Author Archives: Dan Lentell

EdFringe Talk: There’s Something Seriously Wrong With Cyrus

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“No gatekeepers, no committees — just anyone with a story and the guts to perform it.”

WHO: Cyrus Deboo

WHAT: “A heartfelt and uplifting one-man show about an Indian-Persian gay man navigating the complexities of his identity. Born to immigrant parents, Cyrus takes audiences on an intimate journey of self-discovery and acceptance. Through dynamic multi media and the celebration of Madonna and Taylor Swift’s music, he finds his authentic voice and learns to embrace his cultural heritage and sexuality. With sharp humor and raw vulnerability, Cyrus shares his story of breaking free from expectations, risking authenticity, and ultimately learning to live unapologetically in his truth, celebrating the universal quest for belonging and self-love.”

WHERE: The Penny at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 14:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes—my first time at EdFringe, and I’m beyond excited! I’ve been dreaming about bringing There’s Something Seriously Wrong With Cyrus to Edinburgh! As an Indian-Persian gay man born to traditional immigrant parents, putting my story on that stage represents so much: visibility, celebration, and representation. Edinburgh Fringe is more than just a festival — it’s a creative explosion! It’s the world’s biggest performing-arts event with thousands of shows popping up in theatres, bars and even parks. No gatekeepers, no committees — just anyone with a story and the guts to perform it. I am excited to bring There’s Something Seriously Wrong With Cyrus, a story told to the soundtrack of my life: Madonna’s boundary-breaking energy and Taylor Swift’s unapologetic selfhood. Community, audacity, creative freedom and support! And thousands of artists and audience members passionate about the arts! Ed Fringe has it all!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Great question! The biggest is to prepare, prepare, prepare and then be open and embrace all the unexpected surprises! Even a moment on stage that may not go as you planned is a chance to be alive and celebrate live theatre! In a world full of curated and edited content on social media, the audience is craving live truthful connections! Also seek support and offer support to fellow artists and production team members. We are all connected and part of an incredible moment.

Tell us about your show.

My show is produced by the fantastic team at Fringe Management (Mike Blaha and Nigel Miles-Thomas and directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson of Soaring Solo Studios Inc. I was invited to see a solo show and sat next to a mystery woman who was unrelenting in pushing me to write a solo show. I had never met her before and she knew nothing about me. After the show, she persisted again and I left thinking that I had either met an angel or the devil! This led me to connect with Jessica Lynn Johnson of Soaring Solo Studios who inspired, guided and co created the show with me. I wrote the show over the course of one year and it premiere at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, where it received a Zephyr Zest Nomination and earned an encore performance. After that, the show moved on the Stars Series in LA, Orlando, United Solo Off Broadway in NYC and the Santa Monica Binge Fringe. After Edinborough I plan on taking it to college and theatre markets and back to New York City!

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

I am fortunate to call the hilarious comic Amy Veltman my friend and fringe flatmate. She has a hysterical and educational show called “PSA Pelvic Service Announcement” performing at Haldane Theatre at theSpace at Surgeons’ Hall.

I am also a fan of Yolanda Mercy, she has been involved with the show “Love Me Like A Chai Tea Latte” by Sanjay Lago. Other shows on my list are Mike Blaha’s show “International Joke”, Nigel Miles-Thomas’s show “Sherlock Holmes-The Last Act”,and “Lola’s Boyfriend” by Lauren O’Brien.

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EdFringe Talk: Charming

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I quit unpacking my new house so I could focus on writing Charming. The boxes can wait!”

WHO: Annie Lux

WHAT: “Cinderella wants a divorce?! Prince Charming’s already trying day is about to get worse. Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother has presented him with a list of demands that Prince Charming must agree to in order to change Cinderella’s mind. Is the Prince willing to change? Are Cinderella’s demands even reasonable? Is divorce even possible in the realm of fairytale? Can the Prince remain charming even when Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother barges in with her own list of demands? Stay tuned for the answers to these and other questions as this comedy unfolds!”

