Monthly Archives: July 2024

EdFringe Talk: 5 Mistakes That Changed History

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“EdFringe is the Olympic Games for the Arts, so you’re trying to enjoy everything at the festival, but your sole priority is putting on the best show for your audience”

WHO: Paul Coulter

WHAT: “We all make mistakes, but rarely do they change the course of history. Fresh from sold-out runs at Edinburgh, Sydney and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, the smash-hit historical storytelling show returns with a new show and new stories about five people and how their mistakes changed the world. Historian and comedian Paul Coulter brings history to life in a hilarious way. If you hated history at school, this is the show for you. If you loved history at school, stop looking and just book the show. Class credit not provided.”

WHERE: Assembly George Square Studios – Studio Three (Venue 17) 

WHEN: 16:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Thanks for having me! This is my second time at Edinburgh – I brought my show 5 Mistakes That Changed History to Edinburgh in 2023 and had a fantastic run, the show sold-out before we even arrived in Edinburgh. This year, I am very excited to be back with a new show for 2024.

Experiencing a festival as a performer and producer is a completely different experience. I visited Edinburgh as an audience member in 2022 and binged on 6-7 shows a day, slept so few hours I was barely functioning and had the best time.

As a performer, it’s a completely different experience, you’re performing every day for a month. It’s the Olympic Games for the Arts, so you’re trying to enjoy everything at the festival, but your sole priority is putting on the best show for your audience

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

2023 was my first year touring and I learnt an enormous amount. I performed in every possible variety of theatre: from tents in 40-degree heat to shipping containers directly under a busy flight path. I once had to stop the show, let an A380 jet pass overhead before continuing. You had to be ready for everything.

When you’re touring you get it all: every weather condition, every tech failure, wardrobe malfunction – if it can happen, it will happen! It’s fun and challenging.

Tell us about your show.

5 Mistakes That Changed History – is a History, Storytelling and Comedy show. In the show I take the audience through 5 Mistakes from History and how they’ve changed the world. This year I’m back with five entirely new stories from History. Its John Oliver meets Horrible Histories.

The show premiered at Sydney Fringe Festival in 2022 and has grown from there. The real break for the show was Gluttony at Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2023. Adelaide is the world’s second biggest fringe festival after Edinburgh. From there I got picked up by Assembly who brought the show to Edinburgh in 2023.

The show keeps growing, it keeps selling out to History loving audiences and we get many audience members returning. I try and chat to as many people as I can after the show and it’s fantastic seeing many familiar faces again! Hopefully, we’ll just keep growing and get to tour the show to more festivals and theatres in the future.

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

I would encourage my audience to take a risk and keep space open in their calendars to try something new. A huge amount of Edinburgh is experimentation and exploration. Your new favourite show could come from trying out a show last minute or chatting to a flyerer on the street.
I originally come from an improv comedy background, and we are lucky to have the world’s best improvisers performing at the Edinburgh Fringe:

Baby Wants Candy – a ridiculously talented group of improvisers take just one suggestion and transform it into an entire musical made up completely on the spot. It is hilarious and overflowing in talent.

Shamilton – The same performers as Baby Wants Candy but in the theme of Hamilton, transforms audience suggestions into an improvised rap musical. I never cease to be amazed.

Holy Shit Improv: Some of the best improvisers from Los Angeles. When Australia was in lockdown in 2021, I survived by watching live streams of their hilarious shows.

Chris Grace: One of the funniest, nicest and most talented performers at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Emily Markoe: My Little Phobia, Hollywood Fringe sensation and fantastic performer from the San

Francisco/Los Angeles improv scene is bringing her solo show to Edinburgh

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH, Utterly silly, incredibly joyful, bonkers and fun and all round great guy. Sold-out Adelaide Fringe Festival and is definitely one to watch

Given my show is all about History – I would strongly recommend audience members go to the Scottish National Museum. Fantastic place and the curators do brilliant tours.

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EdFringe Talk: Seconds to Midnight

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“I was super determined to be back this year because last August was one of my favourite months – what could be better than four weeks spent watching lots and lots of shows and going for drinks with new stagey friends?”

