Author Archives: Dan Lentell

‘Do This One Thing for Me’ (Venue 49, Aug 9-11, 13-18, 20-26)

Posted in 5*, EdFestivals 2024, Rated: Outstanding by

“What we have here is a perfect combination of all the great elements necessary for a truly benchmark #EdFringe production against which all others will be measured.”

Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)

When we think of Greece we think of Santorini skylines, wrecked Clyde-built ships on stunning beaches, picturesque olive groves tinkling to the sound of goatbells. If you’d only watched the not-all-bad 2001 silver-screen adaptation of de Bernières’ overnight classic ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ you’d be forgiven for not knowing that the second half of the novel is a heartbreaking chronicle of Greece’s post-war civil war, one of too many chapters in which human folly and violent fragility are let slip in the cradle of Europe and paradiso descends into inferno.

As an Axis-occupied nation during the war, Greece suffered all the horrors and torments of industrial genocide. Over 80% of Greece’s prewar Jewish population was murdered. Of the 43,000 Jews in Salonika, Greece’s largest prewar Jewish community, over 40,000 perished. The numbers are similarly stark and savage in the hill town where Beni Elias and his family lived.

While attending high school in Long Beach, New York, Beni’s daughter, Jane, was assigned a 10-page, typed essay on World War II. That assignment blossomed into a nascent exploration of Beni’s journey through the war, an exploration that is currently taking #EdFringe24 by storm and with good reason. There are many great and necessary stories told in Scotland’s capital during any given August. There are many great storytellers blending their professional talent and personal insight. What we have here is a perfect combination of all the great elements necessary for a truly benchmark #EdFringe production against which all others will be measured.

Beni’s wartime story is uncomprehendable. The scale of his suffering, agonies, and terror. The continuous loss of friends and family sans dignity, sans pity, sans space to grieve in. The banality of evil. The ordinariness of suffering. The ultimate impossibility of recovering what was taken. This is a portrait of a patriarch and it is the landscape of a relationship between a regular little girl, a not atypical young woman, and her much-loved, much-admired father. Beni would have been a big figure to coexist with on whatever path life had taken him on. As a Survivor, he is lovingly painted as humanity’s human – a towering presence yes, and a toweringly infuriating figure to live with on those rare(ish) days which (occasionally) happen between us Babas and our κοριτσάκια when wires or opinions get crossed.

In this astonishingly candid, incredibly relatable tale of family drama and global catastrophe, Jane Elias has gifted something wonderful to the world. This is a script that will live forever as a testament to memories which must never be forgotten. Here is a portrait of a parent that does honour to those who went before as well as to those who were stolen before their time. Here is the best play, the best production of #EdFringe24. Here is something unmissable.

Get your coats on and go see this!

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EdFringe Talk: Knowledge from the Future

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“We’re thrilled to introduce Taiwan’s culture through this play.”

WHO: Maria Pei / Jen Ting

WHAT: “Knowledge from the Future chronicles Jen’s odyssey through modern life’s complexities. Discovering latent fortune-telling talents amidst information overload, she navigates scepticism and intrigue. Jen’s quest for comprehension forces her to confront doubts and external pressures, challenging her rationality against mystical forces. Through encounters with sceptics and mentors, Jen learns to reconcile her mindset, unearthing insights about fate and wisdom. Ultimately, she realizes that true knowledge transcends belief, achievable only through genuine experience. This narrative invites reflection on truth, destiny and the perpetual journey of self-discovery in an evolving world, weaving together belief, scepticism and personal transformation.”

WHERE: Paradise in The Vault – The Vault (Venue 29) 

WHEN: 14:20 (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

YES! This is our first Fringe and our first production!

Edfringe is the perfect place to share our original story, based on true events from Taiwan, and spread love to people around the world. It’s a fast-paced, safe, and open-minded festival where global artists and diverse cultures come together in appreciation.

We’re thrilled to introduce Taiwan’s culture through this play, which is about identity, self-awareness, and self-love. We all need more love, understanding, and acceptance.

Being part of this festival allows us to learn from experienced artists and gives us the courage to keep creating.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

This one-woman show is about self-identity, self-awareness, self-love, and self-healing. Maria Pei, the producer and writer, started writing scripts in 2023 to share messages she wanted to convey, hoping to heal others who have gone through similar experiences. But the biggest revelation for her was that “Completing this play also healed me. It became the best closure I could give myself.”

