Author Archives: Dan Lentell

EdFringe Talk: Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit

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: David Fenne

WHAT: “Pinch Punch are back to welcome you aboard Locomotive for Murder, an improvised comedy murder-mystery where killing the cast and cracking the case is in your hands. Expect outrageous accents and shaky alibis! Four characters board a train but not everyone will survive. Thankfully, a world-famous detective is ready to solve the case. But who is the murderer? Only one person knows: the murderer themselves. Using audience suggestions and stories, Pinch Punch create a never-to-be-repeated whodunnit. If you love comedy or murder mysteries then this is the show for you!”

WHERE: Big Yin at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 15:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is our third time at the Edinburgh Fringe and we are brimming with excitement for the show to return to our home from home! After last year’s sell-out run, we’ve been bumped up to a bigger venue (the Big Yin), so the show will be bigger and better than ever!

We’ve done this show the length and breadth of the UK (and even at the Amsterdam improv festival!), but we always can’t wait to bring it back to the Fringe. It really is the greatest explosion of creativity – equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. And Fringe audiences are like no other. Always up for anything and rowdy at all times of the day. They certainly keep us improvisers on our toes!

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

This year has been a massive growth spurt for us and the show. After last fringe, we’ve had a flurry of bookings in venues we never even dreamed we’d play! And as a self-produced company, that has meant a lot (read that twice for emphasis) of extra work for us to do!

We’ve learned to trust ourselves and our show. We’ve undergone a metamorphosis over the years from a scrappy company rehearsing in living rooms and performing above a pub to a well-oiled machine.

We’ve also learned to know our worth. It sounds silly to say, but so often artists sell themselves short and get taken advantage of. This past year, we’ve stood up for ourselves when we needed to and walked away from things that didn’t have our best interests at heart.

There’s also the lesson of knowing our capacity (the buzzword of our year). Again, linking back to this idea of knowing our worth, we’ve been a little more discerning when taking on venues and projects. We’re only human, and we all have other things on, so it’s been important for us to know our limits and not stretch ourselves too thin.

Tell us about your show.

Our show, Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit, is a fully improvised murder mystery in the style of a classic Whodunnit. Think Poirot meets Acorn Antiques. It’s clever and silly and beloved by audiences because it’s just fun!

Using stories from the audience, we build our suspects, all of whom are heading aboard a train alongside a famous detective. But not all is as it seems, as one of the passengers is murdered! Who? Well, that’s down to the audience to decide. And who is the murderer? Well, here’s the clever bit – only the murderer knows they are the murderer! The rest of the cast on stage and the audience don’t know, so everyone is working together to catch the killer! After interrogating the suspects, the audience has to make an accusation, but they can (and do) get it wrong! The show is also a game, and over the month, we’ll be keeping track of which audiences caught the killer and which ones let them get away!

We’re an improv company (Pinch Punch) made up of trained actors, and I think that shows. Our brand of improv comedy is character-focused, and the show blends traditional theatre with long-form improv to make something that first-time improv audiences can enjoy and feel safe in. British audiences aren’t as au fait with improv – it’s much more of an American tradition – so our show makes it more digestible for them by wrapping it up in a murder mystery. And it works! Thousands of people see Locomotive for Murder each year, and for many, it’s their first ever experience of improv!

This is our fourth year of the show and our third time in Edinburgh with it. From humble origins as a commission for Harrow Arts Council to our biggest national tour yet, the show has gone from strength to strength, including being 2024 Off West End Award finalists. We are continuing our tour in the Autumn and Winter and already have some 2026 dates in the diary. But who knows where we go next – World tour? Improv at sea? Solving murders on the International Space Station?

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

For more madcap improv hijinks with a classical twist, check out our pals at Shake It Up Shakespeare (@ShakeItUpImprov) for some Bard-based Bedlam!

We LOVE seeing Solve-Along-A Murder She Wrote (@solvealonga) every year and highly recommend people see it too! You get to watch an episode of Jessica Fletcher and have a right laugh along the way with Tim Benzie too. Win-win!

Ernest? (@SayItAgainSorry) is a brilliant show we’ve been fans of since we first saw them a the Fringe two years ago. Be warned, there’s a LOT of audience participation, but it’s a raucous and brilliantly hysterical show!

