Author Archives: Dan Lentell

+3 Interview: Lovely Girls

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“Using our genre-splatting blend of dance, theatre and comedy, Lovely Girls is a show that is challenging the norms, values and expectations we have set for women.”

WHO: Cristina MacKerron & Chess Dillon-Reams: Performers and directors

WHAT: “Chess and Cristina are multi award-winning duo, The Hiccup Project, often introduced as ‘the lovely hiccup girls’. At first, they didn’t react, because women are supposed to be lovely. But then they started to wonder what else they could be… Using their powerful blend of dance, theatre and comedy, they delve into the ridiculous and limiting contradictions and clichés of being a woman today. Follow Cristina and Chess’ poignant, hilarious and truthful journey where they imagine a world where women can be – and do – whatever they want. A celebration of two women, reclaiming their power.”

WHERE: ZOO Southside – Main House (Venue 82) 

WHEN: 20:50 (70 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Our first Edinburgh Fringe was in 2016, with our first show May-We-Go-Round?, at Dance Base. We didn’t know what to expect, and it was a very positive experience for us. It was such a joy to see the work grow over the run, and meet so many people! We learnt so much, made so many connections and gained so much work from it – that is still continuing to grow!

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

We didn’t get to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018. We spent most of it recovering from a spring/summer tour of our second show ‘It’s Okay, I’m Dealing With It”. In August 2018, we actually started making Lovely Girls, and it’s been a whirlwind of a journey since then! We worked with Bryony Kimmings and Solene Weinachter in the process. The process has been broken up into lots of different slots.

Tell us about your show.

Lovely Girls is our third show – directed and choreographed by us – Chess and Cristina – the performers, and directors of The Hiccup Project. We dream, write, direct, choreograph the whole shebang!

Using our genre-splatting blend of dance, theatre and comedy, Lovely Girls is a show that is challenging the norms, values and expectations we have set for women. Lovely Girls is a show about finding a voice – a voice that says ‘enough’ to being called just lovely, says ‘no’ to being sidelined and says YES to being whatever we want to be! On a broader level, it’s also challenging how we all want to be seen, and speaking up about it.

After meeting at school, and training at Northern School of Contemporary Dance – we formed the company Brighton in 2014. We’ve made two other shows ‘May-We-Go-Round?’ and ‘It’s Ok, I’m dealing with it’ which have both toured nationally, and performed at both Edinburgh Fringe and Brighton Fringes. Our work always uses social, universal themes, using our real experience/stories, and observational humour – with an aim to connect to audiences no matter their experience in theatre or dance! The work has premiered prior to Edinburgh Fringe – but the show has significantly developed since then – so we’re very excited to get performing!

Post Edinburgh – we are planning a big tour in Spring 2020 – we can’t wait to get it out there!

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

Everyone should go and see HoneyBee, the one-woman show by Eleanor Dillon-Reams. Expect a thumping soundtrack, phenomenal spoken word, beautiful writing and a very engaging performance from her. Not to be missed!

Juliet and Romeo – Lost Dog Dance – a fantastic mix of dance, theatre, and comedy. Juliet and Romeo didn’t die in this story – they’re now married, in their 40s, and struggling. It’s heart warming, painfully honest, beautifully executed.

The South Afreakins – Robyn Patterson – a fantastic one-woman show. Robyn takes both roles of her parents, as they talk about the struggles of living in South Africa. She is a superb actor. A real gem of a piece!

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+3 Interview: Ed MacArthur: Humoresque

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

” If we thought about the world as freely and creatively as children, we’d already be living on Mars by now.”

WHO: Ed MacArthur: Performer

WHAT: “Join award-winning Ed MacArthur in this madcap, multi-instrumental, one-man musical comedy. Star of hit shows Inheritance Blues (**** (Scotsman)), Swansong (**** (Stage)), Stack (**** (Fest)) and Murder For Two (**** (Telegraph)), MacArthur returns to delight audiences with his razor-sharp wit and stunning musicianship. ‘MacArthur, straight-backed and deadpan, has talent in spades’ (Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph). Produced by Fringe favourites DugOut Theatre, Humoresque is a hilarious hour in which MacArthur thrills audiences on piano, guitar, accordion, ukulele and more. ‘MacArthur has natural charm and considerable skill’ (Lyn Gardner, Guardian). **** (List). **** (ThreeWeeks). ***** (BroadwayBaby.com). **** (ThePegReview.com). **** (AYoungerTheatre.com). **** (WestEndFrame.com).”

