Author Archives: Dan Lentell

EdFringe Talk: Seledka

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Answer your emails! 99% of problems can be solved by reading or sending them.”

WHO: Jake Bryant

WHAT: “In the name of Russia, Seledka and his new troupe are here to stop the war. His goal? Make sure his soldiers eat sleep bleed Soviet. However, his meeting is hijacked by young Ukrainian women recounting tales from the war. Who’s entitled to claim ownership of a country? How different are we from those fighting for their freedom? One-woman show, Seledka, is a political satire written to educate and relate the distant world of Ukraine to audiences who have never had to question what it’s like to live with war. We are more similar than we think.”

WHERE: Snug at Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152) 

WHEN: Varies (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, it’s our entire team’s first time at Edfringe! The worldwide reputation of exciting, fresh, all-day art is something we’re eager to experience first-hand.

While we’re not festival veterans (yet), getting to connect with the larger circle of driven, inspired artists has been (& will continue to be) a treat!

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

The biggest lesson we’ve learned: answer your emails! 99% of problems can be solved by reading or sending them.

Tell us about your show.

Uliana Klimchuk (recent grad of UNCSA Drama) is our playwright! The play is based off of her own experiences with the war in Ukraine, as well as those of other women in her life—inspired by a devised project late in her 3rd year of school. This past spring, our director Lily Afghani joined Ulia in mounting SELEDKA’s official premiere for UNCSA’s Keys to the Kingdom season. SELEDKA was then selected for support in going to the Fringe by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts—artistic & producing partners we’re thrilled to collaborate with! That’s when producer Jake Bryant (me!) hopped on board, with D.C. and NYC premieres following soon after. While our next moves aren’t set in stone, SELEDKA will certainly keep finding new venues as the show grows & more people get the chance to hear what we have to say.

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

Our audience should see every show they can, of course! There are 24 hours in a day, aren’t there? 😉

But if we had to make 2 recommendations, we’d recommend 00:45:00, written & directed by Katie Gaven, and Time Travel Postman from our friends Melissa Ingle (director) and Sevrin Willider (performer).

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EdFringe Talk: American Assholes: Escape to Edinburgh

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“A great festival happens when you get to grow as comics in your writing, performance, and the business side of this industry.”

WHO: Dannielle Slaughter

WHAT: “A Queer, African and Indigenous American trio (HBO, Don’t Tell, Amazon Prime, New York Times – Critic’s Pick, Time Out), unite for a cross-cultural comedy hour dissecting identity, politics, and why Americans might, in fact, be the worst. Smart, sharp, and occasionally unhinged, these comics deliver a Venn diagram of perspectives, overlapping in their desperate pursuit of something better: possibly love, definitely a visa. Featuring modern social satire and a marriage raffle of dubious legality. Free. Irreverent. Potentially inadmissible in court.”

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

WHEN: 22:10 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes and no. Lauren LoGiudice did Edinburgh Fringe in 2024. This is the first time for myself (Dannielle Slaughter) and Wayne Charles II at Edfringe.

We have done multiple festivals, but this is the first EdFringe for us as a trio – The American Assholes.

A great festival happens when you get to grow as comics in your writing, performance, and the business side of this industry. Being able to see what so many other comedians are working on, network – but also the panels and meeting with reviewers, managers, agents, club bookers, etc. There are so many aspects to being successful as a standup comic, so growing in each area and utilizing this time to jump into our next steps is great. That’s what we hope to get out of this. We’d love to take the American Assholes show to additional places and cultures.

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

The biggest thing we have learned as a group is trust. Standup comics typically work solo on stage and in their writing. So being able to grow as a group has come out of learning to trust each other. We value each other’s individual skills, contributions and voice. A typical club comedy show is a 3 man show, this is also a 3-man show but all with equal time and a trio-collaboration on stage.

Tell us about your show.

American Assholes: Escape to Edinburgh is a trio of stand-up comedians dissecting identity, politics, and why Americans might in fact, be the worst. Our material creates a volatile Venn Diagram of perspectives that somehow lands in a deeply human place. Beneath the surface is a collective search for relief, belonging, and maybe even redemption…maybe.

We just did a preview of our show ahead of our Fringe run, at the Caveat Theater in New York’s Lower East Side. Audiences who attended the show have called it: “Unapologetic” “Really funny – so mean but so funny” “Dark funny, sick funny, wholesome funny, sweet funny, random funny, character funny.” “A blast” “Understanding how you relate to the world” “The most likeable Assholes I’ve ever met” “Gives me the laughter I need to help process the times we’re living in.”