WHERE: Forest Theatre at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) 

WHEN: 17:20 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, I’ve been here twice before—in 2017 and 2023—with my show The Portable Dorothy Parker. We’d done several smaller festivals with that show before we brought it to Edinburgh. We had a so much fun and got really great notices, especially in 2023. Charming, however, is brand new! It’s exciting and a little scary to be doing its first performances in Edinburgh! But there’s nowhere else like it and I’m thrilled to be back.

As playwright and producer, most of my work is done by the time we get to the festival (although of course I’m taking lots of notes). So I’ll be stagehand once the festival starts!

(Expand your answer from a simple yes or no. Eg. What’s special about Edfringe? What makes a great festival? Thoughts on festivals experienced as a producer v. experienced as a punter etc.)

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

That time and energy are precious, and to make sure I’m spending most of both doing the things that make me happiest: writing and producing plays! So yeah, I quit unpacking my new house so I could focus on writing Charming. The boxes can wait!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it—heck, I’m still writing it (although the actors are making me stop for now). I’m also producing, along with Michael Blaha and Nigel Miles-Thomas for Fringe Management. I actually wrote the part of Prince Charming for Nigel after a conversation we had in Edinburgh in 2023. Claire Toeman is an old friend of his, and she’s perfect as the Fairy Godmother. And Margot Avery (Evil Stepmother) and Lee Costello (director) are my long-time partners and collaborators on The Portable Dorothy Parker. We have two preview performances at the Durham Fringe right before we come to Edinburgh. We don’t yet have a plan for afterward, but I’m sure we’ll make several!

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

Definitely see Nigel’s other show, Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act; he’s performed it all over the world, as well as in Edinburgh for the past few years. Audiences can’t get enough! I’m excited to see Arlene Hutton’s new play, Shake Rag Hollow. Her last play, Blood of the Lamb, did wonderfully well in Edinburgh in 2023 and won Best Play at the 2024 Adelaide (Australia) Fringe. And if you haven’t seen Oliver Harris’s Elvis and Roy Orbison shows—what are you waiting for???

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EdFringe Talk: Do All The Things

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“We’ve stopped making sense and that feels revolutionary!”

WHO: Emma Joy Edwards

WHAT: “From the award-winning idiots behind Enter The Dragons and Witch Hunt, A and E Comedy bring you their brand new show, Do All The Things. With a playful interactive twist, this isn’t just a show, it’s an invitation to get involved, dose up on dopamine and soak up the serotonin. Part cabaret, part game show, part house party, Do All The Things is a celebration of commonality, an ode to the absurd and, at its heart, a joyous middle finger to despair and disconnection. With big prizes.”

WHERE: Checkpoint at Assembly Checkpoint (Venue 322) 

WHEN: 14:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Both of us are fringe veterans of old. I did a student version of Marat/Sade, above a bus station, at Edinburgh Fringe 1987. The whole company slept in the venue and lived off snakebite and pot noodles. By the end of the run I fell asleep in the lost property cupboard, cuddled up to a stuffed sheep and some bagpipes, and missed the last show. Abigail performed in a show with a high-maintenance, scene-stealing rabbit called Mr Showbiz. She still has the scars. She was also here with clown guru Philippe Gaulier’s company in 1992. This is our third time at Edinburgh Fringe as A&E Comedy although the last time we were here was in 2019, just before Covid struck. Coming back to the Fringe now feels absolutely timely. Fringe audiences are really ready to embrace being active participants and in Do All The Things we want to celebrate the communal experience, and invite the audience to get involved. That’s the magic of the festival, in these challenging times it’s a reminder you only live once, so talk to your neighbour, collaborate, be silly and embrace community, play and the power of joy in difficult times.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

In the last year I think we’ve all learned that you can’t make sense of anything! The world is absurd, unpredictable and you can feel powerless to do anything about it. We’ve found that joy can be a possitive act of resistance and we have made a show that for us feels like a joyous middle finger to despair and disconnection. We’re literally doing all the things we want to do on stage, from playing classic old school entertainers to staging radical performance art, to big Vegas magic and science TED talks we’ve stopped making sense and that feels revolutionary!