If you love our show, be sure to also check out Murder She Didn’t Write (@DegreesOfError) for more wonderfully silly improvised whodunnit schenanigans. Their show is slick and brilliant, and it also scratches that classic murder mystery itch, but with a Cluedo-y twist!

Finally, walk, don’t run, to see Garry Starr’s Classic Penguins in its sophomore year. Maybe not one to take your parents to (or do … I certainly did and they had a hoot!). Garry is a comedic tour de force, and the show is utterly brilliant. Don’t look up anything before you go, though – this show thrives on surprises and misdirections!

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EdFringe Talk: The Black Hole

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Fringe is about community, not competition. We’re all here to hold up the mirror in different ways. See something you wouldn’t usually pick. Let yourself be surprised. Let yourself feel.”

WHO: Vkinn Vats

WHAT: “The Black Hole by Vkinn Vats is a searing psychological drama that delves into the dynamics of cohabiting relationship and complexities of human connection. Set in a shared space, two souls are forced to coexist, but the emotional distance between them reveals deeper wounds. As desire and trauma collide, quiet moments erupt into explosive confrontations. With raw vulnerability and twisted intimacy, it unearths what it truly means to be seen – and what we risk when we expose ourselves. Can two broken souls bridge the invisible gap, or will the space between them tear them apart forever?”

WHERE: Venue 45 at theSpace @ Venue 45 (Venue 45) 

WHEN: 18:30 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, this is my first time bringing a show to Edinburgh Fringe — and that makes it incredibly special. I’ve admired the festival from afar for years, watching how it brings together voices from all corners of the globe in a beautiful kind of creative chaos. What’s unique about EdFringe is not just its scale, but its soul: the openness, the intimacy, the risk. Every street, every basement, every breath in Edinburgh hums with possibility.

As a producer, the festival means responsibility — shaping a vision, building a team, navigating logistics, and somehow keeping the artistic fire burning through it all. But as an artist and a human being, it’s thrilling. It’s humbling. You’re not just showing work — you’re offering something raw to an audience that’s seen everything. That forces you to be better. Braver. More honest.

To me, a great festival isn’t about the size of the venue or the press buzz — it’s about connection. Work that makes people feel less alone. Stories that hit like a secret confession. And the rare alchemy that happens when a room full of strangers holds its breath at the same time.

That’s the kind of moment I live for. And that’s why I came to Edinburgh.

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

Since 2024, I’ve learned that survival and creativity are sometimes at odds—and sometimes beautifully aligned. The world cracked open in unexpected ways, and underneath the noise, it revealed a quieter truth: that art doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be true. That lesson has reshaped the way I write, direct, and collaborate.

I’ve learned to embrace process over perfection. To sit with discomfort. To trust silence. That sometimes the most powerful scene is the one where nothing is said but everything is felt. I’ve also learned the hard way that burnout isn’t a badge of honour—it’s a warning sign. And if you’re not creating from a place of presence, you’re just recreating noise.

And yes, I’m still absorbing these lessons. Every rehearsal, every late-night rewrite, every conversation with a collaborator reminds me: stay honest. Stay tender. Stay open to the mess. That’s where the truth lives—and that’s where theatre still has the power to break us and bind us in the same breath.

Tell us about your show.

The Black Hole is an original psychological drama written and directed by me, Vkinn Vats. It’s raw, messy, and intimate—just like the relationship at its centre. The story came from a deep place of wanting to explore the power dynamics inside love and the silences that live between two people who are trying—and sometimes failing—to be seen.

The play is produced by Shooting Star Studios, a collaborative company I co-founded with Neha Jethva. We formed during the pandemic, out of a shared hunger to make theatre that’s urgent, poetic, and unafraid of discomfort. This is our first time at the Fringe as a company, though many of us have worked internationally in theatre and film.

This production is having its world premiere at Edinburgh Fringe—so there’s something electric about bringing it to life here, for the first time, in front of an audience willing to lean into the tension. After the Fringe, we’re in talks to transfer it to London, possibly across Europe and India—we want this show to travel, because its themes are so universally human: intimacy, trauma, survival, and connection.