Our trio met on the New York comedy circuit, and quickly recognized a shared obsession in our work; unpacking identity, contradiction, and what it means to exist in modern America – we dissected our own work and found this common thread.

After Edfringe: we are in talks with some producers and clubs in Australia, Japan, and other spots in Europe who want to bring the American Assholes to their stage, so we look forward to announcing 2027 tour dates soon.

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

We would highly recommend seeing Meka Mo who also has a show at Just the Tonic, she’s so funny, so you will definitely want to check her out. Also, Shane Torres is running his hour with Assembly that you wouldn’t want to miss. August 19th, Sammy Obeid will be performing in Edinburgh and always has a great crowd because his standup is smart, hilarious, and so current. Also- check out the showcase shows, we are excited about some of the offerings from RGB Monster this year!

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EdFringe Talk: Kat Higgins: In Memory of Me

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Never trust trains or Ryanair flights to run on time- plan for delays. Thats a lesson I’m still struggling to learn.”

WHO: Kat Higgins

WHAT: “Kat wants to be remembered. But being the favourite child is impossible when your competition is a literal angel. With Irish charm and cutting wit, Kat explores Catholic guilt, sibling rivalry and the “sainthood” of the dead in her sharp storytelling debut. If you want a saint, go to church. If you want the truth, come to this. Tour support for Rosie Jones, Janine Harouni and Tatty Macleod, Kat made her television debut on BBC One and BBC Three with the BBC New Comedy Awards. Winner of the 2026 Chortle Hotshots bursary awards.”

WHERE: Nic 9 (Nicolson Square Gardens) at Hoots @ Nicolson Square (Venue 63) 

WHEN: 17:10 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I came to my first Fringe on a whim- I got made redundant in July, and got a new job starting in September, so all of a sudden, I had no work and no plans for August. I’d only started open mic comedy a couple of months earlier and heard everyone talking about “The Fringe,” so I was keen to go see what it was all about. I got a job flyering for a production company and found a spare bit of floor for me to sleep on. By the end of the month, I was running the flyering team, producing one of the shows, and determined to bring my own show someday. And several years later- I’m still a flyerer, but for my own show this time.

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

When your corporate company has a “Town Hall” meeting with the new CEO to discuss the restructuring of the business, and they ask, “Any questions?” do not be the only person to put your hand up and DEFINITELY don’t ask if they are planning any redundancies. Inevitably, you will be one of the only people they make redundant.

Also, never trust trains or Ryanair flights to run on time- plan for delays. Thats a lesson I’m still struggling to learn.

Tell us about your show.

My show is about me- hence the title, In Memory of Me. I wrote it about my life growing up- being an attention seeker, the only girl with three brothers, raised Catholic, and how that’s all shaped me into who I am today- which is a bit of a prick. But hw I think being a prick is something that should be celebrated- especially in death. My eldest brother Micheal died, and I think the best thing about it was that he was a prick and we should remember that when memorialising the dead. The best bits of people are often gritty and imperfect- this show is my attempt to argue that’s how they, and mainly I (attention seeker remember?) should be remembered.

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

SO MUCH STUFF!! I’m gonna start with something you should see before me, which is Ruby Carr’s show Bite Me, which is in the same room as me, directly before my show (lovely little double bill for you- can even keep the same seat!) Ruby is one of my favourite people to watch on stage, and having seen previews of the show, it is silly, daft, and hilariously absurd.

Other things you need to go see is Marty Gleeson’s Dog Ear- I love seeing Marty live and this show is top of my must see list. Also on the list are Cecily Hitchcock, Raj Poojara and Shane Daniel Byrne

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Bedfringe 2026 Interview: Dungeons & Dragons with Sunjai Arif

Posted in *Written Interviews, Bedfringe 2026 by

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“I took a break from doing a solo festival show last year because I fell out of love with the show I was working on.”