Tell us about your show.

The show is written and performed by Abigail Dooley and Emma Joy Edwards: We’ve been writing together for over a decade, as A&E Comedy, having bonded over our shared background being raised by fathers with strong light entertainment energy! (Abigail’s Dad hosted the OG prankster TV show Candid Camera in the 70’s, and was an agent to Larry Grayson. Emma’s Dad ran casinos and played golf with Bruce Forsyth) “Do All The Things” previewed in our home town of Brighton, and we’ve got a few Autumn dates lined up. We’re also remounting our first show Enter The Dragons, (which won Broadway Baby Bobby Best Show Brighton Fringe 2018) for a national tour next Spring.

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

For more immersive character comedy audiences should definitely check out “Daisy Doris May’s Big Night Out.”, all the fun of a stag do with our the hang over! Also for an inspiring story about collective resistance Vic Melody’s “Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak” . Vic brings her joyful, hilarious and engaging storytelling to this tale of 17th century radicals called The Diggers.  In this show she joins a historical re-enactment society, as she says “because we all deal with divorce differently”. With Mark Thomas directing this is going to be a real zinger.

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EdFringe Talk: Almost Famous

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“The huge challenge of Edfringe is probably a big part of what makes it such an amazing and satisfying experience overall.”

WHO: Andy Moseley

WHAT: “Emily Benton, veteran actor and star of stage and screen, is back in the UK after a career that took her to Broadway and Hollywood. With her pedigree, she should be in Downton Abbey or the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, not auditioning for a role in a devised play that only become available when another, more famous, actor went to join the theatre in the sky. What cruel fate brought her here? Maybe there’s a secret she’s not revealing. From the makers of Make-up: ‘A disarmingly truthful and humorous piece, adroitly constructed and beautifully performed’ *s]*s]*s]* (AllEdinburghTheatre.com).”

WHERE: Pleasance Online (Venue 53) 

WHEN: Theatre 2 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is the 6th play I’ve brought to Edinburgh and 15th time I’ve been at the fringe either as a writer, director, actor, punter, reviewer or combination of the 5! It’s 21 years since I first came to the Fringe which was also the first time I’d been to Edinburgh. I fell in love with the city and the festival from the moment I arrived and 12 years later moved up here permanently. The festival has changed a lot since I first time came, but it remains a place where you can discover great independent writers and performers and see shows that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. That’s the real magic of it for me, and as a writer and director I love being part of the festival and hopefully part of the good memories audiences take away with them.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Not sure that I’ve learned anything since 2024. That’s what comes of having done Edinburgh and other festivals so many times before! Since the last time I brought a new play to the fringe (2022) I’ve learned to relax more and enjoy the ride – don’t worry about what happens next with the show, whatever will be will be, just have fun doing the fringe and being part of the greatest festival in the world.

Tell us about your show.

Almost Famous is a new one woman show about Emily Benton, a veteran actor with a glittering career in Broadway and Hollywood who finds herself back at the bottom of the pile after she returns to the UK. The only thing is Emily’s story may not be all its made out to be as we discover during the show. I wrote, produced and directed the show and Jac Wheble stars in it as Emily. I’ve worked with Jac on other plays and when I was looking to cast this role I asked her if she’d consider doing it. She said yes, and that was that!

We premiered the show at The Actors in Brighton as part of Brighton Fringe in May. We’re also taking it to Manchester and Buxton before the Fringe and then lining up other dates in Scotland before the end of the year and hopefully into next year.