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

After The Black Hole, I’d urge audiences to dive into shows that take risks, peel back emotional layers, or challenge the idea of what theatre can be.

Go see The Light Catcher by Ritika Shrotri. The Light Catcher follows a celebrated Indian photographer, Kanika, who’s on a quest to find her favourite portrait. As she revisits portraits of women from Ethiopia to Pakistan, India to UK, their stories come alive on stage – some heartwarming, some hard-hitting, all unforgettable. Performed by Ritika Shrotri, who transforms into 10 dynamic characters. A must watch!

My another pick is: “1902”
1902 delves into the world of Scottish football, telling the story of Hibernian’s heroic victory in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final after a 114-year wait through the eyes of four young supporters. Discover the men behind the bravado in a tale of family, friendship and passion for their team. 1902 sheds light on the dark side of football, taking an access-all-areas approach to working class life in Scotland.

Fringe is about community, not competition. We’re all here to hold up the mirror in different ways. See something you wouldn’t usually pick. Let yourself be surprised. Let yourself feel.

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EdFringe Talk: Meg & Marge

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Edinburgh Fringe Festival is special on account of its madness—shows that make you cry, laugh, tear your hair out, and make a friend. The ideal melting pot for attention-seekers such as myself.”

WHO: Kendra Mosenson, Fiona Tarses, Cosima Gardey, & Margery Jourdemayne

WHAT: “Megan is a perfect wife. Or at least, that’s what she tells her followers. But when 15th-century mystic Margery of Kempe starts haunting her, Megan begins to wonder if she’s losing her grip – or if Margery is really there. As their connection grows unnervingly intense, Megan finds herself drawn to Margery in ways she can’t explain, where devotion and desire bleed together. In this darkly funny comedy-drama, an internet “trad wife” influencer’s carefully curated life unravels in an unexpected clash of past and present. Meg & Marge explores faith, feminism and the perils of performative perfection.”

WHERE: Playground 1 at ZOO Playground (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 15:15 (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

TEAM: As a trio, we have experienced Fringe from all sides- one of us performed back in 2018, one worked for Baby Wants Candy in 2023, and one made their first foray to Scotland as an audience member just last Summer. We are each thrilled to be returning as co-creators on our own project.

MARGERY: I’d love to chime in if that’s alright. Naturally, this is a first for me in a lot of ways. First time in Scotland. First time acting in a play. First time in the twenty-first century, even! From what I’ve been told, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is special on account of its madness—shows that make you cry, laugh, tear your hair out, and make a friend. The ideal melting pot for attention-seekers such as myself.

TEAM: Thank you, Margery. Sorry about her. She wanted to come along.

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

TEAM: We’ve learnt a lot since 2023. We’ve learnt that people love to watch women back in the kitchen. They love to hear the dulcet tones of Nara Smith and Ballerina Farm whispering into the mic as they churn milk into butter.

MARGERY: Stupid question. What you should be asking is, what have we learnt since 1438? That is the year I passed. What have we learnt since my death? Because it seems to me, not very much. None of you knows who I am, for example.

Tell us about your show.

TEAM: “Meg & Marge” is about what happens when internet trad wife Megan Wright meets medieval mystic Margery Kempe, the first woman to write an autobiography in the English language. It’s about internet culture and performance. It’s a bit silly, a bit serious and a lot horny.

MARGERY: This is a play about me and my book and the amazing effects it can have on people. In this instance, the effect is had on Megan Wright, a Christian Instagram influencer, a “trad-wife”, if you will. The show was written by Fiona Tarses and Cosima Gardey, who also happen to be the leading ladies. Shocker! And the show is produced by Kendra Mosenson. I think their naive hope is to take it elsewhere… to another theatre in New York or London. Bit ambitious if you ask me.

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

TEAM: “Blandy” at Assembly, George Square, Studio Four. Why? Because Blandy is our twin-show; another two-hander about a mischievous historical woman. In this case, it’s Mary Blandy.

MARGERY: We’re getting coffee next week.

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EdFringe Talk: Funny Though

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“We are all so excited to be returning this year with a show that we feel optimises the experimental spirit of the Fringe.”