Jen Ting, the producer and performer, has been an actress for ten years and finally completed her solo performance this year, thanks to Maria’s script. As sisters, the greatest lesson we’ve learned over the past year is that working together with family and sharing each other’s stories is both precious and empowering. This experience has inspired us to continue telling more stories together.

Tell us about your show.

“Knowledge From The Future”

The show tells the story of the protagonist, Gwen, a young Taiwanese woman in her 30s, who returns to Taiwan after experiencing trauma while working abroad. Once again, she faces the challenge of leaving Taiwan to pursue further studies. In her struggle to avoid and accept the reality of her situation, she discovers she has psychic abilities. Will this newfound ability help her confront her trauma, or will she continue to avoid it? she embarks on a transformative journey of personal growth and healing.

The story is inspired by true events, set against the backdrop of the 2019 Hong Kong protests and her return to Taiwan in 2021. It weaves together elements of Taiwanese folk belief and the spiritual influence on the people.

We hope that this creation, based on true events and stories, will provide healing for those with similar experiences and help audiences unfamiliar with Taiwan to better understand its culture and background story.

Produced by Maria Pei and Jen Ting, written by Maria Pei, and performed by Jen Ting, with contributions from our friends: Director Brad Lewis Cannon , Sound Designer Eye Suriyanon, and Lighting Designer Tom Showell, who have all collaborated with us on this project.

We are an independent production team, “A Dream Come True.” The theme of Taiwanese folk belief in our play perfectly aligns with who we are, a pair of superstitious sisters! We make wishes every day. This is our first presentation, and we plan to perform in London and other countries in the near future to share Taiwanese culture with more people. We would also love to bring this play back to our hometown, Taiwan!

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

We highly recommend all the performances from Taiwan! Taiwanese productions are truly amazing. The four shows brought by Taiwan Season—Lost Connection, Little Drop of Rain, I Am The Boss, and Palingenesis—have all received high praise. Additionally, How To Become a Taiwanese: A Musical and Diary of a Magician World Tour are also Taiwanese productions, and we’ve made plans to support them as well.

As lovers of one-woman shows, we’re also excited to see Sell Me: I Am From North Korea and Gracie the Jellyfish. We highly recommend these to everyone!

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EdFringe Talk: 1954: Ella, Etta, Eartha

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“2024 marks an eight year gap since I’ve been able to get here and I am absolutely delighted to be back.”

WHO: Melissa Western

WHAT: “It’s the year 1954. Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Eartha Kitt are all at the dizzy heights of their careers. With swinging jazz, powerful soul and cheeky kitsch, these women broke new ground for all who followed. Award-winning singer/actor Melissa Western and her musicians pay tribute to this magnificent era in music and inspiring trio of pioneering singers. 50s style abounds. ‘Western is a force of nature… Great storyteller, feisty, highly enjoyable’ ***** (BroadwayBaby.com). ‘Absolutely brilliant… Her aptitude for music is vast and versatile’ ***** (ThreeWeeks). ‘Western’s gorgeous singing voice serves her well’ (TheAustralian.com.au).”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Studio (Venue 152) 

WHEN: 18:35 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, I first came in 2007 with a one-woman show. I’d visited (from Australia) the year before to get a sense of the festival and was blown away and knew I needed to be part of this wild ride. My first festival was exhilarating, enchanting, exhausting and extreme! I fell deeply in love with the city of Edinburgh and the sense of “coming home” to my performing arts family. I came out of that year with an official Sell Out status, some amazing reviews and onward UK touring – it was a dream. Since then I’ve been back regularly – stopping only to have kids and do Covid! This year is the eighth time I’ve brought a show to the Fringe.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I was booked to come to the Fringe in 2020 but then this little thing called Covid stopped the world and most certainly decimated any travel from Australia to the UK. 2024 marks an eight year gap since I’ve been able to get here and I am absolutely delighted to be back. We are on our way to having another sell out season and so far have 2 x 5 star reviews. I feel like the universe is telling me I made the right decision to come back!

Tell us about your show.