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

Ah-Ma the new play from Cathy Lam Arts Collective. I met Cathy in 2014 when we both had shows on at Surgeon’s Hall and we’ve stayed friends since then. Her last fringe production A Funeral for my Friend who is Still Alive was brilliant and a well deserved award winner two years ago, so I’m really looking forward to the new play.

I’d also recommend Mark Vigeant: The Best Man Show which was the best show I saw last year. A solo performance that defines the phrase(s) tour-de-force and comedy masterclass, was how I described it last year, and a quote that Mark has used in his publicity this year! Great that he’s bringing the show back and has a slot at Assembly this year. Go and see it for his manic energy and fantastic imagination!

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EdFringe Talk: Joan Collins Blocked Me on Twitter

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I’ve also had A LOT of help!!!! Mostly mental and spiritual encouragement from friends and family, and a ton of cash from the West Cumbria community.”

WHO: Billy Walker

WHAT: “Theodore Emory Jones, one of England’s finest thespian exports (in his opinion), arrives in Hollywood with the sole burning desire of starring in the Dynasty reboot. Armed with a Burberry steamer trunk filled with enough opinions to sink the Cutty Sark, and a signed 10×8 of Patricia Routledge, only one thing stands in his way – Dame Joan Collins! This Fleabag-style one-man spectacle has more chaos and camp than all of the Carry On films combined!! Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!!”

WHERE: Jade Studio at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) 

WHEN: On Demand (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is indeed my first time doing a show at the Edinburgh fringe festival. I have actually applied for a grant to do a show over the last few years, but I was unsuccessful. Finally, I said “you know something. I’m just going to do this myself. “. So I have!!! I now split my time between Los Angeles, and England. Over in America, it is looked upon as a huge prestigious thing to be staging a show at the Edinburgh Festival. I think what is going to be very special for me about this experience is that I have made this happen. I created a character, and I structured a show around this character, and I have done all the fundraising, all the producing, all the admin, everything to get this show up on its feet. And for that, I’m super proud of myself. I’ve also had A LOT of help!!!! Mostly mental and spiritual encouragement from friends and family, and a ton of cash from the West Cumbria community.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

One of the biggest takeaways of the last 12 months from me is that I cannot control other people, I am only responsible for how I show up. There have been some incredibly tough situations to navigate in putting the show up., and some massive opportunities for personal and professional growth! The biggest lesson that I have absorbed lately, is that I can depend on myself! And I thrive under pressure!!! And it’s hot in a wig for an hour under lights.

Tell us about your show.

This show has been about five years in the Making. But in actual fact, I was thinking to myself the other day, it’s sort of an accumulation of my entire life’s passion. Because the whole premise of the show is about an English actor who goes to Hollywood to try and land a role in the Dynasty reboot. When I was about five or six years old, growing up on the council estate in northern England, we had this coal bunker in the garden. It was a brick structure about 5 foot high with a wooden lid. I used to reenact scenes from all of the American soaps with my favourite characters on top of the coal bunker. Dynasty cat fights were my favourites, with my poor cousin Rachael. I was always Alexis – obviously – Well Krystle and Rachael were both blonde, so it made sense that she would play the ‘blonde tramp!’

Just before the Covid pandemic I wrote, produced and starred in a short film called ‘Linda Evans is my spirit animal’. It did really well at a lot of film festivals, but I kept being told one thing over and over, that the character would work so well in a theatre piece. In front of a live audience. So, Joan Collins Blocked me on Twitter was conceived one year ago. I started working on the script last summer, and I can’t believe what I have created over the last 12 months. I am officially the producer, Director, writer and star of the show. Officially, Edinburgh is the world Premiere, but I did do three preview shows in Los Angeles just to try out some material and see how it worked in front of an audience. Because the humour is slightly different on the other side of the Atlantic I actually decided to write an American version of the script, so officially the British version of Joan Collins has not yet been seen anywhere in the world! Can you believe that dame Joan will headline a show at this years Edinburgh fringe without having to step foot in Scotland’s capital city!?