WHO: Clare Noy

WHAT: “Clare Noy is an actress known for falling over in The Play That Goes Wrong and in Peter Pan Goes Wrong. She’s also a stand-up comic just trying to get by. Funny Though is another cautionary tale about a bisexual in crisis, the Comedienne makes questionable life choices so that you don’t have to. She’s tired, she’s broke and she’ll do anything for a laugh. Expect 60 minutes of hot mess, no more, no less. (Insert quote from someone famous saying I’m great.) If that doesn’t sell this, we don’t know what will.”

WHERE: Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 15:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Myself and the team have all visited the Ed Fringe before but this all of our debuts as creatives. It’s my writing and performing debut, Lauren’s directorial debut and The Project People’s debut too. (The Project People are the multi-award-winning creative producers and consultants Millie Wood-Downie and Molly McGeachin.)

Ed Fringe is such an amazing opportunity to platform new work and find like-minded creatives for future collaborations. We are all so excited to be returning this year with a show that we feel optimises the experimental spirit of the Fringe.

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

This show actually only exists because of the things I learnt then. At the end of that year, I had just finished touring with the Play That Goes Wrong, and I had started learning the basics of stand-up comedy on Logan Murray’s stars of tomorrow stand-up course at the Museum of Comedy. Both of those experiences heavily informed the way I view comedy and the way I write. It also inspired me to explore burnout in comedians and think about what the ‘cost of comedy’ is. ‘Funny Though’ is the sum of all of these thoughts and experiences.

Tell us about your show.

‘Am I a muse, or am I just amusing?’

Funny Though is a bold, genre-blurring solo show marketed as a stand-up gig. It merges stand-up comedy with theatre to explore mental health, queerness and the cost of comedy. This tired, broke Comedienne will do anything for a laugh, but what if one day, she takes it too far?

Myself (Clare Noy) and my director (Lauren Lambert Moore) met in 2020 working on a scratch night together. I’d done a short piece of new writing and was paired up with Lauren to stage it at the Vaults.

From there, the rest really is history. I went on to work as a dramaturg with Lauren, and she worked as a director for me on a scratch night I produced. Whenever I had a new idea, Lauren was the first person I would go to with it. Fast forward two years from then, and I experienced my first taste of performance burnout and started working front of house at a comedy club. When I was watching all of the shows that were programmed, it struck me how autobiographical and trauma-related stand-up comedians’ work was becoming, and I thought, hey, I wonder if A. I could do that. And B. Whether that is a sustainable way for creatives to work.

I drafted my first 20-minute version of ‘Funny Though’ with the support of Lauren and Omnibus Theatre’s Engine Room program and then kept on developing it over the course of 2 years. Since that first draft, I have extended it to an hour-long show and developed it with the support of Omnibus Theatre and with the support of Soho Theatre’s labs programs.

Post the Fringe, we are looking to tour the show around intimate venues in the UK and internationally. Lauren and I also intend to continue to work together as a writing and directing duo.

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

Eat the rich (but not me mates) – Jade Franks show is before mine in the same venue, why would you not double bill two funny women? Don’t even have to move from your seat!

House Party – Need I say more? The motivation is in the title; Chakira is also an excellent, award-winning writer.

Toxic Femininity – Molly McBride is one of the most naturally funny women I have ever met, we worked together on the Soho Theatre Plus lab and I she has got the sharpest tongue on her. She also bullied me to write this, and once said my haircut makes me look like Lord Farquaad from Shrek.

Alana Jackson – Last Orders: If you don’t see someone Scottish when you’re at a Scottish Festival, then you are very rude. Alana is also an award-winning comedian and an all-around good egg.

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EdFringe Talk: Nick Everritt: Shadow

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Just as Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships, the Edinburgh Fringe is a place that launched a thousand quips.”

WHO: Nick Everritt

WHAT: “Nick Everritt (British Comedian of the Year 2023 runner-up) is a weird, alternative, deadpan stand-up comedian who pretends to be a serial killer for the entertainment of others. But is there more to him than meets the eye? (Spoiler: No). ‘Those in search of the truly alternative, look no further’ **** (One4Review.co.uk). ‘A droll, witty and very self-conscious deconstruction of comedy’ (Chortle.co.uk).”