WHO: Katie Kirkpatrick

WHAT: “What would you want to say to your best friend if the world was about to end? Exploring queer friendship, platonic love and nuclear anxiety, Seconds to Midnight asks what happens in a world with no consequences. Diving into the parallels between beginnings and endings, we follow Jo and Eddie through the first seven minutes of their friendship and the final seven hours of the world. Praise for previous work: ‘A brilliant addition to the queer theatre landscape’ ***** (BroadwayWorld.com). ‘Tender and original’ **** (Skinny).”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker One (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 11:45 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I first came to the Fringe as a sixteen year old performing in a musical, which could not be further away from what I do now! After working on an online show in 2021, I returned to Edinburgh properly in 2022 as a marketing manager and reviewer, and every year since then I’ve ended up picking up more jobs! Last year I was directing and producing a show, as well as reviewing, and working at Roundabout. Fringe is best enjoyed when you get really stuck in!

I was super determined to be back this year because last August was one of my favourite months – what could be better than four weeks spent watching lots and lots of shows and going for drinks with new stagey friends? The atmosphere during the festival is truly like nothing else, and I’m so excited to see more fantastic shows and meet more fantastic people. That, and I’m excited for discounted drinks at the Pleasance bars!

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

One of the major things we learnt last year was the importance of befriending other companies of all sizes and levels – not only is it crucial for cross-marketing and selling tickets, but it’s how you make friends and lasting connections. We also learnt that it’s important to take time for yourself – living and working with close friends for a month is great fun, but there’s always the risk of spending a liiiittle too much time together. Seeing some shows by yourself, or going off to a gig, a lecture, a beach, or something else altogether is a great way to take a break. I’d definitely say we learnt that you can’t see every show you want to, and it’s important to pace yourself, but I can’t say I’ve absorbed that one yet!

Tell us about your show.

Seconds to Midnight originally came about from a Twitter thread recording some slightly unhinged late night chats between friends. I had been thinking for a while that there was a great play in it somewhere, but it took a while to work out how to make it into one. I was also really keen to make a show about queer friendship, as something I care a lot about but haven’t seen reflected that much in theatre, film, or TV.

I approached my co-director/producer Mati with the idea back in October, and then we went about finding a writer and a cast. From there, we did several R&D sessions, both with the cast and with groups of young queer people, to pull the script together and really find our characters. It was such a satisfying experience watching it go from a concept in my head to a real life show!

The show debuts this week at Riverside Studios in London, and then we’re off to the Fringe – it’ll be a quick turnaround, but we’re looking forward to trying it out in front of an audience before the full chaos of Edinburgh begins.

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

There are so many shows we’re looking forward to catching this year! We’re especially excited about seeing new work from some of the fellow young queer companies we met last year, like Fix Your Mind by Fun Loose Screw and Ugly Sisters by piss / CARNATION – both companies that make really creative new work. Other shows from friends we made last year that we’re also looking forward to seeing include Tending – some fab new verbatim work – and Jobsworth – some sharp new writing.

We’re also excited about Instructions from Subject Object, as big fans of their previous show work.txt. Many of our team are working at Paines Plough Roundabout, so we can’t wait to see their line-up this year, especially Playfight and Bellringers. Roundabout is always such a fab hub for new writing, so you really can’t go wrong with anything there!

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EdFringe Talk: Grape Culture

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“For most of my life I have tried to control my perceptions of the past, the future, myself, other people – blindly believing that my anxiety about these things could somehow influence the outcome.”

WHO: Tony Nagy

WHAT: “A tragicomedy revealing grape culture, starring comedian and internet sensation Toni Nagy and performance artist Sarah Buckner. The show will undress the consciousness of domination without consent while stripping back the predatory and pervasive programming that is choking us all. The thrusting energy of the show is comedy – penetrated by dance, film, storytelling, clowning, stand up and skits. We can’t think our way out of trauma, we must feel our way through it. Toni and Sarah will pervert the pretty by unmasking the ugly truth that grape culture isn’t part of our culture, it is our culture.”

WHERE: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Grand Theatre (Venue 53) 

WHEN: 12:00 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my very first Edinburgh fringe and I feel as excited and nervous as a virgin on prom night! I am anticipating the depth and meaning of the art this year, for so much of us have been spiraling down a toilet of despair. I have full faith that all these artists have worked tirelessly to alchemize the suffering of the world into healing, creative, imaginative, and absurd art. It is when we feel most desperate that we free ourselves from the bondage of the status quo. I am so interested in the transformation of vibration that will take place this august as the collective consciousness swirls into a creamy kaleidoscope of chaos.