WHERE: PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms – Speakeasy (Venue 68) 

WHEN: 14:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’ll be my first fringe as a solo musical comedian, but this will be my 7th fringe as a performer. I’ve been up many times with DugOut Theatre. We did musical comedies for theatres like Inheritance Blues, Stack, Swansong and other less successful shows.

Fringe lowlights include performing in a 3 person sketch show to 3 people, one of whom left to answer the phone halfway through, so we paused the sketch until she came back. Highlights include almost breaking even in 2013.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

The biggest thing that’s happened to me since I was last at the fringe is working with children. My new show is about teaching young children music and how it’s been very fulfilling and very, very funny. If we thought about the world as freely and creatively as children, we’d already be living on Mars by now. I’ve also got into squash. It’s a fast game, squash.

Tell us about your show.

Humoresque is a madcap multi-instrumental musical comedy solo show, starring me, Ed MacArthur. I’ve been writing the show for a few months, composing songs and playing them to George Chilcott, my director and founder of DugOut Theatre. We’re best mates and have been coming up here since 2010, so we’re gluttons for punishment. The show will be debuting in Edinburgh and then touring afterwards, performing 7 shows in 7 days in 7 different continents!

I’ve actually made that up, but if the offer was on the cards I would happily do it, especially Antarctica. They say a venue should be ‘cold for comedy’.

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

Jack Barry is a wonderful stand up comedian. I could watch him forever. Annie McGrath’s stand up will have people crying with laughter. GoodBear is a fantastic sketch group and I think this year will be their best show yet. They’re absolutely hilarious performers. Difficult to work with, but great guys.

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+3 Interview: Luke Rollason’s Infinite Content

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“I was cast in a Christmas advert for [well-known clothing brand], and I was flown out to Bulgaria where I was pretty much abandoned, baffled and sleep-deprived, outside my hotel. I wandered around Sophia (the capital of Bulgaria – thanks Google!) for two days, with no idea of when the nightmare would end.”

WHO: Luke Rollason: Performer/Creator

WHAT: “Switch on your phones and switch off your brains, as one idiot enters the cloud and puts his mind on a spin cycle for your entertainment. Welcome to a slapstick Black Mirror that is guaranteed to make us all mutual friends. Viral nonsense from the ‘amazingly entertaining’ ***** (EdFestMag.com) celebrity internet nonentity Luke Rollason. Unlimited calls and texts and time and space and hope and everybody wins an iPad. ‘Made me cry with laughter’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com). ‘Hugely entertaining’ (Chortle.co.uk).”

WHERE: Monkey Barrel Comedy – Monkey Barrel 4 (Venue 515) 

WHEN: 12:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

My history with the Edinburgh Fringe is a case study in trial-and-error. I’ve been in children’s theatre (played the role of “table”, was upstaged by giant elephant puppet), experimental physical theatre (upstaged by talking vagina puppet), musicals about political philosophy (upstaged by complex ideas), and last year I performed by debut solo show, which was a one-man David Attenborough nature documentary (upstaged by my technician’s poor Attenborough impersonation).

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

I was cast in a Christmas advert for [well-known clothing brand], and I was flown out to Bulgaria where I was pretty much abandoned, baffled and sleep-deprived, outside my hotel. I wandered around Sophia (the capital of Bulgaria – thanks Google!) for two days, with no idea of when the nightmare would end. Then I was taken to set where I was told, after four hours of waiting, that I had been cut because it took too long to get the actor who played the role of the Christmas Stocking in and out of his costume. But to be fair, he’d been to drama school, and I hadn’t. This complete non-experience was probably instrumental in my decision to make a show about advertising.