WHERE: Just the Bottle Room at Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Venue 288) 

WHEN: 18:10 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my fourth time in Edinburgh! Having dipped my toe in with a mixed bill in 2018, then spaffed away my solo debut in 2019, my last trip to Edinburgh was in 2022. I’m excited to be back in action after 3 years away from the ups, the down, the sloped cobbled streets, the (rare) sell-out shows, the (not so rare) performances to 10 people that go surprisingly well, the gigs, the spots, the compilation shows whose titles start with numbers or punctuation so they end up nearer the start of the brochure, the jokes, the gags, the avant-garde clown shows that are never as bad as you think they’re going to be, the sights, the sounds, the early-morning hangovers and the late-night cheese and ham crepes. So yes, you could say I’m a fan.

I treat the Edinburgh Fringe the same way I treat a good woman: respectfully, and maintaining a safe distance. And just as Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships, the Edinburgh Fringe is a place that launched a thousand quips.

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

I learned some conversational French on Duolingo before inevitably giving up and forgetting it all. To hell with that creepy owl, he’s not the boss of me!

More profoundly, this is the year I learned that I’m not actually niche. As a weird, alternative act I’d always expected to fall into a niche where I’m only enjoyed by comedy nerds and purist. But I’ve recently found that when I perform my routine at ‘proper gigs’ with ‘real audiences’, they enjoy it. I think audiences enjoy a bit of palette-cleansing weirdness from the middle act on the bill.

I also learned that sharks are older than the North Star.

Tell us about your show.

This is a show by a very normal man (me) written for very normal people (you, the reader). I have a dry, deadpan style, which means that when I perform comedy it can give audiences the impression that I’m some kind of ‘psycho serial killer’ or ‘menace to society’. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m actually an entirely normal man, who enjoys normal things such as beers and the breasts of women. My aim for this show is to prove, at length, beyond doubt, and in forensic detail, that I am a completely normal man. This provides the show with a thematically pleasing through-line. Anyone who claims it’s just my club 20 padded out with crowd work and interactive segments is a liar, a charlatan and a traitor to the crown.

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

Tara Boland with Dusty Creases: Dance Your Life Away. I never thought the day would come where I would look forward to watching a late-night absurdist dance show, but here we are.

Liz Guterbock with Nice. Liz is indeed ‘nice’, and also, more pertinently, ‘funny’.

Jamie D’Souza with Brownie. He’s a clean-cut, wholesome and commercially viable lad, and I wish him all the best.

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EdFringe Talk: Lulu Popplewell: Love Love

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“I love the Fringe. I mean, I also think it’s a complete nightmare and takes years off your life, but I still love it.”

WHO: Lulu Popplewell

WHAT: “Returning from her sell-out debut show, Lulu brings you a new hour of jokes about love, obsession and raccoons, as she tries to answer the question ‘is love just a form of mental illness?’ ‘Playfully funny, thought-provoking and has kindness at its heart’ (Chortle.co.uk). ‘Will soon be one of your favourite comedians’ **** (FunnyWomen.com). **** (BroadwayBaby.com). **** (Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe).”

WHERE: Buttercup at Underbelly, George Square (Venue 300) 

WHEN: 18:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No! This is my second hour but prior to this I did the traditional comedy progression of three-hander (with Morgan Rees and Jeremy Flynn 2017), to two-hander (with Sophie Duker 2019), to work in progress (what a mess, 2019), to waiting 4 years to return because of a pandemic and then medical difficulties(less traditional), to finally doing my (sold out!) debut at the Pleasance in 2023.
Moreover I’ve been coming to the year as a punter since 2004 and the only year I’ve skipped was 2020 (and everyone did that so it would be weird if I had turned up). I love the Fringe. I mean, I also think it’s a complete nightmare and takes years off your life, but I still love it.