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

Surrender. I think for most of my life I have tried to control my perceptions of the past, the future, myself, other people – blindly believing that my anxiety about these things could somehow influence the outcome. I operated under a false ethos that the tighter I held on, the more I could influence the utter wild nature of the cosmos. This year I’ve learned to let go of my death grip on life and trust. I am slowly cultivating faith in divine timing and the greatest good of all.

Tell us about your show.

I have been a stand up comic for a many years, and have always wanted to do a show exploring grape culture, but didn’t think stand up was the medium. I wanted to really dive into the minutia of the subject, but in a way that was palatable and dare I say, funny? It wasn’t until I met Sarah Buckner and she told me about her thesis work where she had documented herself processing her sexual assaults in real time that I knew I had the right partner to explore this work. Sarah’s videos of her past self, including a clip where she confronts her boss that sexually assaulted her and quits her job, inspired me deeply. I knew Sarah’s past work was crucial for the context of the show. Making comedy about trauma is something that we have done for thousands of years, and I think if we are going to heal the culture of grape, we must learn to talk about it openly and in a variety of contexts, not just hushed voices behind closed doors. Sarah and I wrote the show together and got the privilege of performing it at the Hollywood Fringe this June. It is produced by Fringe Management and myself, and we hope to perform it for years to come in not only theater settings, but also Universities to help facilitate conversations around consent.

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

I love anything Natalie Palamides does, and I am sure her new show is going to be genius. I also just had the pleasure of seeing “My Mother Doesn’t Know I am Kinky,” at the Hollywood fringe and loved it!

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EdFringe Talk: A Fire Ignites

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“This is also my first time as a producer. It is an entirely different skill, and I’ve learned so much about the craft and how hard it is to put on a production, mainly because I’m doing it all by myself.”

WHO: Tara Tedjarati

WHAT: “A Fire Ignites tells the story of a brave teenage girl, Parisa, in modern-day Iran who sets her hijab on fire in public. Attacked by the morality police for her rebellion, she desires to free her country from oppression. Her best friend is exhausted from fighting and lives in fear of discrimination for her sexual orientation. Parisa’s mother fears for her daughter’s life and struggles to accept her daughter’s fate. A Fire Ignites is written, directed, and produced by Tara Tedjarati, starring Tara Tedjarati as a solo performer. This story is inspired by the brave young women in Iran.”

WHERE: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Theatre 2 (Venue 53) 

WHEN: 09:35 (30 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, this is my first time at the Edinburgh Fringe. It’s so special not only because of its incredible opportunities but also because everyone who goes there adores the arts. It’s a thriving atmosphere and I’m so excited to be a part of it.

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

I’ve been directing, acting, singing, and writing for many years, and I’ve combined all those skills in this production. This is also my first time as a producer. It is an entirely different skill, and I’ve learned so much about the craft and how hard it is to put on a production, mainly because I’m doing it all by myself. I’ve learned so much about business and running a team. Overall, I’ve learned to combine all my skills to create a production I’m incredibly proud of, focusing on a story that can have a significant social impact.

Tell us about your show.

This show is about brave young women in Iran. It follows 16-year-old Parisa, who lights her hijab on fire and chants “Death to the dictator,” after which the morality police punish her for her rebellion. Her best friend, who shelters her, is full of fear of punishment for her sexual orientation. Parisa’s mother, Yasaman, doesn’t want her daughter to demonstrate, and conflict emerges. Tara Tedjarati, who is of Iranian heritage, plays all three characters. She also wrote, directed, and produced this show. This production is premiering at the Fringe, and the goal is to bring it back to London and beyond.

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

They should watch “The Good Iranian”! It’s a comedy that will be a light-hearted relief after our show. People who are fans of Persian culture will enjoy this show as well as ours.

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EdFringe Talk: The Seas Are Rising: Stories of a Climate in Crisis

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“I also learned about vegan haggis which is nutritious and delicious!”

WHO: Dan Sheehan

WHAT: “A multimedia concert experience calling attention to the urgency of the climate crisis through original songs by American musician and songwriter Dan Sheehan. Songs telling stories of everyday people across the globe already facing raging wildfires, intensified hurricanes and devastating famine lead to a resounding finale inspiring audiences to take personal actions and to demand climate justice from world leaders. Sheehan has won multiple songwriter awards from the American PRS affiliate ASCAP and was named Songwriter of the Year at the 2019 Elephant Talk Indie Music Awards.”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Snug (Venue 117) 

WHEN: 19:20 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my third time organizing and performing a show at EdFringe. In 2019 and 2023, I organized a series called “3300 Miles: New Jersey to Edinburgh – a Transatlantic Songwriters Circle” which featured Songwriters from the USA and from Scotland.

