Author Archives: Dan Lentell

+3 Interview: Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: The Boyd With the Thorn in His Side

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“…has one joke about Morrissey and then a couple dozen about the end of the world. I’m really proud of it.”

WHO: Christopher Macarthur-Boyd

WHAT: “Christopher Macarthur-Boyd genuinely feels like it’s the dawn of the apocalypse. Not only is the western world sliding irreversibly into far-right ideology, but his girlfriend left him. Just returned from the Perth and Adelaide Fringe festivals, join the king of sad style as he takes on institutional racism, the slings and arrows of heartache and pasta. ‘The personal and the political housed seamlessly.”

WHERE:  Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre (Venue 76)

WHEN: 21:45 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my fourth year at the Fringe! The first year, I was a finalist in So You Think You’re Funny?, then the two years after that I was doing double handers with my pals Ben Pope and Rosco Mcclelland. This is my first year doing a solo show, though.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’16?

Probably getting to go and do stand-up abroad in Canada and Australia, although I did also start watching repeats of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares on YouTube and that’s had a profound effect on my life.

Tell us about your show.

The Boyd With The Thorn In His Side has one joke about Morrissey and then a couple dozen about the end of the world. I’m really proud of it. I debuted it at The Stand during the Glasgow Comedy Festival, then performed it again at the Southside Fringe in Glasgow.

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

The show immediately after mines in the same room is Rosco Mcclelland’s ‘How I Got Over’ which is a seriously good show about chasing death after being diagnosed with heart problems as a child. Well worth a watch.

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+3 Interview: Mia: Daughters of Fortune

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“You could spend your entire festival at Summerhall and we’re thrilled to be part of that programme.”

WHO: Lisa Mallaghan, Senior Producer

WHAT: “Having kids isn’t easy. Now imagine you have a learning disability… whoa! Can they do that? Do they even have sex? Yes, yes “they” do. Fast moving, raw and eye-opening, Mia explores the truths and myths about learning disabilities and parenthood in today’s society. Think pop culture with popcorn, science with silliness, stories with statistics. A Mind the Gap production created/directed by Joyce Ngayu Lee, performed by four learning-disabled artists.”

WHERE: Summerhall (Venue 26) ​

WHEN: 14:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Not for me personally – I’ve been coming to the festival since I was a child, and am a bit of an Edinburgh Fringe addict!

For Mind the Gap, it’s actually our second time, but the first was 12 years ago. It’s also the first time the company has done the full run, without being part of any kind of ‘platform’ (which is so often the case with ‘disability arts’).

Summerhall was our first choice of venue – have you seen what’s on there?! Awesome. You could spend your entire festival at Summerhall and we’re thrilled to be part of that programme.

Mind the Gap is 29 yrs old, and is the ONLY learning disability theatre company appearing at Ed Fringe 17… we are 1 in over 3000… and there is just a handful of other shows by disabled performers (perhaps due to the lack of an official ‘disability arts platform’ this year, discuss…), so get booking quick!

Tell us about your show.

‘Mia: Daughters of Fortune’ was the brain child of Joyce Nga Yu Lee, Resident Director at Mind the Gap. But the idea for the production (and its 2 sister shows: Anna and Zara), was inspired initially by one of MTG’s Artists telling us about her sister going through tests because she was pregnant.

Not the usual kinds of tests, but a far more complex assessment to see whether she would be deemed capable of keeping her child. The mum and dad both have Autism. So we started finding out more, and discovered that learning disabled people (no matter where they are on various spectrums, no matter how independent and capable) are automatically subjected to these assessments, which people without learning disabilities (no matter how potentially dependent, or incapable) are not subjected to.

It’s a massive subject and there isn’t a simple answer to this – the safety of the child is of course paramount – but it’s also really eye-opening. So we set out with Joyce to research the subject and find ways to explore it, to ‘out’ it, to break the taboo, to talk about learning disability and sex and parenthood, to make sure the stories and voices of learning disabled parents are heard.

The show is devised, a roller-coaster of information and emotion, a bit like being pregnant… Sounds pretty heavy right?! Well some bits are, and then there’s other bits like game-shows, science with sweets, fantastic use of dance and shadows, and lots of silliness. This is Edinburgh Fringe after all.

Mia toured to 6 venues last year, and has been tweaked and updated for this Fringe and Autumn tour – it’s heading to Hull Truck, Gulbenkian Canterbury, Square Chapel Halifax and Nottingham Playhouse after the Fringe, and you don’t come to Edinburgh without the intention for a further Spring tour – venue programmers take note!

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

I’d recommend Cosmic Scallies, Damned United, Love Bombs & Apples, Salt, The Believers are but Brothers, All we ever wanted was everything… ah there’s loads. Just see stuff, see things that you wouldn’t normally see, and indulge in things you always love.

