary Street – Ivy Studio (Venue 236) 

WHEN: 13:45 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes it is. Despite lots of Scottish heritage (my grandfather was one, Donald McCallum Carmichael!) this is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Edinburgh. I can’t begin to tell you how excited we all are.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

We launched our theatre company, Blue Goat Theatre, earlier this year which has been an incredible experience. We finally have a creative home, and have received so much support both from people here in Düsseldorf, Germany where we are based, and from abroad.

Blue Goat Theatre champions diversity and inclusiveness both on stage and behind the scenes. The creative team behind the company hails from three different countries so there’s always a rich mix of culture and ideas. Our productions explore the human condition in all its messy, humorous splendour.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote this show in the wake of the Trump election and the rise of the #metoo movement. Like many people, I was looking for a way to make a contribution to the conversation. After a recent show one of our audience members wrote: “What a beautiful display of dismantling the patriarchy. This play is needed now more than ever.” Feedback like that reassures me that we’re on the right track. Come find us at the Fringe and we’ll give you one of our “F**K the Patriarchy” postcards. They’re pretty fab.

We premiered J’n’R in Germany in 2017 and have been refining it over the past year. After Edinburgh we’ll be performing back in Germany, but in German rather than in English which adds a whole new dynamic to the show.

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

They should definitely see Jimeoin: Result! Jimeoin is an an Irish/Australian comedian whom I first saw perform when I was at university over 20 years ago. Back then he was just a guy who was a builder during the day and doing the stand up comedy circuit at night. He was such a decent guy with both talent and integrity. It’s so cool to see what he’s achieved in his career. And his shows are hilarious!

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jimeoin-result

I’d also give a shout out to the amazing shows performing at the Greenside Venues. There’s a great community spirit amongst all of the Greenside artists and Blue Goat Theatre is very happy to be a part of the family! Personally I’m planning to see Sod’s Law – a musical romp through queer history. I haven’t seen the show, but it sounds great! Catch it at the Mint Studio @ Infirmary Street.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sod-s-law

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+3 Interview: Athena Kugblenu: Follow the Leader

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“I spent 18 months having a go at Trump and Brexit supporters but then I flooded my kitchen in the stupidest way and I thought to myself ‘I’m an idiot too.”

WHO: Athena Kugblenu, Performer

WHAT: “On a hovercraft, no one can hear you bark… Fringe legend and Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson’s uproarious tales of woe, a dog and transcontinental wedlock. The dog came with a package… it could not be abandoned in Paris, and the next eight years tested everything: marriage, career and sanity. A tormented, often hysterical life of poo, piss and pooches.”

WHERE: Underbelly, Bristo Square – Clover (Venue 302) 

WHEN: 17:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, I have been going to Edinburgh for years. I went for a few years as a new comedian and checked out all the venues and nice places to eat. Satisfied I knew where to get a good feed I could afford, last year I took up my debut hour and this year I am bringing up my second hour!

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I recorded an episode of Museum of Curiosity last month. That was incredible, trying to keep my cool with Lee Mack to my left and John Lloyd to my right.

Tell us about your show.

It’s called Follow the Leader. It’s called Follow the Leader because I think at this point in history in the western world at least, we have the worst leaders. We don’t even have good people to replace them with. But then maybe it’s a reflection of this point in history just having the worst people – so our leaders are the best of a bad bunch. I wrote the show because I spent 18 months having a go at Trump and Brexit supporters but then I flooded my kitchen in the stupidest way and I thought to myself ‘I’m an idiot too. Some people vote for despots. Others ruin their laminate. Swings and roundabouts’. I wrote it and I’m working with So Comedy and Broken Robot productions to bring it to Edinburgh. Afterwards, I’ll be giving birth but maybe I will perform it in 2019, if I can find a baby friendly green room.

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

They should check out Sindhu Vee, Eleanor Tiernan, Kemah Bob, Kwame Asante and someone else they have never heard of – it’s important to take a gamble when up in Edinburgh. I also saw some good plays last year so definitely venture away from stand up, otherwise you will run out of laughter.

