EdFringe Talk: 11½ Angry Men

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Clearly, I have not learned any lessons – because I am back.”

WHO: Guy Masterson

WHAT: “Edinburgh Fringe 2003’s legendary classic 12 Angry Men returns, hilariously spoofed as 11½ very angry comedians attempt to decide the fate of a boy accused of heinous murder in 1950s NYC… Will a lethal German sausage save him? Or send him sizzling to Old Sparky? The jurors: Stephen K Amos, Joe Pasquale (Fringe debut!), Tom Stade, Spencer Jones, Mark Maier, Glenn Wool, JJ Whitehead, Ian Coppinger, Terry Alderton, Phil Nichol, David Calvitto and Owen O’Neill seek a unanimous verdict while the evidence against him stinks, but can they find their way to a conviction? Director: Guy Masterson.”

WHERE: Pentland Theatre at Pleasance at EICC (Venue 150b) 

WHEN: 14:30 (80 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No… this is my 32nd consecutive Fringe – excluding COVID, of course. Some years have been busier than others. In my first, in 1994, I experimented with two shows. One of them – Under Milk Wood – has continued to now, and I have given over 2,000 performances.

Other years – such as 2013 – I have only presented a single performance, just to say I did it! Mostly, I have presented a raft of shows. In 2001, I presented 11! This year I am presenting five.

I use the word “presenting” for shows in which I have no creative input. I just mount them in Edinburgh because I want them to be seen there and, hopefully, go on to bigger futures. Usually, however, I have some creative involvement as writer or co-writer, but mainly as director, and many of these I actually “produce” – meaning I have financial responsibility for them, including any losses…

This year, I am producing or co-producing all five! (Gulp.)

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

Clearly, I have not learned any lessons – because I am back. Two years ago, I made a big announcement about never coming back! But I had made promises that I had to keep, so last year I put on two shows, and this year four projects that had been on the burner for several years came to fruition. The fifth is a 25th anniversary show.

Tell us about your show.

11½ Angry Men is a parody of the classic 12 Angry Men, which I and a group of stand-up comedians put on to great acclaim in 2003. In 2001, we tried to get the rights to remount it for its 20th anniversary but were denied them, so Owen O’Neill wrote the parody instead.

Again, we put together a cast of big-name comedians, who are all co-producers, inasmuch as they are sharing the risk to do it. They will only be paid if it makes a profit… so they are, in effect, banking on that! We hope that it will transfer to the West End.

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

Apart from all my shows and artists, rush to see anything by Twighlight Theatre (Play on Words by Brian Dykstra and Brian Parks’ The Problem), The Bob Ross Effect with Sarah-Louise Young, all at Assembly; Mike McShane in The Event… at Pleasance; Phil Nichol, The Naked Racist & Aren’t We Lucky, at Gilded Balloon; Spencer Jones, Dogs, at Pleasance; Glenn Wool Is Luv (sic) at The Beehive; Tom Stade Rules at The Stand; Mark Maier’s Jewvenile at Gilded Balloon; Joe Pasquale and Terry Alderton in Conversation at Pleasance Cabaret Bar; Andrew Maxwell at Pleasance EICC.

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