WHO: Sunjai Arif

WHAT: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”

Dragons are alive and well, thriving in our world. They are pillaging every day and must be stopped. Join Sunjai Arif’s band of adventurers to stop the Dragon in an interactive and raucously chaotic comedy show that is not to be missed. Success is essential, failure is likely in the most hilarious fashion.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 24 July 2026 @ 21:30 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

Yes, this is my first time at the Bedford Fringe. I was looking for friendly festivals to try out a new show format and the Bedford Fringe was recommended to me by several other comedians. After applying the organisers got back to me to say they loved the concept of the show and were keen to host it. I thought “If they like me, I like them” so I booked it in.

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

I took a break from doing a solo festival show last year because I fell out of love with the show I was working on. I had written a very heavy but importantly, also funny show (there were puppets) about generational family trauma. In the end I felt I was unable to perform the show respectfully enough to my relatives, both living and deceased so I just stopped doing the show (I blame the puppets).

Tell us about your show.

This current show is simply an exercise in pure joy! One of my favourite past times is playing Dungeons and Dragons so I wanted to bring that to stage and get audiences involved. At its heart, the game is about communal story telling, which is something rooted in human biology. We can’t stop telling stories and doing it together in a big group makes it even better. I’m not very good at promoting myself (I am only answering these questions the day before my show in Bedford) but hundreds of audience members this year have told me how much they love the show and they can’t all be wrong.

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

My show is the last one on Friday night so have a good rest Saturday morning then take your kids to see Max Fulham’s Monkey Business at 3pm. After that, dump the kids (if they’re under 14yrs) to see his other show: Memory foam at 9pm. Don’t go if you’re scared of puppets. I need to leave Bedford after my show but if I was hanging around I would go check out Paul Foot’s show on Saturday at 7.30, I always find his view on the world; whimsical, wonderful and witty.

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EdFringe Talk: Jealousy Play

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“When I returned last year as Director of Sluts With Consoles, I fell in complete love with the festival.”

WHO: Rachel Isobel Heritage

WHAT: “Joanne has spent years working towards a life on stage. Neptune arrives there effortlessly. As their paths continue to cross, comparison turns corrosive and envy becomes obsession. In this psychologically driven solo performance, Joanne confronts the trauma, class barriers and survival instincts shaping her ambition. An intimate and unflinching exploration of burnout, neurodivergence and what it costs to pursue a creative life while carrying what remains unhealed.”

WHERE: Clover Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16) 

WHEN: 20:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third visit to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. My first was as a baby producer in 2021 – a very atypical year at the Fringe. It was much more low key because of COVID and to be honest I was just winging it. When I returned last year as Director of Sluts With Consoles, I fell in complete love with the festival. It was so healing to be surrounded by such passionate storytellers and be witness to so much great work. And I knew I had to come back, so I am so proud that I’ve been able to manage it again this year. We are so blessed to have a space that is so dedicated to platforming new works, the energy of the festival it what makes it so great. Everyone is so full of care for their shows, hope of them taking off and encouragement for each other. It’s a spirit I try to embody year round.

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

Yeah, massively. After Fringe last year (after 6 years of running around in chaos as an Actor and Self Producer) I had a bit of a massive burnout/ego death. The biggest lesson: slow down. My life used be centered on a constant state of emergency. I was working over full time because I thought that’s what I needed to do to survive in this industry. But to make great art, it is better to thrive than just survive. I’m going into Fringe this year with the goal to simply be to enjoy the festival, and indulge in the art. Being a self producer is hard because you have two voices arguing with each other in your head: the artist and the producer. The artist wants to indulge and the producer wants results. I’ve learnt that if you allow yourself the space to fully commit to the art, the outcomes don’t actually matter. Your story is the priority, let it be.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote the show and it very much came from my ego death. It’s loosely [she says] based on the past 5 years of my life, exploring my own CPTSD and how that manifested in a codependent relationship with Acting, and ‘the industry’. CPTSD is a very misunderstood mental health condition, and often those who struggle with it go unseen. Symptoms manifest as people pleasing, hyperindepence and masking to such an extreme that you don’t even realise the extent to which you are self abandonment. That’s where I was at, running on desperation at 10,000 miles an hour, blaming external circumstances for a deep rooted pain I couldn’t otherwise explain. That’s what trauma does; it hides and it rules your perception. Until one day, your body says no. Jealousy Play is the culmination if how I learnt to face my trauma and chose myself, letting go of the need for approval and external validation. It’s a show about an actor for actors. And a love letter to all my fellow late realised neurodivergent artists out there.