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

What I learnt in 2024, when I took a year off and just came up to watch friends’ shows for fortnight, was that people will just assume you’re doing a show. People kept asking me how the show was going. I lied and replied ‘great’ every time. In September people came up to me saying ‘I hear you had a good fringe.’ So what I’ve learnt is that you don’t have to spend all your savings and spend all year carting a show around the UK to get it ready, in order to have a good fringe. Obviously I haven’t absorbed that lesson though, because I’m back with a new show and I have indeed given away all of my savings for the privilege. Please come along so I can try to justify this wilful lack of lesson learning!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it! Me! It’s been a real labour of love (love) because the show started being created in December and then in February I promptly, and very helpfully, became too ill to write and perform. This was not ideal and has been the case on and off since. So this show has absolutely been the a case of powering through for the love of it, finding time and trying to maximise it etc. And I’m proud of it! I don’t only think it’s good CONSIDERING I’ve been unwell, I think it’s just good! But it does mean that my particular answer to questions about the creative process is ‘find time’ and not some colourful reply about the imagination and focus groups and mask work. It’s directed by the very talented Joz Norris and produced by Impatient.

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

Well obviously the aforementioned Joz Norris – and not just because he’s my director. He’s a very talented comedian. Also, since my show features a piano but is very much not musical comedy (I don’t have the skills), for genuinely incredible musical comedy I would recommend Katie Norris (no relation to Joz) and Jake Roche.

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EdFringe Talk: Sad Girl Songs

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“I love wandering into a show I don’t know anything about and walking out a new fan of a playwright, comedian, or performer.”

WHO: Gwen Coburn

WHAT: “Think Gadsby meets Bloom, and Medusa has the mic. Gwen faces her fears – snakes, PTSD and the patriarchy – to pursue her comedic dreams in this raw, ‘hilarious and harrowing’ (Orlando Weekly) musical comedy where #YesAnd meets #MeToo. She delivers cry-laughing subversive anthems and laugh-crying catharsis in a brutally honest journey of PTSD and modern womanhood. It’s what her mom calls ‘the dark feminist stuff’, but make it singable. ‘A boldly brave work’ (Orlando Weekly). ‘Whip-smart’ (Winnipeg Free Press). Winner of Best Musical 2023 Winnipeg Fringe. UK Debut!”

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

WHEN: 15:10 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first time at Edinburgh Fringe– and in Edinburgh in general– so if you see me on the street, recommend your favorite tea shop or bookstore for me to curl up in. I love Fringes. I love wandering into a show I don’t know anything about and walking out a new fan of a playwright, comedian, or performer. I get to constantly see shows that surprise me and feed my curiosity; there’s no better place to jumpstart my creative brain than at Fringe.

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

2024 taught me to take life in tiny, present-tense decisions. Have I fully absorbed that? I’d say it’s semi-absorbed. I’m a dry sponge floating in a bowl of water: I’m soaking it all in, but it’ll take a bit to be fully submerged. I’m traditionally a “what’s next” person– a future dreamer and a planner. I still value that, but now I’m realizing how much I miss if I don’t make myself savor life in small, bite-sized moments.

Tell us about your show.

Sad Girl Songs is the “dark feminist stuff” brainchild of queer comedian, writer, and performer Gwen Coburn– that’s me! I’m a musical comedian and stand-up who writes songs like “Thank You For Not Murdering Me” and was Brava Theater’s 2021’s National Funniest Mami. Also, I was diagnosed with PTSD. Navigating the world of comedy as a woman with my diagnosis (or, as I prefer to put it, a PTSD-girlie) made me examine all the silly, difficult, and strange stories I’d been told about being a woman. Honestly, the myth of Europa? The bull thing? It’s very weird. I wrote a show about Medusa and my experience trying to make sense of her story and my own. I brought the script to director Kayleigh Kane, whose multiple talents in comedy and intimacy direction helped us shape the show into a funny and honest love letter to women, people with PTSD, and to comedy. We’ve toured the North American Fringes, selling out shows in Edmonton and winning Best Musical at Winnipeg Fringe. We’re so excited to share the show at Edinburgh.

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

One show that immediately caught my eye is Gladiatrix. I love seeing new musicals. This one tells the story of powerful women shut down by the state– relatable content in the US and the UK it seems. Also it mentions having badass combat sequences; I adore a musical with an unusual form of spectacle, so I was sold! Other shows on my list are Andrea Coleman’s 3 White Guys Named John and Amy Veltman’s PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement.

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EdFringe Talk: Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x)

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I lived in London, I was done with it a long time before I left. But I stayed and drained my bank account and mental capacity, and for what?”