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+3 Interview: Brett Goldstein: What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“It’s a stand up show about love, sex, porn and addiction.”

WHO: Brett Goldstein, Performer

WHAT: “Sex. Porn. Love. Addiction. Can Brett tell the difference? Brett Goldstein, award-winning comic, actor and writer, returns with a new stand-up show about relationships, psychology, living in a post-porn world and the hell that is being in love. Come help him through this difficult time. ‘Sharply written, impeccably delivered, always charming… Warm, wise stuff’ (Daily Telegraph). ‘Fast paced, dark and brutal, and performed with skill and ease… Oddly philosophical and fascinating.’ (WhatsOnStage.com).”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – Beneath (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 19:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my 12th time coming to Edinburgh I think. I spent four years doing plays up here. Then started doing stand up. Did a new act show. Then three mixed bills. Then three solo shows. This is my fourth solo show. I’m tired even explaining that.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I went to a dinner party. Never again.

Tell us about your show.

It’s a stand up show about love, sex, porn and addiction. I wrote it. Live Nation are producing it. I’ve done lots of previews before Edinburgh. I might take it on tour after.

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

Something that isn’t comedy so they aren’t comparing the two. Maybe, a nice opera or some mime.

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+3 Interview: Steen Raskopoulos: Stay

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“I was nominated for Best Newcomer in my first year in 2014.”

WHO: Steen Raskopoulos, Performer

WHAT: “The electrifying new show from the gifted character comedian and improviser. Nominated for both the prestigious Barry Award and Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer, Steen’s live shows are a ‘triple threat of performance, material and charisma. A flawless hour of comedy’ ***** (Herald). As seen on Top Coppers (BBC Three), Whose Line is it Anyway? (ABC Australia) and Steen Raskopoulos’ Scare BnB (Sky). ‘Unique and completely hilarious and life-affirming’ ***** (New European). ‘Technically astonishing and emotionally fulfilling’ ***** (List). ‘An inspired and utterly original stand-up’ **** (Sunday Times). ‘Like witnessing a talent explosion’ (Independent).”

WHERE: Underbelly, Cowgate – Belly Button (Venue 61) 

WHEN: 20:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is not, it’s my fourth show. I was nominated for Best Newcomer in my first year in 2014.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

I went to the World Cup.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it. Underbelly are producing it. Tom Parry directed it. It premiered at the Melbourne Comedy festival and then the Sydney Comedy Festival where it won the Director’s Choice Award.

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

Dream Gun, Rosie Jones, Sara Barron, Abandoman and The Bear Pack 🙂

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+3 Interview: Damian Clark: Extra Show

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“I’ve been working on these jokes for the past 10 years during a pilgrimage trip through the Inca Trail.”

WHO: Damian Clark, performer

WHAT: “Strap in for rapid-fire jokes from the Aussie hurricane in this brand-new show. Due to phenomenal demand, 26 shows have been added in the same room at the same time. Book now! Sell-out show: Perth Fringe World 2018, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011-2016, Glasgow International Comedy Festival 2013-2017. ‘The world’s wittiest machine gun’ (Scotsman). ‘A relentless onslaught of crippling laughs’ (Skinny). ‘Every joke – and I honestly do mean every single joke – is genuinely, gut-bustingly funny’ (ThreeWeeks). ‘Infectious, hilarious and highly recommended’ (Kevin Bridges).”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Billiard Room (Venue 14) 

WHEN: 22:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

7th solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, my fave number! The first 6 were just a run-up to this masterpiece 😀

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

My wife had a baby using all her own ingredients plus a sprinkling of spices from yours truly.

Tell us about your show.

I’ve been working on these jokes for the past 10 years during a pilgrimage trip through the Inca Trail and living with people in a mountain village surviving on lizards and leaves… or I’m going to write it this week, one of the two.