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+3 Interview: Maria Shehata: Wisdomless

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“I was in the Arches that year, and they were doing construction on the site. My first show had to be postponed because they dug up human remains.”

WHO: Maria Shehata, Artist

WHAT: “Having moved 5,437 miles for love, award-winning Egyptian-American comedian Maria Shehata presents her debut hour of playfully sardonic stand-up. Charmingly conversational and brutally honest, Maria divulges the realities of giving up a glamorous LA lifestyle to discover that saying ‘I moved here for you’ does not win every argument. Winner: Best Comedian at Hollywood Festival of New Cinema and Best Comedy at the Miami Web Fest.”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Caves (Venue 88)

WHEN: 17:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I came up two years ago in 2015. I did a week run, about a 40 minute stand up show. I was sort of dipping my toes into the festival, as an American I don’t think I fully understood what it was all about. I was in the Arches that year, and they were doing construction on the site. My first show had to be postponed because they dug up human remains.

Tell us about your show.

My show is called Wisdomless about my move from LA to the UK for love, and the reality of that. I have been writing it since March, and was having a hard time getting structure down so I wrote it as an article and submitted it to Modern Love in the New York Times. And they published it! It’s being produced by Wandering Eye Productions in association with Noel Gay.

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

Please go see these other funny Americans: Sara Schaefer, Carmen Lynch, and Desiree Burch.

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+3 Interview: The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck

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“I guess I got lucky with my first Edinburgh experience but at least I realised early on what was possible.”

WHO: Jimmy Jewell, Producer

WHAT: “Escape to Beatrix Potter’s wonderful world and enjoy her timeless tales of our favourite characters Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck. Award-winning soprano and actress Michelle Todd and the Children’s Classic Concerts Festival Ensemble perform Stephen McNeff’s enchanting musical settings, which have delighted audiences across the world. ‘Perfect for kids… it has a great charm and a tour de force narration’ (Guardian). Peter and Jemima image copyright held by Frederick Warne & Co.”

WHERE: Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (Venue 360)

WHEN: 12:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I have been coming to the fringe for the past twenty years. As a fresh faced 17 year old I came with the National Youth Music Theatre in our production of Bugsy Malone where I played Sam the Piano Player! We played at the George Square Theatre and transferred straight to the West End the following year. I guess I got lucky with my first Edinburgh experience but at least I realised early on what was possible. I have been here as a performer, a musician, writer and for the last few years as a producer.

Tell us about your show.

The show is called ‘The Tales of Peter Rabbit & Jemima Puddle-Duck’ by the legendary Beatrix Potter, and it is derived from a concert adaptation by Adrian Mitchell with music by Stephen McNeff. I first heard it one year ago when the star of our show, Michelle Todd, played it to me. I knew it would be perfect for the fringe so I contacted Children’s Classic Concerts in Scotland, e-mailed the composer, and got on with it! We have plans to tour the piece internationally following the Edinburgh run.

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

My audience is very age specific – The Tales of Peter Rabbit & Jemima Puddle-Duck is aimed at 3 – 9 years olds so I would recommend the David Walliams show ‘First Hippo on the Moon’ or ‘Gruffalo’s Child’.

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+3 Interview: Victim

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“It stars Louise Beresford who is a fantastically versatile actress giving the role the perfect blend of comedy and menace.”

WHO: Martin Murphy, Writer / Director

WHAT: “A one-woman show, Victim follows the power struggle between a prison guard and criminal as they come face-to-face with a notorious inmate. Hot on the heels of Villain – The 2016 Edinburgh sell-out, five-star, Offie-nominated hit – Bruised Sky return with Martin Murphy’s darkly comic new play Victim.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) ​

WHEN: 14:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third full fringe. I was first up in 2011 as part of musical comedy double act Pistol & Jack. Last year I was up at Underbelly with my play Villain starring Maddie Rice.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’16?

It’s been a very exciting year, Villain was published just before a London transfer and during that run at Kings Head Theatre we got an Offie nomination.

Victim being published by Bloomsbury Methuen Drama before we even opened up here was probably the most exciting thing.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote and directed Victim, it’s produced by Bruised Sky Productions who were formed in 2009 by James Kermack, largely formed from members of the Old Vic New Voices company who did 24 Hour Plays in 2006. It stars Louise Beresford who is a fantastically versatile actress giving the role the perfect blend of comedy and menace. It previewed at Old Red Lion Theatre but opened in Edinburgh and we are in the process of moving towards a London run and possible tour.

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

Good Girl by Naomi Sheldon is a fantastic new piece of work by a fantastically skilled actress.

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+3 Interview: Circa: Humans

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“I’ve already been won over by great coffee and familiar faces, so it’s off to a good start.”