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

One of my best friends from Los Angeles, who is a fantastic stand-up comedian, is bringing her heartwarming one woman show to the Edinburgh fringe this year. After sell out performances in New York and also on the West Coast in Los Angeles. It’s called fill your pockets with sunshine by Kezia Norton.

Another show that I am really really excited to see is Jake Roche Neporrhoids. It made its debut at the festival last year and it’s coming back as it was so popular so I can’t wait to check it out. lastly, I am going to support as much theatre as I can in the three weeks that I am up in Edinburgh, I will start by seeing every show at Greenside venues, which is where my show will play every night at 10 pm at the Jade studio on George Street. Big hugs all

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EdFringe Talk: Dance Dance Involution

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“There is a richness when we let colors of each devisor shine through, with both their authentic human agency and fictitious elements blurring.”

WHO: Eugene (creator and director) & Dorothy (line producer, actor, co-writer)

WHAT: “Three Gen Z Hong Kong actors hustle for stardom – will they shamelessly scam your ticket by just lying flat or will they blow your mind and shine? A daring, hilarious rollercoaster where ambition meets absurdity. Critically-acclaimed director Eugene Ma invites you to a smart, witty play where young people navigate the chaos of hustle and quiet quitting. Watch as these dreamers wrestle with their voices, their pasts and the unpredictable journey ahead. A thrilling blend of sweat, rage, burnout and moments of hope – come along for a wild, unforgettable ride!”

WHERE: Studio at theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) 

WHEN: 12:00 (40 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

E: Indeed our virginal Edinburgh voyage! Having directed primarily in more curated spaces, I’m thrilled to encounter the lored cross-pollinating culture at EdFringe, where most people who show up are there for the love of the performing arts and the very real humans hold space for our stories and shared humanity, a rare feat in our social media culture! We want new friends and collaborators — hopefully even meeting special humans who change our trajectories in one way or another!

D: As an actor, I hope to be inspired by the works and worldviews of other artists we will meet. As well as bringing in our own worldview to the table — as in Dance Dance Involution we make space for Gen Z’s voices. Our Hong Kong Female Gen Z voices who happen to be actresses, navigating their careers through hustle culture, no foreseen financial stability and a rapid shift in the entertainment industry. We ask ourselves, what makes us so stuck as supposed creatives right now?

So yes, first time. Hopefully not the last and hopefully it won’t blow the bank. (It will, and it will be worth it!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

E: I’ve begun to turn my career from for-hire directing jobs and institutional teaching to a model that includes more community building, incubation and mentorship, as well as facilitating works and conversations that raise the contextual understanding of the self with artists I work with. More juicy process and space for human convening and less result-orientation, hoping for a more juicy and unexpected end result! I’ve learned that while it’s thrilling to sit through an event with a singular and driving event through a directors’ lens; there is a richness when we let colors of each devisor shine through, with both their authentic human agency and fictitious elements blurring~ That visceral multiplicity is something I don’t see AI catching up to any time soon, and something I cherish more and more of! Also an appreciation of voices that are coming after mine, who were supposedly there to learn from me. Seeing how they curate their online images blew my mind in understanding how the self is constructed and “managed” now, and understand a little more my context as a live work maker. How can I exploit and subvert these properties in a surprising and bombastic piece? (Come and find out!)

Tell us about your show.

E: The premise is simple and real – I originally gathered three former students to make a show and dig deep to scream something into the world. The first week of devising was brutally dry; nothing seems to stick — and we tried everything: using text prompts, viewpoint compositions, bringing in songs or visual inspirations… Then I’d flipped the prompt around to explore what about our upbringing and education stunted our ability creative generation, while exploring the notions of lying flat and involution in hustle culture, when original devisor Sheena Chan brought in an article that sparked glowing eyes and very personal stories in the room! That’s when we knew where the lightening bolt would live!