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

Heidi Regan – Heidi vs Sharks

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+3 Interview: Infinita

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2018, Plus 3 2018 – Features by

“Since 2001 we have then performed in 32 different countries, some 150 performances a year…”

WHO: Gianni Bettucci, Director of Familie Flöz

WHAT: “After sell-out success of Hotel Paradiso and a five-star hit with Teatro Delusio, Germany’s mask theatre masters return to the Fringe with their next brilliant, visual comedy. In Infinita, a cast of irresistible, larger than life characters are seen both as warring children and as residents of an old people’s home. The wily games of nursery one-upmanship seem hardly to change with the passage of time. Survival of the craftiest is still the rule of the day. Infinita plays out in a succession of increasingly hilarious scenes, combining poignancy, astute observation and some superbly skilled slapstick.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – The Grand (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 13:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is our fifth time, we are old Fringers so to speak. We started in 2001, then 2004, 2015 and 2016. We started small, in a small venue in George Street and ended up in 2016 in the Grand selling over 16.000 tickets. Its being a long, tiring and rewarding journey.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’17?

The international success. We arrived in Edinburgh in 2001 being and unknown German company. Right after we started receiving calls from all over the places. Since 2001 we have then performed in 32 different countries, some 150 performances a year…

Tell us about your show.

It is one of our best shows W have been performing INFINITA for 10 years now, but it is the first time that comes to Edinburgh. As all the other productions by Familie Floez is a collective creative process where all the actors participates and there is a director, an external eye so to speak, which coordinate all comes out from our improvisation. INFINITA is the third production of a company who came together in 1996 at the Folkwang Schule in Essen, at the time lead by Pina Bausch. We started in 4 people, we are now over 40, with 4 different companies touring at the same time 4 different productions.

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

We love to visit the circus hub, or any of the international or circus shows… so many talented friends in the program!!!! Portrait in Motion for instance is a pearl!!!!

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Formation Festival: Cowards Anonymous (10-12 July)

Posted in 4*, Assembly Roxy, Theatre by

“Leaves you feeling pleasantly contemplative”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars

Cowards Anonymous – a support group for shy people who don’t like to make tough decisions. Hosted by some very colourful characters (who begin wearing masks), the welcome given feels more like you’re about to participate in a bizarre shared event, rather than sit back in the shadows to merely observe. And a shared event it becomes, as audience members are picked on at frequent intervals to give their views on a variety of topics and questions.

For many, the term ‘audience participation’ is the stuff of nightmares – the thought of being dragged up on stage, laughed at, or even just spoken to from the comfort of your seat by a performer with a big personality and a microphone – can send shudders down one’s spine and bring on the cold sweats alarmingly quickly. And while one of the aims of Cowards Anonymous is to create a sense of discomfort and awakening to some rather sticky issues, it is mediated in a relaxed and comedic way that nurtures a safe space in order to openly discuss difficult topics – mainly moral choices and philosophical debates.

Indeed, the main strength of this production is the pace and personality driven through it by performers Izzy Hourihane and Eilidh Albert-Recht who do the bulk of the direct addresses to the audience. They bounce off each other well and successfully navigate the tightrope between likeability and authority throughout. Their performance also gives the frequent sense of having gone completely off-book, adding to that feeling of awakening through nigh-on cringeworthy uncertainty of what happens next. Gripping stuff.

Josh Overton’s script dissects the notion of what it means to be a coward, and indeed what it means to be oneself – given the acting up we all do in different situations to please those around us. Posing several thought-provoking scenarios and more than a fair whack of comedy, it leaves you feeling pleasantly contemplative, even if the killer punch of the piece is somewhat lacking. Many excellent ideas are presented, but none quite strongly enough to elicit purposeful action.

Director Tyler Mortimer does well to highlight the comedic and playful aspects of the production, yet while the pacing is generally quite rip-rollicking and upbeat, some more variation in tone and timbre might help emphasise the points being made by this piece.

For many reasons, this show is likely to be divisive, yet for those open to something new, it’s an enlightening way to spend an hour. For me, this production just needs to shake off some of its scrappy and unpolished edges, embrace its direct and intelligent confrontational approach and go full steam ahead. It’s refreshing to have one’s mind challenged in this thoughtful way, and I’d encourage more people to do the same.

 

 

Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)Star (blue)

—

Reviewer: Steve Griffin (Seen 11 July)

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THIS REVIEW HAS NOT BEEN SUBEDITED