1954: Ella, Etta, Eartha is my love letter to three women who smashed barriers of race and gender, changing the world with music as their ammunition. The show is full of jazz, blues, cheeky kitsch and early rock n roll focussing on the year 1954 as Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt and Etta James are all at the dizzying heights of their careers. They all had to combat sanctioned racism throughout their careers and in 1954 at the very beginning of the civil rights movement in America it was singers, actors and entertainers who could push through the barriers. This show has toured Australia for the past two years and I’m really hoping to get some UK festival bookings after the Fringe.

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

One of my favourite things about coming to Edinburgh in August is that I get to catch up with some many wonderful performing arts friends from around the world.

I’m from Brisbane, Australia so my first shout outs are to my fellow BrisVegas friends. My astonishing friend Leah Shelton is absolutely smashing it with her show Batshit and just won a Fringe First award. Another Brisbane team, Swamplesque just increased their capacity from 500+ to 800+ per night and the crowds are loving it – as they should because it is ridiculously good fun! By far my favourite improv show at the Fringe is Showstopper, I can’t get enough of those outrageously talented folks. My final shout out is to Tim Benzie who I performed with a lifetime ago when at university – he now lives in London and his solve along Murder She Wrote is an absolute hoot!

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EdFringe Talk: Napoleon’s 100 Days

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“Like many artists, I live and breathe for doing my own shows.”

WHO: Andy D

WHAT: “Andy D tells the story of Little Boney’s second coming. Not recorded by history, he’s accompanied by his Mancunian friend and a dog called Fido. Napoleon once famously stated ‘I am the revolution’. And he was. Once. However, in 1814 he gets banished to the little island of Elba by European powers. There, not surprisingly, he gets howling at the moon bored. So he escapes, with a force of just over 1000 men! Along the Route Napoleon he is advised by his Mancunian friend. And protected by Fido. All three of whom will end up at Waterloo.”

WHERE: Paradise in The Vault – The Vault (Venue 29) 

WHEN: 19:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Originally, I’m from Manchester but have been based in Edinburgh since 2017. Since then I have done 4 Edinburgh Fringes. In 2018 we Sold Out with ‘Shackleton and his Stowaway’, which I both wrote and produced. This went on to play 4 weeks in Park Theatre London, which goes to show that Ed Fringe really can be a great platform. In 2022 it was ‘Tam O’Shanter, Tales & Whisky’, which went on to play The Gaiety, Brunton, and the Trav in Scotland. So once again, as long as the show comes together, it can have a future life!

Like many artists, I live and breathe for doing my own shows. But in 2019 and 2021 I just attended the Fringe as a spectator. Sometimes I can barely believe my luck having the world’s biggest Arts Festival, just a 20 minute bus ride away! Looking at shows as an outsider, but with a producer’s and a writer’s eye, can give you a really good feel for where you fit into the whole eco-system.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

2023 was my first year as a solo performer. It went pretty well and we had good audiences. The show was ‘Mark Twain’s Stolen White Elephant’. But as they say in Spain I was really getting my ‘tablas’ last year – getting stage experience. This year I feel far happier at playing on the stage, as opposed to just keeping the train on the tracks!

Napoleon’s 100 Days is a piece of comic storytelling, that does have some dark moments in it. I think this is another evolution for me, from last year’s absurdist piece.

Tell us about your show.

My show is Napoleon’s 100 Days. It’s actually a lockdown project. I love history and I read a lot back in 2020/21. Initially, I was going to write a show about the Duke of Wellington, but I find Napoleon a far more fascinating character. Having said that, it is a story still told from a kind of British perspective: Stanley, Napoleon’s sidekick, is from my home town of Stockport! The show is pretty comic, and throughout Stanley pokes some fun at ‘Little Boney’s’ megalomaniac/populist tendencies.

Napoleon was undoubtedly the biggest historical figure of the 19th century, and hugely divisive. In France, he remains so to this day. He was a populist and a master manipulator of the media. Undoubtedly, certain parallels can be drawn about his lust for power at any cost, and some modern day political figures.

In my show Stanley (and Fido) are often satirising him, hopefully pretty effectively!

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

Various history shows, as there are so many great historical stories: Boiler Room Six A Titanic Story – everyone knows The Story of the Titanic, but there are so many individual stories to tell. Tom Foreman has found a new angle with this one, it is the equivalent of the band playing on, but with the heroics going on in the foremost boiler room.