This is a new piece, and the first piece from Deliberate Collision, my new international and third culture theater company centered in Hong Kong after my decades in North America. As I wish to make space and support voices that live outside of the traditional Cantonese theater, one that can aptly dialogue with the world’s zeitgeist from the Hong Kong point of view. So this piece is made for that purpose, first and foremost, and we have the honor of presenting our first piece in its first draft in Edinburgh!! Then we will further develop the piece into another iteration in Cantonese down the road, and run it in tandem with the English language version.

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

E: We really want to shed light on two other shows coming to Edinburgh with us. It’s serendipitous that Asia base is bringing three shows from Hong Kong, among other shows from Taiwan — and all three focuses on the female experience from the lenses in different phases. Ah-Ma zooms in on aging and the fading of memories; and Dots lives in a middle aged space as Annie contends with the high functioning depressive experience. All Hong Kong women! But seen through different times and ages!! Conveniently in consecutive time slots, before and after our show! Come and weave the full picture together, then have a conversation with us! Xx

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EdFringe Talk: In the Bushes

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Audiences are curious and eager to chat with artists on the streets, making this festival in particular, warm and human.”

WHO: Léa Tirabasso

WHAT: “One of Europe’s most exciting female choreographic voices comes into its own, in this uncompromising and surrealistic piece. Plunged into an absurd world, In the Bushes celebrates the incomprehensible and magnificent contradictions of life. Quirky and witty, it mocks the idea that we are exceptional and questions our humanity with ferocious joy. ‘Masterfully choreographed’ (BroadwayWorld.com) ‘Powerful’ (WritingAboutDance.com).”

WHERE: Main Hall at Summerhall (Venue 26) 

WHEN: 16:35 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s my first time presenting my own work on the Fringe. But it’s my sixth visit as an audience member! I’ve been coming to support my partner’s company and his show, and I’ve loved every experience of it! Audiences are curious and eager to chat with artists on the streets, making this festival in particular, warm and human. I really enjoy its atmosphere; the buzz, the excitement, and the curiosity of everyone involved in discovering new shows. That sense of emulation is exhilarating. However, I do want to visit Edinburgh outside of the Fringe to fully see the city beyond the festival frenzy!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

That dreams can evolve and transform.
That even a dream does not have a fixed identity.

Tell us about your show.

In the bushes is a dance piece I imagined and constructed in collaboration with 6 incredible dancers and performers – Catarina Barbosa, Georges Maikel Pires Monteiro, Karl Fagerlund Brekke, Laura Lorenzi, Mayowa Ogunnaike and Stefania Pinato. The composers are Johanna Bramli and Ed Chivers, the lighting designer is Ben Moon and the costume designer is Jennifer Lopes Santos. The team is made of old and new collaborators. Between 2023 and 2024, we researched the movement language of the piece, its conceptual focus and its creative impulses. We then premiered the work in Marseille (FR) and in Luxembourg (LU) in November 2024, and performed it at The Place in London last March.

Our starting points were: what do we do when we (need to) hide? What is the difference between humans and animals? (Surprise: there are none). But the exciting thing for me is that every time I see the work, new questions and understandings arise, what the piece is and means evolves and transforms. Ultimately, I wonder whether the question of the piece wouldn’t be: What is left of humanity when nothing makes sense anymore?

Looking ahead, we’re exploring opportunities to share the piece at upcoming festivals. I’m excited to see where it goes next…

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

Theatre Re, The Nature of Forgetting, The Pleasance Courtyard Grand: It is one of the most beautiful pieces of physical theatre I have ever seen. Telling stories through movement; depicting memory loss, love, and time without using any explanatory words is truly brilliant and beautiful. They have been touring the world and are back to Edinburgh.. a must see, and feel. Full disclosure, the show’s director is the partner I referred to in Question 1!

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EdFringe Talk: Alex Stringer: Happy Hour

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“Bring on the Irn Bru! I wanna be drowning in it. Like Augustus Gloop from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory but the orange good stuff.”