WHO: Cecilia Martin, Acrobat

WHAT: “The new, thrilling and heart-stopping performance from the internationally acclaimed Circa (Closer, Beyond, Wunderkammer). Humans is an ecstatic love letter to our endangered species. Created by Yaron Lifschitz and fresh from a storming season at Sydney Festival, ten acrobats go faster, harder and higher than ever before, taking us on a stirring journey of what it means to be human and of how our bodies, our connections and our aspirations all form part of who we are.”

WHERE: Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (Venue 360)

WHEN: 19:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes! It’s my first time in this amazing city, ready to be overwhelmed by some world class talent and spread delight with a new Circa show (I’ve already been won over by great coffee and familiar faces, so it’s off to a good start).

Tell us about your show.

Humans was created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa ensemble and it first premiered at the Sydney Festival in January 2017. Since then it has been performed in three countries internationally.

The show is being produced in Edinburgh by Underbelly, and this will be our longest season so far, marking the end of a five-month tour of Europe and Canada. We are then heading back to Australia for rehearsals before taking the show to France in October.

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

This question is a little tough because I haven’t yet had a chance to fully sink my teeth into what this festival has to offer, but there are a bunch of shows I’ve caught at other festivals and can highly recommend.

For circus, Aussie pals Casus will blow you away with Driftwood and All Genius All Idiot are the best kind of insane. For kids and adults alike make sure you catch Children are Stinky or Trash Test Dummies, and for something not Australian and not circus (yet truly incredible theatre) Butt Kapinski is where to go. Also I haven’t yet seen (but heard amazing things) about Hot Brown Honey, Fauna and Soweto Gospel Choir.

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+3 Interview: Rik Carranza: I’m a Fan

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“I’ve performed stand up at some fantastic venues around the country, but yeah, the replica helmet is probably the best thing to have happened.”

WHO: Rik Carranza, DOER OF EVERYTHING!!

WHAT: “How far would you go to fit in? What happens when you deny the very thing that defines you? In this deeply personal show, Rik Carranza revisits a past that forced him to choose between embracing his passions or bowing to the expectations of others. A story about love, life, death and Star Trek.”

WHERE: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House (Venue 170)

WHEN: 21:00 (60 min)

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What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’16?

A friend of mine 3D printed me a full sized replica of the helmet of the Armored Bat Suit from Superman vs Batman. I mean did get to perform Star Trek vs Star Wars the live comedy debate show, on at 13:10, Heroes @ Monkey Barrel, 3rd-27th Aug (not 16th), to over 200 people at the Bluedot Festival, took the show to London, Derby Comedy Festival and to a few of comic cons, and I’ve performed stand up at some fantastic venues around the country, but yeah, the replica helmet is probably the best thing to have happened.

Tell us about your show.

I’m a Fan is all about choosing between being a fan of something that you enjoy or shunning it in order to fit in with those around you. It’s about a lot of things but fundamentally it’s a story about love, life, death and Star Trek. It was written by myself with help from Delphine Manley, Jackie Thornton and Rohan Acharya. The 2017 Edinburgh Fringe will it’s be premier in a cosy 35 seater room in the Counting House. After Edinburgh I’ll be taking the show around the UK but would also love to add in Australia and maybe as far as the final frontier?

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

Well, I heard Rik Carranza presents: Star Trek vs Star Wars is a good show to see after Rik Carranza: I’m a Fan but you’d have to find out for yourself.

Otherwise, Rob Kemps, Elvis Dead. It’s the Evil Dead 2 set to Elvis songs. It needed to be done.

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+3 Interview: Like a Prayer

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“We premiered 2015 in Basel and have been touring the show since then in Switzerland and Germany.”

WHO: Corinne Maier, Director

WHAT: “This piece asks questions of belief and seeks answers within personal encounters. A convent with six nuns in Switzerland is part of their expedition that explores belief. How questionless is belief in reality and to what extent does a life in the convent represent the anti-model for urbanites who think of themselves as modern? After a period of research in the convent of St Josef, performers Julia Bihl and Johannes Dullin meet on stage and confront their experiences with their own different beliefs, while the nuns speak for themselves on the video screen.”

WHERE: Assembly Roxy (Venue 139) 

WHEN: 20:00 (90 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is our first time to Edinburgh! We are so excited to be bringing our work to the largest arts festival in the world and can’t wait to share it with brand new audiences.

Tell us about your show.

Like A Prayer is a devised performance about personal belief. The whole team went to a monastery for a research week and after that we put all our experiences on stage – with words, feelings, videos and music, in a documentary theatrical style. That means that we all are the authors of that show. I directed it and worked together with the production office produktionsDOCK which have also produced earlier works of mine.