Chopped Liver and Onions – lots of parallels with the modern age with this one too, with its political themes of immigration, equal rights, and far-right demagoguery. About the life of the Unionist Sara Wesker. Pivotally, it builds up towards the Battle of Cable Street, which is when London as a city effectively rejected fascism.

The Last Bantam – Michael Hughes is a superb storyteller, and once again we have a unique angle on a famous historical event, World War I. The bantams were battalions of men, between 5ft and 5ft 3 inches in height. They were particularly effective at working in confined spaces underground. Hughes plays an Irish Bantam, which also adds the dimension of the Easter Rising of 1916. Several well-researched stories!

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EdFringe Talk: Long Distance

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“I’m constantly in awe of the perseverance and creativity of the artists I meet here.”

WHO: Eli Zuzovsky

WHAT: “Two young queers meet. They fall in love, have sex, fight, make up, and break up – and all through texts. These texts, like poetry, chart their unforgettable relationship. Long Distance dives into the empty space between us and our desperate attempts to fill it up. A funny, heart-breaking new play about intimacy, technology and the daily work of love.”

WHERE: ZOO Playground – Playground 1 (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 14:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve been to Edinburgh twice as a punter, but this is my first time coming to the Fringe with a show of my own. The levels of talent and passion that I see here every single day absolutely blow my mind. I thought that having a show at the festival would undo some of the magic of this place, but so far it’s only intensified it, if anything. Even just walking around the city is deeply energising and inspiring (especially if the sun happens to be out). Putting on a show here is no small feat, to say the least, and I’m constantly in awe of the perseverance and creativity of the artists I meet here.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Working on Long Distance has completely changed the way I think about writing and directing. Above all, it’s taught me a huge lesson on the importance of simplicity. The play has significantly changed since I wrote the first draft; I’ve had to kill too many darlings. Every day in the rehearsal room, Jonathan, Lewis and I asked ourselves: ‘Does this feel real? Does this feel true to the characters we’ve created and their unique relationship?’

We’ve stripped away bits of flowery language, jokes that only half-worked and moments that didn’t serve the play’s emotional arc, including ones we loved. The original idea was to do the whole play on treadmills, which we were all very excited about. However, after a few rehearsals, we gave up on the treadmills. We realised that they distracted us from the goal we set for ourselves when we embarked on this journey: to create a portrait of an unforgettable relationship that is propelled by honesty and empathy.

Tell us about your show.

Our show, which I wrote, directed and produced, is called Long Distance. It stars two amazing recent graduates of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Jonathan Rubin and Lewis Merrylees (a Glaswegian!). The three of us had mutual friends, but we didn’t really know each other before we started working on the play. We did a quick reading of one scene together, which felt like love at first sight.

Long Distance follows two young queers who fall in love, have sex, fight, make up, and break up – and all through texting. Their texts, dramatised like poetry, paint a portrait of a tumultuous relationship. The play dives into the empty space between us and our desperate attempts to fill it up. It’s about the daily work of love, technological despair, and the long distance that exists in every relationship these days.

We had two sold-out previews at the Camden People’s Theatre in London in July, and we’re hoping to tour the show as much as possible after the Fringe.

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

We were fortunate enough to have developed the play through Soho Theatre Labs, which I highly recommend to anyone taking a show to the Fringe. We’ve already seen many of our friends’ shows and they’re all astonishing. To name a few: Gaby Foley’s Flicker, Temi Wilkey’s Main Character Energy, Sarah Cameron-West’s KAREN, Alexis Sakellaris’s A STAN IS BORN! Lil Wenker’s BANGTAIL, John and Christian’s Battle Counters!, Mirren Wilson’s PALS, Claire Parry’s Boorish Trumpson, and Tiggy Bayley’s Squidge. We’re so proud of them all—they’re amazing.

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EdFringe Talk: The Three Strangers

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“I love being here for the Fringe, it’s a wonderful atmosphere and the audiences are knowledgeable and supportive at the same time.”