It’s produced by my company Lockdown Projections, which I set up in 2020 after graduating my Acting Foundation in lockdown. We preview the show at the Pearly Queen in Bow on July 23rd and 24th. No current plans post Fringe – but we are open to booking invites!

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

I was lucky enough to watch extracts of all three of these shows at Lockdown Projections’ own Edfringe showcase ‘WIP IT UP’ at The Divine earlier this month. SUCCUBUS is a hilarious and unique exploration of women’s health, Bloody Mary(s) uses song and storytelling to enlighten the audience with some untold history and You Are What You Eat is brilliantly self aware in its comedy.

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EdFringe Talk: Broke and Fabulous in the 21st Century

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Be brave, trust your gut, everytime you overcome something big or small it’s like fuel to the creative fire.”

WHO: Dale Robertson

WHAT: “Broke and Fabulous in the 21st Century is an unabashed dramedy about two fabulous best friends, Alex and Petunia, chasing their dreams and navigating love in their chaotic 30s. This millennial love letter is a riotous ode to friendship, ambition and the ridiculousness of modern love. So come grab a drink, darlings! and let us split your sides with this honestly raucous, raunchy play, proving that even broke and frazzled you can always be fabulous…”

WHERE: Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24 

WHEN: 14:20 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my second time to Edinburgh Fringe. However Going back up this time everything is completely different. This is the first stage play I’ve written and the first show for our company Beacon & Tide Productions. It’s also the first I’ve directed here in the UK and from being selected by Gilded Balloon, Having the wonderful support of CNC PR and bringing up a show that is completely ours, with everything learned from the first fringe, it really feels like a whole new exciting ball game.

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

Wow. This is a big question haha there are too many lessons to list but importantly; be brave, trust your gut, everytime you overcome something big or small it’s like fuel to the creative fire and encourages you to push even further. Also as a director & producer your team is paramount, not only their skills and talents but their well being and fulfillment in the project too. Strong teams = A strong show.

Tell us about your show.

As mentioned earlier, this is the first stage play I’ve written and it came about because I had six months left on my visa, I was advised that if I wanted to qualify for my Global Talent visa, I would have to garner more press from one more production, or face a very unceremonial deportation back to Australia, after nearly six years of fighting to stay in the UK.

I knew the space I was writing for, who would be in the audience and if this wasn’t going to be my debut to London it was going to be my swan song and I at least wanted those I loved in the audience to see a bit of our story lovingly expressed on stage, in the very wild and wonderful dramatisation of the stories and characters that bind us together and that I love so much.

Writing started September 10th, 2025, by October cast and crew were locked in and commenced R&D, we rehearsed evenings through November and opened on the 2nd of December at the Etcetra Theatre in Camden, and for a week played to sell out audiences, personally it was actually insane, not just the recpetion from the audiences but how lucky I was to have found such a great first cast & crew. I was exhausted but felt so proud for what we achieved in such a short amount of time.

Before I even knew I had my visa, spear-headed by our wonderful Olive McHugh we made the first selection for Edinburgh Fringe with The Gilded Balloon and we were out the gate once again. Once my visa was confirmed, not only was there a huge weight lifted but any professional restrictions imposed by the former Skilled work visa evaporated. I started the fledgling company Beacon & Tide Productions to take Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century to Edinburgh which in itself has been humbling and a massive learning experience. I’m beyond excited to now have the chance to showcase Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century at this years fringe and for another Edinburgh adventure with the most amazing cast & crew.

This play was always meant as a love letter to London and hopefully after our efforts in Scotland we can bring it home to a London stage bigger and better than ever.

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

Okay so I’m lucky to have quite a few friends coming to this years fringe, Olivia Woods is the director, I did my first fringe with in 2024, she’s wonderful and has a show called Persona At the Space, I’m so excited to see my darling New York home girl and absolute powerhouse Ella Loudon is in Women of Will at Summer Hall, also I’m so happy for Fraser Kelsey and can’t wait to see his Desperate Wee Gay Boy at the Underbelly.

For the shows I’m eager to see minus the personal connection, as a true crime fan very excited to See Amanda Knox: Cartwheel starring herself at Gilded Balloon Tevoit, Francesca Moody’s Roleplay at Summer Hall seems a total riot, must see, and Larry Dean’s Hellbent at the Pleasence Court Yard because he’s hilarious and I find him weirdly adorable.

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EdFringe Talk: This Is How I Got Arrested…

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“This year I will be doing the WHOLE MONTH with no stops & no more edits – I’ve never been more excited.”