Tell us about your show.

My show is a one-man physical comedy show where I attempt to recreate the experience of your brain when you go online. As a result, my show is confusing, distracting, full of unfinished thoughts and (according to my press release!) addictive. My hope is people come back again and again, just to see if they missed something (they haven’t). It’s also super stupid, but has moments where something real and ‘human’ and that involves to connecting with people happens in the room. As part of all the manic chaos, quite a lot is asked of one audience member and the entire show totally hangs on the bond of uncertain trust we’ve built together. It’s an incredibly ambitious hour of high-concept comedy.

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

Straight after my show, people should go see some nature. Turn off their phones and head out onto the meadows or that park next to the train station. Take a bit of digital detox. At the very least, stick their heads in a pot plant. Then, if they are SURE they wanted to consume even more content, they should go and see Lucy Pearman’s new show Baggage, who is also at the Monkey Barrel. There are loads of excellent idiots at the Monkey Barrel – Josh Glanc and Pat Cahill are other favourites of mine. Then go check out the Heroes line up – like the Monkey Barrel, these are all excellent comedians doing Pay What You Want Shows (and unlike the rest of the Fringe, they’ll actually make money from doing them!). I don’t want to just list names, but it would be a real shame to miss Ali Brice’s new show in a bin, Bin Wondering. Finally, go see Privates: A Sperm Odyssey at 5.20pm at Heroes @ Boteco. It’s about sperm, and I’m in it, playing a sperm.

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+3 Interview: Steve N Allen: Better Than

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“This year’s show takes a step back from the detail and basically looks at why we’re all become worse.”

WHO: Steve N Allen: Writer, performer

WHAT: “In a time when you can’t do right for doing wrong, Steve N Allen (as seen on BBC Two’s The Mash Report) takes a look at how hard it is to be better. When you want to be PC, right on or woke, it can be tough. Be better than a Weinstein. Be better than an angry Twitter egg. Be better than you. An entertaining and sometimes hard-edged guide to better better than. ‘Biting satire’ **** (ThreeWeeks). ‘Cutting wit’ (Time Out). ‘A performer with masses of talent’ (FringeReview.co.uk).”

WHERE: The Stand Comedy Club 2 – Stand 2 (Venue 5) 

WHEN: 20:50 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I have done shows for a few years now but this is the most stand-uppy of stand-up I have done. In the past I have done shows that were topical comedy reviews of the year. I loved those shows and I’m grateful that one of them landed me the chance to get on The Mash Report.

This year’s show takes a step back from the detail and basically looks at why we’re all become worse. I know it doesn’t sound like an uplifting experience but I think it is when you get to the end of it.

I think we all know the right thing to do, but in recent years we have become skilled at finding a reason to do the worse things. We excuse it because we feel wronged, we think other people are worse, we think we can get away with it – come and see my show and find out how to be better than the worst people.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

In the last year some of the basics have happened – slightly more weight gained, slightly more hair lost – but I have also learned to care less about those things.

I’ve been doing a topical comedy podcast with the BBC. Whenever I do podcasts I notice they are downloaded in lots of foreign countries. I get emails from people who listen in far-flung places. It seems my podcasts are useful in learning English. So in a few years, when lots of tourists come to the UK and have a strange East Midlands accent, I will apologise.

Tell us about your show.

In a sense, this year’s show has been in the works for decades. Every time I have noticed something get worse – from people nicking tables in coffee shops before they have been served, the people who stop to work out where to go next at the top of an escalator, to the people who abuse their power at the top of the political system but make out they’re the victims – I have been working on a plan to be better.

Do I think my show will actually make the world a better place? Of course not, but you can only try.

Putting the bits of the show together has been some of the most fun times I have had on the stand up circuit. It’s been so nice to rant about the small annoyances, to open up about the losses in life and to talk about the joys of living through it all.

There’s a small tour of this show in the works. I’ll spread the word of being better than the worst type of people.