WHO: Adrian Palmer

WHAT: “A fusion of storytelling and a one-person show, keeping as close as possible to the original text. Adrian Palmer performs his own adaptation of this mysterious but inspiring story. On a stormy night, three travellers arrive at an isolated cottage. Why is the first abroad so late? What’s the trade of the second that leaves a mark on his customers? And why is the third so terrified? A unique performance of a classic piece of literature from the incomparable Thomas Hardy. ‘An expressively superb Adrian Palmer, held the audience spellbound’ (Southern Daily Echo).”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Snug (Venue 152) 

WHEN: 12:45 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No I’ve been here before as a performer in other people’s shows. I first came in 1980 in a production of The Caretaker by Harold Pinter and then again in 2016 in The Trial by Franz Kafka. I love being here for the Fringe, it’s a wonderful atmosphere and the audiences are knowledgeable and supportive at the same time. There’s a great buzz among the creatives too. It’s competitive of course but there is a genuine interest in sharing work and ideas that you don’t get anywhere else.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I wasn’t here in 2023 but the main change for me came during lockdown when I no longer had any work as an actor and so spent my time reading stories online to friends, family and then wider groups – book clubs, charities and clubs. This gave me the confidence to adapt and perform my own work and the work of other writers who I admire. Of whom Thomas Hardy is one of my favourites.

Tell us about your show.

I adapted the show from the short story by Thomas Hardy – The Three Strangers. It’s a great story. The first time I read it I was overwhelmed by the skill of the telling, the forcefulness of the story and the twist at the end. I read it in a prepared version a few times and decided that along with Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by R L Stevenson, I would bring it to Edinburgh to see if audiences here would appreciate it as much as I did. I’m glad to say that they definitely seem to. I have been very pleased with the reaction I have had from the performances in Paradise at Augustines here and the very supportive comments I have had from audience reviewers.

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

I like flyering here. It’s a great way to meet your audience face to face. You get some rejections but many times people are interested in what you are doing and only too willing to stop and chat. I also stop and talk with other performers who are selling their wares and generally we swap flyers. I sort out the ones I am interested in and will try and see as many as possible in the course of the three weeks of the festival.

Three shows I have particularly enjoyed so far are –

Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act
A Balloon Will Pop
Zelda and Hadley: Together at Last

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EdFringe Talk: Sardines

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“You may have spotted us sprinting up and down the Mile dressed as giant fish.”

WHO: Joe Makarov

WHAT: “Have you ever wondered what would happen if your favourite poets from the 1800s got stuck in an inflatable life raft in the middle of the ocean with no nautical know-how and a fractured friendship? Join William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge in this absurdist comedy, one man in the midst of a mid-life crisis, the other obsessed with opium induced poetry, all the while battling a stagehand who threatens to deflate the show. Throw in a pirate, an albatross and positive reviews from Theatre Royal Bath’s Elevate Festival, and you have all the ingredients for a grand misadventure.”

WHERE: Paradise in The Vault – The Annexe (Venue 29) 

WHEN: 20:30 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Oh yes! This is our first visit to the Fringe, and for some of us, our first time in Scotland. We followed the sound of bagpipes as we swam upstream from Bristol and we are delighted to find such an incredible city filled with like minded creatives!

Something fishy is happening at the festival this year – it’s us! We are a relatively new company, having only established a couple of years ago and we were drawn to the festival due to the vast range of shows available to watch! We wanted to join in the medley and launch the Blank Slate Ensemble headfirst into the festival like launching a seal out of a cannon. You may have spotted us sprinting up and down the Mile dressed as giant fish.

As we reach the end of our first week of the Fringe, we realise how much of a special place this really is, and how art is well and truly alive here. We are honoured to be here and are relishing seeing so many brilliant artists at work!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

1) A punctured life raft doesn’t float, and you shouldn’t try to swim to Edinburgh.
2) Share the love, even in the ocean.
3) It’s important to wash your costumes often, especially when crammed in like…Sardines!
4) Fish are friends, not food!

Tell us about your show.

Join Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth as they attempt to sail to German in an inflatable life raft. This previously unknown story (that we promise is almost 5% true) explores their ridiculous adventure as they battle storms, sharks, pirates and an ominous albatross. On top of all that, they have to combat a useless stagehand who is at risk of sinking the whole production.

This new writing has been written and developed by the Blank Slate Ensemble and has arrived in Edinburgh after a mini tour of the South West including Theatre Royal Bath’s Elevate Festival. Described as ‘joyously silly’ and ‘a surrealist treat of a play’ we aim to take you on a journey across the North Sea and welcome you to embrace the chaos with us.