WHO: Alex Stringer

WHAT: “Alex got sober in 2017 when she was 23. This is a show about what it’s like once you get sober, discovering who you really are without substances, and what if who you really are is actually also a dickhead? Come and spend a happy hour. The debut fringe hour from Chortle Hotshot 2025, Alex Stringer.”

WHERE: Bunker Three at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 18:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, I’ve attended as a punter for the past 10 ish years, but it’s my first time doing the full month! It’s like Disneyland for adults I think, I can’t wait to get there already. Bring on the Irn Bru! I wanna be drowning in it. Like Augustus Gloop from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory but the orange good stuff.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve learnt that grief is a process and that’s ok and that life is long, so just enjoy the ride baby! I’m really grateful. I feel like I’m constantly learning about who sober me is & how I handle life now and I wanna continue to do that in 2025. Also, getting the ick when a man presents his Costa card without being asked is valid.

Tell us about your show.

My show is about me getting sober at 23 and still being a dickhead without substances (short form) I wrote it, it’s being produced by Pierrot Productions, it’s our first time working together and it’s been amazing so far. Annie is the dream! She was recommended to me by a fellow comic & after a wealth of experience in producing, it’s the first year she’s taking her own company, which is cool as we get to mirror each other in our virginal state! The show is premiering at Edinburgh which is super exciting. The work in progress got me nominated for the women in comedy festival best show award though, so hoping that means it’s good? I’d love to take it everywhere to be honest. I’ve really taken my time to work on it & be the best comic, in order to debut. Plus, I think the message is important, so I’d love it to have a life after Edinburgh – we’ll see!

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

My friends are taking their theatre show ‘Cartoonopolis’ for the ten year anniversary of it being written. It’s a one man show, he plays 27 characters and it’s a show inspired by his autistic brother. It’s a love letter to neurodivergence & family & cartoons! It’s so good. It’s stayed with me for ten years. I can’t wait to get to see it again and watch audiences fall in love with it.

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EdFringe Talk: Lily Blumkin: Nice Try

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I can’t wait to be surrounded by nothing but art and artists for a full month. Now I just have to make sure I don’t lose my voice on Day 1.”

WHO: Lily Blumkin

WHAT: “From The Daily Show’s Lily Blumkin comes a hilarious solo show about growing up and getting worse. When packing up her childhood bedroom, Lily introduces us to nine zany characters like a well-meaning dad, a self-indulgent rabbi, and an inanimate clump of hair. After sold out performances in New York, Nice Try comes to Fringe with an honest look at how we use the past to make sense of our present.”

WHERE: Blether at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 17:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes!! This is my first time coming to Fringe, my first time coming to Edinburgh, my first time coming to Scotland! I’ve always wanted to perform here because I think it’s the single best place for artists to grow as writers and performers. I’m so excited to finally have the opportunity, and I can’t wait to be surrounded by nothing but art and artists for a full month. Now I just have to make sure I don’t lose my voice on Day 1.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Well, I’m American, so one of the big things I learned in 2024 is just how much people in my country hate women! But that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for. Regarding my show, I learned how to stay fresh in rehearsals by letting myself improvise, and that’s something I continue to do every time I practice. It’s important to me that my show feels lively and adaptable, so I definitely plan on giving myself the space to tweak as the festival goes on and lean into fun explorations that come up.

Tell us about your show.

Nice Try is written by, performed by, and produced by (Miss Piggy voice) MOI! It was directed in New York by my brilliant and talented friend Ariel Gitlin and directed in Edinburgh by another hilarious and gifted friend Lanee’ Sanders. I’ve been writing characters for about six years now, and in late 2023, I got the idea to compile some of my favorites into a solo show. I went through each character I had written, spent a year rewriting and workshopping them with Ariel, then eventually came up with the framing for my show and narrowed my characters down to just the strongest. I started running the full show in early 2025, and I’ve sold out performances in New York! Lanee’ and I will run the show in Edinburgh, adjusting here and there as new ideas come up. Then after the festival, I plan to run it again in NYC and travel with the show to a handful of cities in America.