WHO: Azaelia Slade

WHAT: “This Is How I Got Arrested (after smuggling drugs across the border but never actually getting caught with any drugs) is a tightly structured, fourth wall breaking, hilarious, one-woman dark-comedy show. Meet Sophie, a working-class youngster, who takes the phrase ‘girls just wanna have fun’ a bit too far! What begins as a fast-paced account of her upbringing quickly spirals into a drug-fuelled escapade. Told under the pressure of a ticking timer, lies will unravel, truth will be revealed and mischief will mount into madness.”

WHERE: Playground 3 at ZOO Playground (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 19:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, but it feel’s like the first. Last year I was lucky enough to perform for a week, given a last minute venue with Free Fringe @Bar50 – a GREAT space which made me feel very warmed, welcomed & safe. I was able to try out the show, (for a small fee,) in front of a live crowd testing reactions whilst the show was still a working progress. This year I will be doing the WHOLE MONTH with no stops & no more edits – I’ve never been more excited, but I am still nervous, and still feel like a virgin, if last year was a blowjob, this year I’m going all the way.

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

Next year there wont be 60 props, 100 sound ques & 10 costume changes….

Tell us about your show.

Written and produced by me, Azaelia Slade, This Is How I Got Arrested… allows you to take a peak at the reality of a real, raw working class life. Following a small UK tour, I aim to carry on sharing my story after the fringe, finding a larger viewing audience through lens and screen, because the people that will really relate to my story, wont ever be able to afford EdFringe.

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

Go and see ‘Closure Cabaret’ by Maria Ansdell – brilliant piece of clowning, she’s so funny & can really hold an audience, her improvisation and interaction skills are ACE! Absolutely loved seeing this at SOHO Theatre after meeting her at Brighton fringe! There is real heart & honesty in Maria’s performance! 7th-31st August 4pm @Hoots Nicolson Square. Another one not to miss is ‘Enuff is Enuff with Shaun Guff by Clementine Bogghargroves, this is an extraordinary bit of character comedy by an up n coming northern comedian! After seeing a ten min preview for their Manchester Fringe run at Carpark comedy (run by the amazing Jessie Perillo) I was forced to buy a ticket for the full show because of how funny ‘Shuan’ was! Shaun Guff will be performing at 6.20pm 7th-31st August @Hoots Wee Container 2!

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EdFringe Talk: Thermodrama

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Lydia and I spent hundreds of hours talking before a word hit the page.”

WHO: Lydia Free & Coco Cottam

WHAT: “Four people enter a sauna, three walk out. Over an hour, a group of strangers get hotter and hotter. So hot, they start to cook. Coco Cottam’s new play Thermodrama measures the costs of a culture of self-improvement on four precarious lives. Following a sell-out run of BLANDY – ‘Riotous, visceral and whip-smart’ ***** (BingeFringe.com) – Lovelock Productions have taken a room in Summerhall and are going to make it sizzle.”

WHERE: Old Lab at Summerhall (Venue 26) 

WHEN: 22:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No! Thermodrama is our second time at Edinburgh Fringe as a company, following our run of BLANDY at Assembly last August. And we are so excited to be back for 2026. We absolutely love the Fringe, meeting new audiences and artists, and the festival’s unique ability to place the weirdest and wackiest juxtaposition of plays, shows, and acts in the same room across a twenty-four hour period. This year, our space is double the capacity of last year’s so we’re excited to tackle the new challenge!

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

Coco has just finished MA Creative Writing at the University of Oxford: “Over the last year, I’ve been writing a spec screenplay alongside this play. It’s expanded my ideas about the ways of telling a story – I think more visually and structurally than I used to. It’s also the first play we’ve intensively workshopped. We cast the play before I started writing. Lydia and I spent hundreds of hours talking before a word hit the page. That process of developing the play with Lydia and the actors has been invaluable. We’ve gone much further into the borders of the play, some of the many versions of the play that could be. The text I have discarded, the stories that in other drafts would be forgotten, has been metabolised by the actors. Their characters contain all the trials and errors, all the other plays contained within ‘Thermodrama’ on stage. That’s new to me and cool to watch.”