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

Go and see it all. See some political comedy like Erich McElroy’s Radical Centrist, go and see Pete Firman’s special type of comedy and magic (Pete Firman & The Amazing TBC). See a dance show that’s really experimental and you won’t understand it. See some late night comedy that is so raw you’ll feel bad for laughing at some of the jokes (Late N Live). What’s the worst that could happen? You’ll see a bad show but you’ll get a great story out of it.

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+3 Interview: Simon Caine: Every Room Becomes a Panic Room When You Overthink Enough

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“I adore the festival (it’s why I keep coming back, it’s not for the love of flyering).”

WHO: Simon Caine: Everything.

WHAT: “Loads of male comedians struggle with women, but even more of them struggle to make their problem sound unique. So instead of writing a show about that, Simon has written a show about stories, memories and habits. He also just finished the best comedy course available: an unstable upbringing. ‘You’re a more authentic John Oliver’ (Doug Stanhope). ‘What you’re doing is great… the problem is nobody understands it’ (Iain Coyle, Dave Comedy Commissioner). ‘His paranoid persona is immediately entertaining, simultaneously relatable and bizarre’ (BroadwayBaby.com).”

WHERE: Sweet Grassmarket – Grassmarket 4 (Venue 18) 

WHEN: 20:35 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my 4th time at the festival doing a solo show but before that I did 2 years of split bills.

I adore the festival (it’s why I keep coming back, it’s not for the love of flyering).

I look forward to being surrounded by a creative playground of likeminded humans who love to create and share ideas. I’m not looking forward to the first time I see my flyer dropped on the floor by a heartless punter who can’t find a bin.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

Personal – I joined a gym and actually took an hour a day to go swimming and get out of my head. I can’t wait to do that again. It REALLY helps with your mental health.

Professional – I only made an £80 loss. Which sounds like a bad result but if you know anything about this festival you’ll know most people lose MUCH more.

Mundane – I did the 4th foodbank collection (where I ask performers to donate their leftovers to the homeless instead of throwing it away at the end of the festival) and after that was all done and dusted I managed to get Fringe Central to take it over (they have the resources to do it better, bigger and easier than me).

Tell us about your show.

I wrote, produced, star in and created this show. The director is John Gordillo who has previously worked with Michael McIntyre, Reginal D Hunter and Eddie Izzard (clearly his career has gone down hill).

I thought the show was about my relationship with social media but since working with John he’s shown me the that it is actually about my relationship with sex. But given how quickly I check my phone after I’ve cum, it might be both.

I’ve done 35 previews around the country at 20 comedy festivals to get it ready for Edinburgh (so you would think I wouldn’t be still working on it at 2am the week before the Fringe but hey…)

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

My main recommendations would be Bec Hill as she’s outstanding and should be more famous. Daniel Kitson but everyone who should know him already does. Oh and Max and Ivan as they do outstanding multi-character sketch comedy that nobody else can even touch.

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+3 Interview: Global Grooves, Ancient Voices

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“East meets West and tradition meets innovation.”

WHO: Suba Sankaran: co-artistic director, performer

WHAT: “Internationally-renowned, Canadian-based Autorickshaw is on the cultural cutting edge with their seamless and downright cool sounding blend of jazz, folk, pop and Indian classical music. Fresh off their tour of India promoting their fifth award-winning album Meter, Autorickshaw is thrilled to make their debut in Edinburgh. Autorickshaw features the sultry, sophisticated vocals of Suba Sankaran, the driving basslines and beatboxing of Dylan Bell and the intricate tabla grooves of Ed Hanley. They have toured North America, the US, the UK, Europe and Asia. ‘Utterly unique and musically pioneering’ (Daniel Ariaratnam, Record).”

WHERE: theSpace on North Bridge – Argyll Theatre (Venue 36) 

WHEN: 18:30 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, this is our first time to Edinburgh as the band Autorickshaw. We’re really looking forward to drinking in all that Edinburgh has to offer via Fringe and otherwise. We’re planning on checking out the Castle, the Grassmarket, taking a walk along Hollyrood and Arthur’s Seat, the Royal Mile, Pleasance and so on. At Fringe, we hope to catch some other live music, comedy and whatever else comes our way! Two of the three of us were at Fringe last year, so we know to expect the unexpected and to be ready to party at every turn! The feast for our senses awaits…!