Having found the overall energy of the Fringe to be very exciting, I am returning for 2024 with my solo music show The Seas Are Rising, a show that entertains and raises awareness about the urgency of the climate crisis. The Edinburgh Climate Change Institute is cross-promoting the show, which I’m very excited about!

I love that the Ed Fringe has so many attendees who are eager to see and hear new work and take a bit of a risk on shows that might not have heard of but which sound interesting. I think my show is definitely in that category!

My past Fringe experiences were very short since they were one-off nights that were part of UK tours I was on, so I did not get to see many other shows but being there for a week this year I look forward to taking in lots of theatre, music, comedy and more!

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

I learned that most show attendees decide very late what they’re going to see, and not to fret about ticket sales as a performer as they will pick up by show time.

I also learned that the Fringe audience is the best!

I also learned about vegan haggis which is nutritious and delicious!

Tell us about your show.

The version of the show I’m doing at Ed Fringe is pretty much a one-person show performed by myself, BUT… I will be playing live guitar and vocals to recordings I’ve done with my band back in the United States, so they will be there in that form. I am the writer/producer/guitarist/bassist/main singer, although other voices will also be on the recordings such as soul singer Karmina Dai, a vocal harmony group called Born to Blend and also Amanda Brite who co-wrote one of the songs. The presence of these women help diminish any “toxic masculinity” that otherwise might come through! (just kidding)

We have done a full band/ensemble version of this in the United States, which includes a rock/soul band augmented by the singers mentioned above, by horns and violin, and also various world instruments depending on the song. Attendees will hear instruments such as the Brazilian cavaquinho and the Puerto Rican cuatro in the mix, for example.

The one man version premiering at Ed Fringe is a practical way to take an otherwise large production overseas, but also is an opportunity to do the show in a more intimate setting (the Snug at Paradise In Augustines). After Fringe we’ll do both versions of the show, but the solo/intimate version can be taken to community centers and other places that don’t have huge stages and budgets.

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

There are a few other shows about climate change that I am encouraging folks to attend.

One is Things We Will Miss by Square Product Theatre, also based in the U.S., at C-Arts Aquila studio. It features an interesting array of characters facing the impending climate crisis. Weeks 2 and 3.

Another is Freak Out!, about British communities losing their homes do to coastal erosion from Coin Tolls Collective, a UK-based company. This show runs through the entire festival at Pleasance Dome.

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EdFringe Talk: Things We Will Miss

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“The climate crisis creates so much anxiety for so many of us, and at times it feels truly overwhelming. But there IS hope and keeping that hope alive is what can create the change we need to alter the trajectory.”

WHO: Emily K. Harrison

WHAT: “A collage style devised work exploring the (potential) collapse of the Anthropocene, this personal meditation on the climate crisis explores the beauty and inevitability of impermanence. Born from the debris of late-stage capitalism, Things We Will Miss features performers in disparate roles, including an amateur astronomer, a park ranger, mythological prophet Cassandra, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and ultimately, themselves. Driven by image, light, and sound rather than linear narrative, it viscerally explores the grief and beauty, the horror and hope inherent in being alive in this very moment.”

WHERE: C ARTS | C venues | C aquila – studio (Venue 21) 

WHEN: 15:30 (75 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is indeed my first time to Edinburgh! I’m thrilled to spend time in the city and to be part of the Fringe. I plan to take in as many shows as I reasonably can because it’s just so rare to be in a place and a moment in time when so much is available – the possibilities feel endless. I’m looking forward to checking out other venues and making connections with other artists and audience members from around the world.

I think an opportunity like this is what you make of it, yeah? I’ve previously produced/performed in other theatre/fringe festivals and it’s always such an incredible experience, so I’m really looking forward to experiencing the OG Fringe!

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

I mean 2023 feels like it was just yesterday…

As far as our show is concerned, we developed most of it in 2023, and we staged a workshop production of it in Boulder, Colorado last summer, which was incredibly helpful. We got some great audience feedback and I learned to trust my instincts as a theatre-maker and director. I also learned (again) how wonderful it can be to bring people who have never met together to work on something that everyone in the room feels passionate about – what a beautiful experience building these communities in service of making something is! I also learned from my cast how incredibly important it is to focus on finding hope. The climate crisis creates so much anxiety for so many of us, and at times it feels truly overwhelming. But there IS hope and keeping that hope alive is what can create the change we need to alter the trajectory.

