EdFringe Talk: The Stevenson Experience: O Brother, Where Art Thou! (On stage, beside me)

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“The lesson is to step out of the rat race a little and really work on the craft off-stage, which makes the show on-stage that much better.”

WHO: Benjamin Stevenson

WHAT: “Two-time Perth Fringe World Best Comedy Show nominees, Thurber Prize semi-finalist, over two million copies sold – Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone book series. Identical twins. Musical comedy. Sibling rivalry. The Stevenson Experience deliver a brand-new show of hilarious songs, razor-sharp banter and good natured (extremely personal) rivalry. Since their last visit Benjamin wrote multiple bestselling novels which are being adapted by Amazon for television. James also did cool stuff, but whatever, he doesn’t like to brag. ‘An absolute highlight of Fringe’ ****½ (Advertiser, Adelaide).”

WHERE: Underground at Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17) 

WHEN: 19:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s our 4th Fringe, but in a way it feels like our first, as we are returning off a five year hiatus. Some pesky flu kept us down in Australia for a couple of years, and then it took another few years for the timing to be right. We’ve got all of the nerves of our very first fringe all over again! Though this time we know what to do (take the day off!) and what not to do (don’t eat hot chips every day!).

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Taking your time with things! I think when you start out in comedy it’s very much a hamster wheel of new material – particularly the festival circuit, doing a new hour every year. We’ve now learned that we write a better show if we spend 1 year working on it, and 1 year touring it. So the lesson is to step out of the rat race a little and really work on the craft off-stage, which makes the show on-stage that much better.

Tell us about your show.

Our show is us, identical twin brothers, telling jokes and singing songs about our lives and our relationship as brothers. Yes, we are real twins. More accurately though, we’ve been away from the Fringe for 5 years, and in that time we’ve done 3 national tours of Australia. This show is the absolute best pieces of those tours combined into one as it is all brand new material for Edinburgh, so it’s lightning fast and packed with gags, and something we are really excited to share. This will probably be the end of the show’s run before we turn to our next local tour back home.

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

Sammy J’s Hero Complex is simply one of the best comedy shows I’ve seen. He debuted it a decade ago and this is his first time back to the Fringe in 12 years (says the website, I’m not stalking him…)

Otherwise: SEE THE AUSTRALIANS. We have such a great scene with so many fresh ideas and talents. Ray O’Leary (Kiwi, but we can adopt him) and Frankie McNair both have great shows.

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