WHO: Jade Franks

WHAT: “If there’s one thing worse than classism and the disparity of wealth in this country… It’s FOMO. The plot of Hannah Montana. If Hannah Montana was a Scouser. And instead of a pop star leading a double life, she is a Cambridge Student trying to conceal the fact she is working as a cleaner. ETR is a comedy which demonstrates the myth of meritocracy, the sacrifices we make to get ahead and who, in the end, these decisions will always disproportionately affect. Jade Franks Fringe debut.”

WHERE: Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 14:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first time performing, yes! But I did produce 3 shows in 2019 when I was a student – the Cambridge Footlights gave me a grant, so I came up and was not at all prepared for how insane it was to do all those shows having never produced OR been to Edinburgh before!! I came just to see shows in 2022, and it was my last visit in 2024 when I knew for sure I wanted to bring a show this year.

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

This is such a big question hahaha!!!

When I lived in London, I was done with it a long time before I left. But I stayed and drained my
bank account and mental capacity, and for what?

From this, I’ve learnt to trust my gut on stuff more. Moving back up North was the best thing I could have done for my mind, health and career. And I have a much better relationship with the city and my loved ones in it, now I know I can leave!

Tell us about your show.

Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x) is a funny, fast-paced and politically sharp one-woman show about class, code-switching and cleaning jobs at Cambridge. Written and performed by me, it follows a working-class Scouse student trying to survive the UK’s most elite university while secretly working as a cleaner for her posh peers. It asks urgent questions about identity, shame, belonging and who gets to feel at home in these institutions.

The show is directed by Tatenda Shamiso, winner of the 2023 Evening Standard Emerging Talent Award for NO I.D. at the Royal Court. Tatenda is an actor, writer, director and musician whose work spans the National Theatre, Young Vic, Almeida, Bristol Old Vic and beyond. His recent directing and associate credits include A Good House (Royal Court), Wolves on the Road (Bush Theatre) and For Black Boys… (Garrick Theatre). His actor-led, collaborative process brings warmth and intimacy to the production.

The show is produced by Jasmyn Fisher-Ryner (JFR Productions), a two-time Olivier-nominated producer whose credits include For Black Boys… and Blue Mist at the Royal Court and West End. Her producing focuses on access, emerging artists and inclusion.

I met Jasmyn and dramaturg Ellie Fulcher while working as an Education Associate at The Royal Court, creating audience access strategies that invited Black and working-class communities into the theatre. Jasmyn and I worked together on For Black Boys…, developing its outreach model from the Royal Court to the West End. Tatenda also worked on For Black Boys… as Associate Director at the Garrick Theatre.

Eat the Rich will preview at Seven Dials Playhouse on July 23rd. We plan to tour regionally post-Fringe, and I’m currently developing a TV comedy-drama adaptation of the piece.

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

I have the following shows on my radar: Mojola Akinyemi’s Cara and Kelly are Best Friends For Ever For Life, Hasan Al-Habib’s stand-up show, Death to the West (Midlands) Dan Bishop’s play Brainsluts, Rohan Sharma’s Mad Dog and Chakira Alin’s play House Party.

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EdFringe Talk: The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Edinburgh has such amazing energy, it reminds me of theater in New York 20 years ago when I was getting started.”

WHO: Edward Einhorn

WHAT: “A New York Times Critic’s Pick! A marriage farce by Edward Einhorn about Stein and Toklas in which four actors play over 30 characters. Identities are merged and submerged. Their famous salon, with celebrity guests such as Hemingway, Picasso and many others, is the setting for this comic fantasy with serious intent. The lesbian and Jewish subtext of their lives is made text, and the tragic implications of a relationship that existed in their hearts, but could never be fully acknowledged, are explored. Critically acclaimed in New York and London.”

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

WHEN: 18:30 (80 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I have been there a few times to scout for the festival I run in New York, The Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, honoring Vaclav Havel (a collection of Central and Eastern European work). I became involved with my own festival due to my work with the Czechs–years ago, while Havel was still alive, I did a festival of Havel’s work and that lead to a few collaborations with him, which then led to my working with the Czech Republic and other nations in that area. My festival only has a show a day however, a very different experience. Edinburgh has such amazing energy, it reminds me of theater in New York 20 years ago when I was getting started. It was revitalizing, and it made me want to bring my own show.