Tell us about your show.

The show is a devised piece, so we created it together (we being the performers, the designers, the management team – all of us). square product theatre developed and is producing the piece – we’re a Boulder, Colorado-based theatre company that primarily creates and produces new work. The structure of the show revolves in part around my role as a teacher navigating a swiftly changing world alongside my students, and grew out of a project I created with students as part of a class I was teaching in 2022 at Sewanee: The University of the South in Tennessee. From there I decided I was interested in developing the material into a longer piece and invited current and former students to collaborate. At it’s heart, the piece is a conversation between myself and former students from three separate institutions: Hamilton College in Clinton, New York (where I currently teach), Sewanee, and the University of Colorado Boulder.

We staged a workshop production in Boulder, Colorado last summer, but we’ve continued to develop the material so the version we’ll be bringing to Edinburgh is new. We don’t currently have active plans to take the piece anywhere after, but I’m personally very interested in the show having a life in the future! I think it’s a beautiful piece and I’d love to present it in other cities and festivals.

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

On the topic of climate change, audiences should also check Coin Toss Collective’s FREAK OUT, which is “a show about coastal erosion, community, and what we owe to each other,” Dan Sheehan’s THE SEAS ARE RISING, which is a song cycle that tells “stories of everyday people across the globe” dealing with the realities of the climate crisis, and Lîla Dance’s FAULT LINES, which “explores our environmental impact but asks what happens when we stand together with hope.” These three shows promise to be very different but lively and necessary explorations on this crucial subject matter.

For solo work, you can’t beat Flying Solo’s ELIZABETH I: IN HER OWN WORDS, featuring Tammy Meneghini as Elizabeth I. The piece immerses an audience in “the turbulent world if Queen Elizabeth I,” and I can say from having worked with her, and from having seen her perform in many works, that Tammy is an excellent actor who will do this show justice.

Finally, WaitDog’s PICASSO 2033, which explores the relationship between art and AI. The piece delves into the future of human creativity in an increasingly digitized/mechanized world, including an exploration of whether or not art still matters in times when “people are struggling to survive,” which I think will be of interest to a lot of people.

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EdFringe Talk: Italian Jazz Affair

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“Even though the quality of a show sometimes it’s not reflected in the commercial success, we need to focus on different kinds of success, like the reviews and feedback from the audience, for example.”

WHO: Anna Vanosi

WHAT: “Step into a musical odyssey with Anna Vanosi and her ensemble, where every note tells a story. From the cinematic allure of Morricone’s film scores to the timeless charm of Sinatra, journey through tasteful swing jazz and soul-stirring blues standards. Anna Vanosi’s magnetic presence infuses each song with character, lyricism and passion. ‘Vanosi’s voice is nectar’ (NorthWestEnd.com). ‘Eccentric, adorable, enchanting: A real-life Italian diva’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com). An unforgettable Fringe experience at the best jazz venue in town.”

WHERE: The Jazz Bar – Partially Seated (Venue 57) 

WHEN: 17:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is not my first time to Edinburgh, I’ve been performing at the famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival since my graduation from Napier University course Acting for Stage and Screen in 2017 and I’ve been performing ever since. I created and performed two cabaret solo-shows and since last year also a Music show. This year I’ve created a brand new music show for jazz and music lovers that want to discover Italian sounds and its connection with Jazz, titled “Italian Jazz Affair”.

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

Every year there’s something to learn. I’m managing everything by myself and being a band leader on top of creator and manager of a show it’s very difficult, sometimes challenging and exhausting, but also very rewarding. Even though the quality of a show sometimes it’s not reflected in the commercial success, we need to focus on different kinds of success, like the reviews and feedback from the audience, for example.

Some people have sent me friendship requests or sent me personal messages to compliment me and my band and have been following ever since! It’s wonderful to get the chance to grow a fan base like that!

Tell us about your show.