When I started working on the subject for that show, I asked and chose performers who I knew would be interested in that subject, who would have a strong personal opinion on it and no fear of contact with a strange world which the monastery first was. We premiered 2015 in Basel and have been touring the show since then in Switzerland and Germany. Now, we hope that new and unexpected possibilities will open up through our appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe.

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

We are really excited to see a mix of styles and genres the festival. We’re looking forward to seeing The Older Brothers’ Almanac which is also at C venues. We also hope to catch Rik Carranza: I’m a Fan on at The Counting House as part of Laughing Horse. We’ve been very interested in Rik’s solo comedy show as he discusses the idea of acceptance and fitting into the norm while needing to accept and celebrate your own passions.

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+3 Interview: Robert White: InstruMENTAL

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“A crazy totally true story about when I was 19 and my life went tits-up.”

WHO: Robert White, Performer in a Solo Show

WHAT: “Malcolm Hardee Award-winning, gay, autistic comedian adopts a new stance. For the first time combining his musical composition talents with his well-honed comedy chops, Robert presents a fully orchestrated comedy opera of unbelievable, but true, misadventures and misfortune. An untold story: a Stephen Fry-type coming-of-age tale of a confused homosexual’s abusive beard situation generates autistic freak-out enabling seriously daft criminal conviction. A bonkers yarn presented with a Mozart spirit and some wrong notes.”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14) ​

WHEN: 15:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my fourth time. The first time was awful as my show didn’t happen and I just ended up working as a dogs body for someone who hated me, my second time was great and I won an award and my third time was great and I didn’t win an award.

Tell us about your show.

My show is a one-man comedy opera , although it wouldn’t be opera in the way that most people would understand it, containing; props, puns, jokes, recorded music, live music , singing, recitation, poetry and a crazy totally true story about when I was 19 and my life went tits-up due to a ridiculous faux criminal incident, that came from an autistic mental breakdown, which grew out of a reaction to a highly tense relationship, that I got into due to denial of my sexuality.

All of the show I’ve made or produced or composed or written or otherwise created myself.

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

My favourite comedian is Terry Alderton, he just particularity tickles my funny bone, every time, so if people ask I say him. I haven’t seen his show, he isn’t with the same agent as me, or PR or whatever, and I probably should recommend a friend, but I’m spoiled for choice on that score, so I’ll just say the bloke who I think is the best ever, hope that helps.

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+3 Interview: Oskar’s Amazing Adventure

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“Theatre Fideri Fidera is myself, Marina Kobler and our daughter Natasha Granger I write and direct, Marina is the designer, set builder, and puppet maker, and our daughter is the performer.”

WHO: Colin Granger, Director, writer

WHAT: “Desperate for some fun, Oskar leaves the snowbound, little house on top of the mountain to find a friendly animal to play with. But where are all the animals? And why does Oskar have to wait till spring to play his favourite game again? This heart-warming, humorous play uses a rich mix of storytelling, physical theatre, puppetry, music and song to tell the tale of a puppy’s search for friendship in the wilderness of the Alps. A brand new play by Anglo-Swiss Theatre Fideri Fidera – the company that brought you Pitschi, the Kitten with Dreams.”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14) ​

WHEN: 11:50 (40 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We have been coming to the Edinburgh Fringe for 35 years. In the 80’s as Umbrella Theatre, we brought our own original productions based on the work of great European cabaretists such as Karl Valentine and Alphonse Allais.

Then after setting up Komedia in Brighton, we ran Southside and Roman Eagle Lodge venues for a number of years programming them with our venue Komedia’s trademark mix of comedy, theatre and cabaret; and most notably between 1999 and 2008 we co-produced with Wolfgang  Hoffman, the multi award-winning Aurora Nova Festival of International Physical and Visual theatre at St Stephens bring companies from all over the world to the fringe.  And finally, and much more recently, and getting back to our roots as theatre makers, in association with Komedia Brighton we set up a new children’s theatre company Theatre Fideri Fidera and in 2014 brought to the fringe Pitschi, the Kitten with Dreams, which has performed all over the UK and Ireland and has had over been performed over 300 times so far.

Our new children’s play this August is Oskar’s Amazing Adventure and we hope for similar success.

Tell us about your show.

It’s produced by Theatre Fideri Fidera in association with Komedia. It’s an original play for young children. Theatre Fideri Fidera is myself, Marina Kobler and our daughter Natasha Granger I write and direct, Marina is the designer, set builder, and puppet maker, and our daughter is the performer.

This is the premiere. It goes on national tour like our first production as Theatre Fideri Fidera, Pitschi the Kitten with Dreams, which has so far performed at over 60 UK theatres and had more than 300 performances since we premiered it in Edinburgh in 2015.

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

My daughter’s other show: 2 becomes 1 – a musical about speed dating she wrote and performs in.

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