Lydia is halfway through her MA Theatre Directing at Birkbeck: “I’m always on the job. I feel like this project has been an especially learning-heavy process for me and Coco as artists and collaborators. We have gone about this process with a story/character first, and text-second approach. It has been fascinating and energising to build the play around the actors and their contributions in the workshop space before we went into rehearsals. Mine and Coco’s relationship as writer and director is constantly evolving, and I feel like this year, we have scaled up on our symbiosis as the boundary between Coco’s work ending and mine beginning has become increasingly and welcomingly blurred.”

Tell us about your show.

Thermodrama is written by Coco Cottam, and is jointly produced by her and co-head of Lovelock, Lydia Free, who is directing the play We also have the fantastic James Newbery back on the team this year as our Associate Producer. The company came out of making lots of theatre at uni together (normally written by Coco!) and we have been making theatre and film ever since.

Edinburgh Fringe will be the premiere of Thermodrama, and we are so excited for the Fringe audience to be the first eyes on the piece. There is a lot of dialogue about wellness, biohacking, mortality, and wider society’s relationship with the manosphere (thank you, Mr Theroux), especially at this year’s festival. We are keen for Thermodrama to keep develop this debate with our audiences. Let’s chat about it!

We aim to have a homecoming for Thermodrama in London, and we are always keen to explore more options! Get/Keep in touch!

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

We have to mention James Grieve’s sauna in the Summerhall Courtyard downstairs. Although Thermodrama grapples with the flaws of wellness culture, we are massively intrigued by the possibilities of an eighty-person sauna-theatre. Like theatre, the sauna has traditionally been seen as a space for improvement. The difference in effect between their immersive storytelling and our expressionistic set will be an interesting one.

Speaking of our show, you will love our Camilla Anvar who plays Sophie. Camilla is also playing in The Wreck at 10:30AM in the Old Lab (yes, ante-meridian. Bear in mind our play is at 10:30 post-meridian…again in the Old Lab). We love Buzzcut and their live-cinema work is really cool, and obviously we think Camilla is great.

Some more things we are excited for: HotCat’s dance-theatre show Stop Playing Jacob’s Ladder With My Spine, Maybe You Like It’s Whatever Happened to that Guy? will be brilliant, as will Kick It Anywhere’s The Jolly Fisherman at Underbelly.

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EdFringe Talk: Puck Bunnies: A Heated Rivalry Drag Musical Parody

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“Los Angeles is not really a theatre town, so we are all very excited to be among the masses of theatre freaks!”

WHO: Kyra Brown, Christan Leonard

WHAT: “Since Heated Rivalry graced our screens, there’s been a collective yearning throughout the world. That yearning comes to the stage with Puck Bunnies: A Heated Rivalry Drag Musical Parody show that’s definitely not associated with the TV show. From tuna melts to Rozanov’s bodacious booty, we’ll see you at the cottage… or in this case, The Gilded Balloon.”

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

WHEN: 22:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, this is our entire cast’s first time to Edinburgh Fringe! We like to go hard, so we knew we had to send it to the biggest festival possible. To us, what makes Fringe so great is the infrastructure the festival provides, so traveling halfway across the world is worth it because we get to do our show every night for a month. We are so excited to be somewhere where the main thing happening in the city is theatre, and there are people there specifically to see shows. Los Angeles is not really a theatre town, so we are all very excited to be among the masses of theatre freaks! We’re all getting nerv-cited to pop our Edinburgh V-cards in a few short weeks!

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

12 months ago, our source material, Heated Rivalry, hadn’t even aired yet!

Kyra: I think of that time period as B.H.R. (Before Heated Rivalry). Since the show came out and we made our drag musical parody of it, I’ve learned so so much, starting with how to sing. I’m not even joking. When we wrote the first draft of this, I had never sung onstage in my entire life. I’ve learned about vocal health, about the beautiful magic of changing the keys of songs so they sound good in your range, and when to lip sync in a group number where I continually miss the note I’m supposed to be on! Just kidding I would never lip sync. Wink! I’ve also learned a lot of lessons about leadership I intend to absorb sometime in the next year!

Chris: AI may take most of our jobs but it will never take away live theater. The energy of the stage is an intangible thing that no data center will ever be able to recreate. It’s mostly beautiful, sometimes brutal, and completely irreplaceable.

Tell us about your show.

Puck Bunnies was written, directed, and produced by TV writer Kyra Brown and filmmaker Christan Leonard in a frenzied craze following our shared obsession with the TV show. We put the company together by casting all our improviser friends who are funnier and have more musical talent than us. We hired Tony Gonzalez to music direct, and hit the ground running! We had a sold out run this spring in LA at Dynasty Typewriter, and are manifesting a tour next year after Fringe!