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

The main lesson is a lesson about the world: the rights and democracy we have one day can disappear tomorrow. This is a story about two Jewish women in love in a world approaching fascism. We make the subtext text and celebrate their lives, but also remember that the progress in the area of queer rights and the fight against antisemitism can quickly and easily be reversed. But this is the serious message behind all the fun. Because the other thing I have learned is that in difficult times, we need theater to survive. Whatever the message, the joy and community of being in the theater is necessary for our survival. So for me, the first task is to focus on the fun.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it, and it is being produced by by New York theater company (Untitled Theater Company No. 61) with the help of Broadway producer James Simon. It played first in New York at HERE Arts Center (where is was a New York Times Critic’s Pick) and then moved to the Jermyn Street Theatre in London (where is garnered many 5 and 4 star reviews). The cast is mostly the same cast that performed the show in New York, all of whom I knew in one way or another before the show, either by working with them or by reputation. They have a lot of experience in New York experimental theater, where Gertrude Stein in an icon, of sorts. Only our Stein has changed, and she is performed by a woman named Barsha. Two of the cast member’s were at Barsha’s show and they came back to me and said: she’s the one. I met her, and it’s true. I can’t imagine a more perfect Stein. We hope to take it back to New York after, with a bigger production, but also would love to tour in the Europe or North America–or license the script.

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

My festival just hosted the show Furiozo, and it’s back (and amazing, see him or anything Piotr Sikora does). What I love particularly about Furiozo is that, like my own show, it emphasizes the laughter. So the message, and I think there is a good one about masculinity and its expression, can be absorbed easily. Or one can ignore the message altogether and just laugh! A friends, Ari Laura Keith, is directing a show at Traverse called Rift about two brothers on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Haven’t seen it, but it sounds intriguing. Another friend, Tjasa Ferme, has a one-woman show called My Marlene about Marlene Deitrich, which also sounds intriguing.

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EdFringe Talk: misSfits

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Using verbatim, the show and the students voices are built from real queer-experiences that I sourced in making the show.”

WHO: Helen Iley

WHAT: “Meet Miss Elliot – your favourite primary school teacher. Learning objective: how to understand the term baby gay. Incorporating real-life perspectives and voices from the queer community, misSfits focuses on the voices of the “baby gays” and how after coming out they must try to navigate this new community in which they still feel alien to themselves. Through the eyes of Miss Elliot and primary school nostalgia, misSfits transports us into that familiar classroom as past students find their true selves. All whilst Miss Elliot reminisces and reflects on their own sense of identity and self.”

WHERE: Studio at theSpaceTriplex (Venue 38) 

WHEN: 12:10 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

First time! The company I have now taken over, Bullet Theatre, did come in 2018 but personally and with my other company ‘hileyproductive’ I have never been. Edinburgh Fringe is such a hybrid of activity but also a space to just be open and explore your work and there is an audience for everyone and everything which I love.

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

To be bold and just go for it.

Last year I went as a punter and set it as a challenge to bring something this year. The fact that I am also going to perform and bring these tales of baby gays to Edinburgh is something I never imagined I would be doing. Let’s go for it!

Tell us about your show.

WELCOME TO THE CLASSROOM – Miss Elliot: Year 6.

My show follows a teacher, Miss Elliot, who reminiscences on the previous students that have come through her classroom. Learning Objective: To Understand the term Baby Gay. Using verbatim, the show and the students voices are built from real queer-experiences that I sourced in making the show. I showed it once at ‘A Pinch of Vault’s’ with a wonderful actor, Rhi Bell, which I directed but now (partly for budget reasons but also self exploration) I am performing it. I recently came out as they/them and so this show feels especially important for me to do.

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

A wonderful performer, CURLY is going to be on just after my run at the show. A similar, queer act of becoming but they are a wonderful musician as well and have some fantastic musical numbers. I do have some sing-along assembly songs on my old school projector but nothing like this so definitely check them out!

Queer Folks Tales sounds brilliant too on the 6th August.

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