I’m the creator, producer and singer of the show I’ve created which has been created also thanks to my awesome band members and the venue I’m performing in, The Jazz Bar, iconic jazz/blues/funk venue in Edinburgh. I’ve had the chance to perform there regularly since 2022 and I had a residency for almost a year, called “Sunday Sonata”. This allowed me to grow my jazz and blues repertoire and to insert, bit by bit, Italian songs in the midst of the American songbook. I’ve noticed how much the audience has been appreciating the Italian songs and so I’ve decided to bring this brand new show focusing on the Italian songs, soudtracks and sounds from my land and its connection to the American songbook.

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

I am a an actor as well as a singer and I love the Fringe for the opportunity to see brand new and very “fringe” shows that are very different from mainstream and commercial theatre shows performed in Edinburgh during the year.

I don’t have a specific recommendation for this year yet, but I’ll be studying the Fringe programme and I’ll make sure to see lots of solo-shows and storytelling because that’s what I like the most!

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EdFringe Talk: Serious Nonsense

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“This year I am later in the day and hopeful it’s going to make all the difference. I’m also going to be going for a wider variety of guest spots during the day too.”

WHO: Ben Macpherson

WHAT: “Funny, horrible and just a little bit naughty, purveyor of playful poetry, Ben Macpherson (BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2), returns to the Fringe with this perfect gateway into the afternoon through poems and stories for all ages. Delight at the awful adults, beastly brats and curious creatures from this verbal tour de force. Ben’s poetry easily sets itself among the likes of Roald Dahl, Spike Milligan and Hilaire Belloc with equal parts magic and mischief that will leave you chuckling long after its final rhyme. ‘Full of humour and drive’ (Michael Rosen). ‘Dizzyingly, dazzlingly brilliant’ (Brian Bilston).”

WHERE: PBH’s Free Fringe @ Burrito ‘n’ Shake – Downstairs Room (Venue 117) 

WHEN: 12:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is the second time Serious Nonsense has been at the Fringe and I’m so excited to be back again. Edinburgh is an amazing place to find new audiences and stretch yourself outside of your usual stomping grounds. If you are looking for shows it’s a chance to see things you’d never normally see and checkout different art forms – a mixture is best!

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

In 2023 I learnt that how important show times were. I had a brilliant venue just off the Royal Mile but because it was so early I always seemed to be struggling for audiences. This year I am later in the day and hopeful it’s going to make all the difference. I’m also going to be going for a wider variety of guest spots during the day too.

Tell us about your show.

My show is Serious Nonsense, a poetry show for all ages that is equal parts, funny, playful and thoughtful. It build on last years show of the same name and is the perfect gate way to an afternoon at the fringe. If you enjoy the playfulness of Roald Dahl or the storytelling of Hillaire Belloc then this show will suit you to a tee. From horrible things happening to beastly brats, madcap monsters and awful adults, there is something for everyone at this event.

I’ve been lucky enough to be featured on BBC Radio2, 4 Extra and Local stations as well as share work at Lattitude festival and regional festivals around the country too. The audience have a great time, leaving with recurring rhymes caught in their brains. I’m the sole writer and performer so theres a fun tornado of running and performing the show that leads to a really personalised experience for everyone who comes along to see. If you don’t normally see poetry shows, then this show is the perfect gateway.

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

I’m going to recommend 2 shows! first off is the wonderful Half a String bring “Breathe” up to the Edinburgh Fringe – This is a family show that makes an epic saga out of an acorn as it grows. Truly amazing puppetry and senses of scale in a fringe time scale. You must not miss this especially if you have kids approaching double digits.

My other recommendation is another puppet show “Bills 44th” which I saw last year, taking a punt with my Mum when she visited. This is very much not a family show with a trippy journey into the life of Bill, a puppet, as he turns 44. The show brings together puppetry and clowning in a really vibrant way, that will have you laughing and sobbing in its run.

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EdFringe Talk: My Grandmother’s Eyepatch

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“No matter what else you’ve done as a touring company, there’s always the ‘yeah, but have you done Edinburgh?’ question.”

WHO: Julia VanderVeen

WHAT: “What happens when a lovable idiot holds a memorial service for a long-deceased family member? In this off-the-wall comedy, award-winning NYC-based clown Julia VanderVeen leads the audience through wild stages of grief as she attempts to honour her beloved grandmother. Winner: Best Solo Comedy and Best of the Fest, Orlando Fringe 2023; Best Solo Clown, EstroGenius Awards, Frigid Fringe NYC 2022; Production Award FESTN4 2024. ‘A masterclass in cringe comedy… Carol Burnett-esque’ (Orlando Weekly). ‘A solo tour-de-force’ (Hartford Courant). ‘Puts the fun in funeral’ (Orlando Sentinel).”