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

Our Certified Fish® recommendations are Turbo Town, an absurd one woman show that had us in stitches start to finish, Triggerfish, the best ensemble piece we’ve seen at the Fringe, plus they’re also set at sea, Murder She Didn’t Write, brilliant improv done at its best, and finally The Antics Joke Show, a sketch show like no other, has to be seen!

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EdFringe Talk: Binocchio the Bisexual Liar

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“I actually attend and lead worship at Augustine United Church who host Paradise Green. So I’ve preached when the sanctuary is set up for a show. It feels almost like I’m performing when I do a service so I got the bug!”

WHO: Binocchio (real name Carol Joyner)

WHAT: “Lock up your garden chairs, dismantle your altar tables, nothing is safe around Binocchio the bisexual Christian! She’ll sleep with anything with legs – after Bible Study, naturally. Fresh from the mammogram cubicle in Tesco car park, Binocchio brings you 45 minutes of stand-up (she can’t be trusted with a chair), featuring subjects as diverse as fertility signalling, German toilets, Low Emission Zones and Elderflower Shloer. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to encounter this rarest of creatures, the bisexual Christian!”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Snug (Venue 152) 

WHEN: 18:55 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my maiden Fringe. I actually attend and lead worship at Augustine United Church who host Paradise Green. So I’ve preached when the sanctuary is set up for a show. It feels almost like I’m performing when I do a service so I got the bug! I got chatting to the PG crew about my stand up and one thing led to another and here I am, complete with guitar and several pairs of spare trousers! I’m local so over been to several Fringe shows over the years. But this year is mad. I fully expect there to be pavement crush fatalities.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’m new this year but I’ve already learnt that it’s highly inadvisable to rock up as a solo performer and producer without at least two committed sidekicks to help with social media and flyering. I got overwhelmed and exhausted on Day 1 and had to take a step back and put my mental health and family first – or there would be no show for my punters and my wife would be filing for divorce!

Tell us about your show.

I write and produce all of my observational stand up comedy and original songs. I trialled it at several LGBTQ/Christian open mic events earlier this year to positive acclaim. I’m currently looking at doing a show DARN SARF where I have many contacts, since I lived in Hampshire for over 30 years.

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

Go and see my fellow bi female comic, Anti-Heroine. And do go and see Around the World in 80 Days. Laurence Waring is a very talented man!

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EdFringe Talk: Stefania Licari: Trust Me, I’m a Comedian

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2024 by

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“Obviously, I belong to the category of those going to Edinburgh and my life now completely revolves around it.”

WHO: Stefania Licari

WHAT: “Following her hit show Medico, Stefania Licari returns with a brand-new stand-up hour. Drawing on her experience as an NHS doctor, first-generation migrant, comedian and sometime endurance runner, she explores the diverse roles of women in today’s world. From the operating theatre to the theatre stage, via an ultra-marathon through the Sahara, Stefania reflects on the big question: what are we running to and from? Multi award-winning Stefania sold out venues and earned rave reviews for Medico. Her follow-up promises to deliver her most personal, thought-provoking and side-splitting material yet.”

WHERE: Underbelly, Bristo Square – Dexter (Venue 302) 

WHEN: 16:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third consecutive time at Edinburgh. It’s an interesting mixture of emotions.
It feels like the comedy world is divided between those comics going to Edinburgh and those not going. Obviously, I belong to the category of those going to Edinburgh and my life now completely revolves around it.

From the preparations to the moment the festival starts and ends it’s a rollercoaster of looking forward to playing this amazing venue to then waking up in the middle of the night questioning why I’m going instead of getting a suntan on holiday for considerably less money.

It’s a constant reminder of how much you’re investing and the sacrifices you’re making to be there. It also doesn’t take much to knock your confidence, as the festival gets closer. It’s like the day before your period starts. In fact, I’d describe the weeks before Edinburgh as a hormonal challenge!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I tend to dive into things before I’m fully ready and every single Edinburgh has been like that so far. It’s like trying to run a marathon before you’re ready for a 10k. But it works!

I think that’s the way to go in life. If you wait for the right moment, then it might never happen.

Although it gives me a high-level of anxiety with the preparations and stress!

I think the universe rewards bravery. It’s tough, but in the grand scheme it works.

Tell us about your show.

