“I am originally from Manchester, my sense of humour is very dry. So people are often quite unsure as to whether I am joking or not. Sometimes, I’m not even sure myself!”
WHO: Andy Dickinson
WHAT: “Deacon Brodie isn’t that well known outside of Edinburgh. Yet he inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Jekyll and Hyde. Similarly, Stanley isn’t that well known outside of Stockport. Yet he’s campaigned with Napoleon and been up Everest with Mallory. Maybe. Perhaps. By day, in the 18th century, Deacon Brodie was a respectable cabinetmaker. By night, he was a masked burglar in Edinburgh’s Old Town. Against his will, Stanley gets roped into his escapades. And he could flipping well swing for it. A public hanging!”
WHERE: Willow Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16)
WHEN: On Demand (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This will be my 6th Fringe as a writer, and my 4th as a writer/performer. I’ve actually been living in Edinburgh since 2017, so if we include the Fringes that I attended in and around the pandemic I guess that I am up to 8!
As is well known Edinburgh Fringe is the world’s largest performing arts festival. As an artist/performer myself, I feel incredibly lucky to have it on my doorstep. I’m a comic storyteller, so I gravitate towards any theatrical storytelling. Yet I will go see circus, clowning, dance, fire eating, or even the odd silent bear in a rocking chair…
As a producer, to put on a show can be a little stressful, both financially and artistically. No matter how well a show is going, it is nearly impossible to do a full 3 week run without some ups and downs. So you have to be prepared to roll with the punches, knowing that an illness, for example, could be followed by a great review. As an audience member, you have none of this stress. You can go enjoy, and discover the undiscovered. Shows, drinks, food, shows, drinks. But less of the adrenaline . . .
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Mostly to do with my sense of humour! Possibly, as I am originally from Manchester, my sense of humour is very dry. So people are often quite unsure as to whether I am joking or not. Sometimes, I’m not even sure myself!
Consequently, I’ve been working on making my show ‘land’ better. Some of that is to do with rhythm and timing, some of that the pauses, and some in using more comic physicality. Perhaps, more than anything, though, I’ve started to write some key lines over and over, just as stand-up comedians do.
Let’s see!
Tell us about your show.
For 2026 I will be performing ‘The Tale of the Original Jekyll and Hyde (Told by a Mad Hatter from Stockport).’ It is a very famous local story – one that all Edinburghers know, but perhaps not in the detail.
Deacon Brodie was a very respectable locksmith/cabinet maker by day, and a masked burglar by night. i.e a real Jekyll and Hyde figure. R L Stevenson grew up in Edinburgh, and had a piece of Brodie’s furniture at the foot of his bed. This very piece can be seen in the Writer’s Museum in Lady Stair’s Close! Through Brodie’s doings he was inspired to write his masterpiece. Both tales are very Dark Edinburgh, though I tell ours with a good deal of dark humour!
Re the company, it has mostly been myself and Dominic Brennan in recent years. Dominic is a superb sound designer. No doubt that his soundscapes enhance both the drama and the humour in my stories. For 2026, we have a US Director working with us – Ricci Dedola. I actually met her on a whisky tour least year and we got talking theatre . . . She’s hoping to spend a lot more time in Edinburgh, and really connects with all the Old Town lore.
Recent shows with Dominic have featured my alter-ago, Stanley. He’s already campaigned with Napoleon in ‘Napoleon’s 100 Days’. And been up Everest (not quite to the top!), with Mallory in ‘Everest Mallory 24’.
Our Deacon Brodie show played Leicester Comedy Festival and Brighton Fringe. Quite a lot of laughs in Leicester. Whereas in Brighton the show leant more into the dramatic . . .
We very much hope to tour the show post fringe. Partly, as I’m a tour guide (by day), and a performer (by night). So, I’m used to travelling all over Scotland. And I would love to take Deacon Brodie (and Stanley) up to the Highlands!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
One Man Poe The Black Cat and The Raven (Threedumb Theatre)
Unlike many adaptations that attempt to modernize or rewrite the classics, this one uses Poe’s original 1840s text almost entirely verbatim! By preserving the musicality, rhythm, and rich vocabulary, Stephen Smith (the one man performer) has you experience the stories exactly as Poe intended. Well over a century later, they remain incredibly visceral and terrifying.
Mayflies (Grid Iron)
Grid Iron are very well known up in Scotland, and it is always good to support the local theatre companies. Their latest – Mayflies – is to be a heavy, aggressive ‘song’ about how fast time flies and how fleeting our existence is. i.e like a Mayfly’s . .
What interests me most, though, is that Grid Iron will be recreating the feel of an iconic, music venues from 1980s Manchester! Slightly before my time, but I was there by the early 90s . . . Specifically, they will be playing in a former metalworks, Brown’s of Leith. So it should be gritty, atmospheric, and real.
Alan Bissett: When Billy Met Alasdair (Alan Bissett)
A perfect show for me, as I’m a big fan of both Billy Connolly and Alasdair Gray. And this is a love letter to two of Glasgow’s greatest cultural giants! I’m expecting sharp humor and some storytelling magic.
Alan Bissett brings together the comedy of the Big Yin and visionary genius of the author of ‘Lanark ‘. Although very different as artists, they both had working-class roots, and profoundly impacted Scotland’s artistic soul.
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