WHERE: ZOO Playground – Playground 1 (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 12:45 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is!! I’m so excited! Edinburgh is the big mama of fringes so no matter what else you’ve done as a touring company, there’s always the “yeah, but have you done Edinburgh?” question. I can’t wait to have my own stories to tell.

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

My big goal of 2023 was to love myself more. I have always been super career focused. But by focusing on being gentler with myself and more accepting, I was shocked by how that also influenced my career in a good way.

If this question is meant to be about work or touring, I would say to enjoy the ride. Each big step in my career is a bit overwhelming because it’s new and I like to push and challenge myself, but I think it’s so important to stop and see the scenery. There is so much good stuff happening with the prep, the rehearsal, the excitement and then there will be so much good stuff happening when I’m actually there at the festival. I don’t want to miss any of it.

Tell us about your show.

I co-wrote my show with my mentor and clown teacher Aitor Basauri of Spymonkey, and then my second Director Isaac Kessler also helped write some of it as well. It is definitely a labor of love and has been a group effort, even though it is a solo show. Angelika Giatras is producing. She’s done a lot of music producing in the US, and is venturing into comedy and I have been so incredibly fortunate to have her.

The concept for the show started with a clown workshop I was doing with Aitor in Hawaii.

The first rough draft I performed of it was in Hartford, Connecticut in their inaugural fringe festival in 2019. The version I’m doing now I have been performing since 2022 and have toured to Orlando, Chicago, Atlanta, Toronto and Winnipeg.

Next up I have the Rochester clown festival at the end of September, and am very much hoping to tour some more this Fall.

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

My friend Kelly McCaughan is doing a naughty, irreverent show called “Catholic Guilt” that I can’t wait to see and my friend Amando Houser is doing a show called “Delia Delia the Flat Chested Witch,” and Amando is an incredibly talented performer. Also I can’t wait to see Natalie Palamides’ new show WEER. She’s like the queen clown in the US. I’ve only seen her perform once and only a little bit. I can’t wait to see the full thing.

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EdFringe Talk: Chris Weir: Well Flung

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“2023 was about the importance of stability for me, and – of course – figuring out what Padam Padam meant.”

WHO: Chris Weir

WHAT: “For his debut hour, Chris Weir (BBC Scotland, Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year finalist) leads us through his first ever holiday fling, set in the sunny cruising beaches of Gran Canaria. In this modern-day romcom, Chris navigates the grey areas and accelerated relationship of a five-day romance. He explores the ups and downs of sudden monogamy, romantic expectations, financial imbalances, inevitable fallouts, wandering eyes, gay romps – all to ask the question: is companionship worth it, or are we better off alone?”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Patter House – Bothie (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 14:40 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I grew up in Edinburgh so I’ve had the Fringe around me my whole life. I took this for granted when I was younger, frustrated by the crowds and slower buses every August. Since becoming a comedian, I’ve spent a couple Fringes just doing short spots on compilation shows, practicing material, and a couple of years ago I split an hour with another comedian for 2 weeks. This will be my first Fringe doing a full hour and a full run. So while it’s definitely not my first time, it feels like a new, exciting way to experience the month.

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

2023 was about the importance of stability for me, and – of course – figuring out what Padam Padam meant. I’m still trying to find the balance between working life and doing comedy. My current solution is being very busy all the time and not having much of a social life. It’s a mixture of exciting and fun, and sometimes dark and exhausting – every day is a Barbenheimer for me.

Tell us about your show.

As a comedian, the “company” is very much a one man band. I wrote and produced this show – it’s all about the intricacies of a holiday fling I had so it felt like I should be the one to tell that story! The show will debut at Edinburgh, and in terms of future plans – we’ll see how it does! I’d love to tour it, it’s a very joyful, wild story and something I actually want to perform day after day.

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

Last year I saw Patti Harrison’s work in progress for My Huge Tits Huge Because They Are Infected NOT FAKE and it was everything I wanted it to be: insane and crying-with-laughter funny. She’s back with the finished show this year. One that I’m desperate to see but conflicts with my time slot is Gwyneth Goes Skiing, a comic dramatization of the Gwyneth Paltrow ski trial, where the audience is the jury. Please go see that and tell me how good it is!

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