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

Everyone should be sure to check out Nick Hornedo’s “Watch This When You Get Home” which is about Nick reuniting with an ex-girlfriend to rewatch a movie he made to break up with her in high school. It’s a hilarious and heartfelt story that is not to be missed. Catch it for the full run Underbelly!

I also highly recommend seeing Alice Fishbein’s “Leo Still Dies In the End.” Alice is a Titanic superfan, having seen the movie approximately one million times. In her innovative and hysterical show, she spins a wheel of iconic Titanic scenes, then performs them from memory. This will be at Gilded Balloon 30 July – 15 August!

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EdFringe Talk: Arthur Miller’s Elegy for a Lady

Posted in *Written Interviews, Bedfringe 2025 by

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“Bedford punters are the best…. they know good theatre when they see it.”

WHO: Bob Paisley

WHAT: “This intimate play follows a conversation between a shopkeeper and a man searching for a gift for his dying mistress. 

Secrets are shared in intimate exchanges through which the Man questions how well we ever really know the ones we love.  The two strangers share a small miracle which, if only for a brief moment, allows them a closeness always hoped for but seldom fulfilled.

Starring Bob Paisley and Patty Whitlock

“Kansas City audiences enjoy a rich, diverse local theater scene. Paisley’s (Central Standard Theatre’s)efforts have been a huge part of that…” ROBERT TRUSSELL”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 24 & 25 July (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Nope… I’ve been coming to Bedford since 2010. We’ve brought productions of THE EVENT, DRIVING MISS DAISY, THE ZOO STORY and BILL CLINTON HERCULES.
Recent shows at Bedfringe include

2004 – I SEE YOU WATCHING (Just Like Hollywood) and ONE AND THE OTHER (Canada).

2003 – SUZI OF THE DRES and PAUL ROBESON (Winner Pick of the Fringe)

It’s wonderful for us to contribute to this incredible festival. I’m constantly amazed at the work James Pharoah has done here. The variety, the quality, not to mention the proximity to the Edinburgh Fringe. And the Bedford punters are the best…. they know good theatre when they see it. This year, more variety for us… something old – something new.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Mostly making plans for 2025…

Central Standard Theatre brings 2 productions to Bedfringe this year:
Summer 2025
Arthur Miller’s ELEGY FOR A LADY – Bedfringe, Fundy Fringe (CAN)
BLOODY, BLOODY KANSAS – Bedfringe, Camden Fringe (Hen & Chickens Theatre, London)

Sept-Oct 2025
FARGONE – Roots Mbili Theatre (Sheffield) – 2 week residence in Kansas City

5 Nov, 2025
Singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid in Concert in KC.

Lord help me, I’ve become a producer…

Tell us about your show.

Arthur Miller’s Elegy for a Lady is, I believe, is a nod to Miller’s brief marriage and obsession with Marily Monroe. This short play (45 minitues tops) delves deep in the psyche to examine some of humanity’s most base emotions… Love.

This intimate play by one of theatre’s master playwrights follows a conversation between a shopkeeper and a man searching for a gift for his dying mistress. Secrets are shared in intimate exchanges through which the Man questions how well we ever really know the ones we love. The two strangers share a small miracle which, if only for a brief moment, allows them a closeness always hoped for but seldom fulfilled.

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

Our Sister Show, BLOODY, BLOODY KANSAS… Murder most foul! A story ripped from the headlines of 1873 Kansas. More than you probably want to know about the American Wild West.

Based on the true story of the West’s first known serial killing family, the Bloody Benders, this bold new play shatters time and space to reveal the chilling legacy they left behind. At the center is Mary York, a grieving widow turned relentless detective, piecing together a puzzle of violence, justice, and memory.

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