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

You should all go see our rival shows, obviously. That’s right, there are three Heated Rivalry Musicals at the Fringe this year. Ours is the only drag one, but the others are also well worth the watch. We’ve seen Heated Rivalry Musical Parody, which is also playing at Gilded Balloon, and can confirm it’s a blast. Our shows manage to both capture the essence of Heated Rivalry but in completely different ways, so it will not feel like the same show at all. We haven’t seen the Heated Rivalry Unauthorized Musical Parody yet, but we simply can’t wait to! We can also recommend checking out musical improv shows Baby Wants Candy and Shamilton, where you just might see some of our cast members popping in!

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EdFringe Talk: Argonauts

Posted in *EdFestivals 2026, *Written Interviews by

“I knew of the Fringe’s power as a concept, but being there in person was something else entirely.”

WHO: Thiago Richter

WHAT: “Opinions are weapons. Friendship is the casualty. Liz and Sam host a theatre podcast. When Sam champions a radical new production, Liz’s fury erupts, not from having seen it, but from the sheer possibility of their disagreement. As their civilized world shatters in a storm of jargon and betrayal, the unthinkable happens, as furious voices of Greek tragedy and Shakespeare’s figures erupt onto the stage, violently invading and transfiguring their reality. An absurd meta-theatrical tragicomedy from Brazil performed in English where worlds collide, discourse meets myth and theatre fights back.”

WHERE: Playground 2 at ZOO Playground (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 18:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We first had contact with the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016, while I was on a scholarship summer course at the University of Edinburgh (SUISS). I knew of the Fringe’s power as a concept, but being there in person was something else entirely. The people, the passion, the sense of an entire city living for art. I knew we needed to be part of this one day.

Ten years later, we are.

Coming back now with our newest production, Argonauts, we get to experience the other side of it, the risk and the vulnerability of putting your work out there, but we’re also confident, knowing that exact tension is such fertile ground for artistic development. The sense of wonder is amplified in many ways. A ‘dream within a dream’, as we discuss in the play.

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

We’ve learned a lot, and that’s one of the best parts. The best way to learn something in theatre, and maybe in life as a whole, I believe, is by doing it. And this process, with all its difficulties and subsequent overcomings, has strengthened us as artists and also as producers. It’s such a gargantuan endeavour, especially as an international company, and precisely because of that we’ve become stronger and more in our element in each of the many roles we perform as the preparation process nears its end. It’s a trial by fire, and overcoming it empowers you.

Tell us about your show.

Argonauts was written by me and produced in continuous collaboration with dramaturg and actress Jéssica Cardia. Curiously, we started working together in Brazil doing theatre in English when we were still teenagers, and the festival we were part of back then was, in many ways, very much inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe, which makes this debut yet another full-circle moment in our lives.

Technis, the company we founded, was created for the staging of one of our previous productions, Noite de Reis or What You Will, a bilingual Portuguese-English reading of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It’s a play we love, and it opened many doors for us in Brazil and even abroad. Now with Argonauts, the idea is to expand those horizons even further into the UK, as well as all the other possibilities that the Edinburgh Fringe cultivates.

This is a world premiere: we’re bringing it to the world for the very first time at ZOO Playground. As for what awaits us after the Fringe, we’re very much open to the conversations and connections the festival masterfully brings to the table. We’d love to take it elsewhere in the UK (London is always a dream waiting to happen) but wherever the play finds resonance with its audience, really. That’s much of what the show is about. For now, however, our focus is entirely on Edinburgh. We’re giving it everything we have.

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

Gabi Flares’ Deluge, is coming back to the Fringe after a run in 2024, we became great friends through that experience (yet another one of the Fringe’s wonders). It’s at Underbelly Cowgate, Aug 5-30, 3:30pm. Amazing physical theatre work.

We’d also like to give a shout out to two other brilliant Brazilian shows sharing our home at ZOO Venues this year: 116 Grams and The Last Drop. We know the teams behind both from São Paulo’s theatre scene, so it feels awesome to share this journey with them.

There’s something special about seeing work from our home country resonating on this international stage, a reminder that Brazilian theatre has much to say to the world.
That’s the beauty of it, we’re all in this together.

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