I have a wonderful team. It’s myself as writer/perfomer. The director Chris Head and Nathan Cassidy who also helped with the writing. Production is by Ben Weaver-Hinks and publicity by Patrick Gough at Wilberforce PR.

My best friend Michael is also crucial. We have a tradition before every show that he tells me to ‘break a leg’. I don’t know any more if I want to hear that as encouragement or that I’m so freaking superstitious! I feel the show is landing with audiences in the way that we designed it. I wanted a show that made people stop and think.

Judging from the previews, I think we’ve achieved that. After the show, I’ve had both men and women telling me that the messages are powerful, and the narrative is so extraordinary that they’ve been moved by it. It’s encouraging and I wanted to do a stand-up show with layers of messages. It will be good if the show is funny as well!

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

It’s extremely heartwarming that many of my favourite comics are there. Definitely go and see my friends Nathan Cassidy and Elena Mazzon who both have fantastic shows. I’ve also just found out that the Australian comic Hannah Gadsby is performing near the same venue as me (Underbelly) next week. I’m such a fan and even by association, it’s so uplifting.

On a personal level, I have many friends who will be there, and we can support each other. It can be as simple as the right word, or a big hug and you get all the reassurance you need.

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‘I’d Like a Job Please’ (Venue 45, until Aug 10)

Posted in 3*, EdFestivals 2024, Rated: Nae Bad by

“Satire so biting it’s like dipping your toes in a paddling pool of cartoon piranhas.”

Editorial Rating: 3 (Outstanding)

Is it me or is there a dearth of jobs suitable for the graduates we produce? Clearly, it’s not just me since there is a show on this EdFringe that hits the nail squarely on the head. Here is a script that skewers the contemporary employment market with a satire so biting it’s like dipping your toes in a paddling pool of cartoon piranhas.

Sarah is a recent graduate, living at home, looking for a job. There isn’t much out there as the void said to the encompassing empty space an hour or two before the big bang. ‘Vacuous’ that is the word which springs to mind about the work available at the fuzzy end of the employment lollipop. BUT! Joy of joys, there’s an opening in an office (or is it a cult) pushing crappy products. There are downsides like terrible pay, life-sucking hours, and the nagging certainty that all you are doing is enriching crappy people sitting at the top of a broken pyramid. It’s a job doing zero social good and much societal harm.

Sarah hasn’t got much ambition beyond amassing a scintilla of self-respect. She shares existence with a cast of well-dodgy characters including toxic macho-hustler podcasters, carbon-copy women sapping the joy out of life with their singsong voices, and colleagues with less personality than the inside of a wet cardboard box. The only bright spot is Sarah’s mum whose sunny disposition is either totally naive or a lesson to us all.

Serious Billy Productions was founded three years ago by a group of University of Warwick students. Following sold-out productions at Warwick they have teamed up with Oxford Revue Alumni to develop ‘I’d Like A Job Please’. It’s obvious from the getgo that there is some serious talent under the hood of this Caterham Roadsport which, like its road-going automotive counterpart, is light, fast and occasionally furious.

There are some real highlights including the bizarre company away day as well as Sarah’s posh-adjacent friend’s horrible relationship with her horrible mother. This young company does grotesqueness like Gilray although not always with his joie de vivre. Fine satire admits the truth while seeing the possibilities however dim and uncertain. This is a generation with every reason to be angry that the economy is not simply a mess, it’s a beached, very dead whale carcass riddled with self-important wormish bloviators left high and dry by the tides of analogue, digital, and now AI-enhanced rushing up and down a polluted foreshore.

This is why there’s every reason to be positive, especially if you’re a supermart, superbright Russell Group graduate with a collective flair for real-world fantasy. Knowing that the rat race is a con is the first step on the road to a happy life. This is a cast-heavy production with a surprising lack of off-stage production going on. Where is the website? Where is the front of house work before curtain up? Where are the nuts and bolts a well-scaffolded production cannot do without? What’s on stage shows so much promise, but this unstretched canvas needs a frame and a focus so as to stand out from another very crowded market. It will be interesting to read their #EdFringeTalk25 10 months from now.

I hope that Serious Billy Productions will be returning and reflecting after this short run. They are ones to watch and they have something to say. Get your off-the-peg Next Sale work coats on and go see this!

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