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

Winner of the 2018 CFMA (Canadian Folk Music Award) for best World Music Group of the Year/Album (entitled “Meter”). Winner of the 2019 Outstanding Performance Award at JEN (Jazz Educators Network) held in Reno, Nevada.
Toured India for the 4th time (Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Goa).

Tell us about your show.

This is a self-produced and written show by Autorickshaw. We are celebrating 15 years of musical service, and this new show, debuting in Edinburgh, is called Global Grooves, Ancient Voices. Autorickshaw is on the cultural cutting edge, seamlessly blending Indian classical music with pop, folk, funk, jazz and originals. Autorickshaw features the sultry, sophisticated vocals of Suba Sankaran, the driving basslines and beatboxing of Dylan Bell and the intricate tabla grooves of Ed Hanley. They have toured North America, the US, the UK, Europe and Asia.

East meets West and tradition meets innovation. Imagine a Sanskrit chant with live-looping, a song of female empowerment inspired by the highlands of India, and blistering Hindustani vocal percussion mingling with reggae and electronica, and you’ll get a glimpse of the subcontinental soundscape of Autorickshaw.

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

Two of the three members of Autorickshaw (Dylan Bell and Suba Sankaran) are part of an a cappella live-looping duo called FreePlay. Their show is A Cappella Around The World. This is innovative live-looping at its best. They toured a show here last year as well, to great acclaim. Others should check it out if they want to experience the intimacy of two voices, the smooth, effortless technique that allows for deep grooves, juicy harmonies and cool effects, and an a cappella musical trip around the world, all without leaving your seat!

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+3 Interview: Ladies Who Lunch

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“The dream to write was always strong.”

WHO: Niamh Collins: Writer/Director

WHAT: “Sally has enemies. Or she thinks she does. The problem is, they are all old friends. Gathered around a bistro table after 30 years of silence, five mothers pour out their parenting experiences for dissection. Motherhood may be the ultimate competition, but what’s the prize? Who’s done it well? Who’s plagued by regrets and who deep down wishes they had never done it at all? After an explosive run of Yen, Fourth Wall are back with a witty but strikingly poignant drama holding a microphone to the voice we seldom hear: the mother. ***** (TheBubble.org.uk).”

WHERE: Greenside @ Infirmary Street – Ivy Studio (Venue 236) 

WHEN: 10:05 (65 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As a company Fourth Wall have made their way up to the Fringe many times, but as a writer this is my first debut which is unbelievably exciting! Their previous tour of ‘Yen’ was fantastic and it’s such an honour to follow such a strong performance on the fringe stage with Ladies Who Lunch. The play was written when I was sixteen, it was left (like all drafts penned by insecure writers!) in my desk draw for three years until I directed it and performed a three day run in Durham city. I never could have anticipated the reception that we had.

To have the opportunity for such a brilliant company to take my words and present them to such a dynamic and global audience is unreal. As a play that uses actors under twenty-five to embody older characters, the fact that the generation who the play painted were so moved by it was the most gratifying thing about the whole run. A teenage boy came and found me at the end of the final night and said ‘I never understood my mother until watching this’. That was a big moment for me. Many young women contacted me and asked me for a copy of the script as they wanted their mothers to read it and be able to say ‘now I understand you’. I never could have predicted that.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

The biggest thing was probably the realisation that I wanted to be a playwright. It was the discovery that I had so many stories inside me that I wanted to share and that I hoped would be able to make an impact. Thus, Ladies Who Lunch was born out of my desire to explore the experience of the older woman. It was my sixteen-year-old self trying to document a struggle which I felt did not have enough exposure.

When I was growing up, the dream to write was always strong; from those first enduring images of a captivated writer banging away on an old Smith Corona in a Parisian coffee shop with an espresso and cigarette in hand (it was only later when you realise the Parisian apartment of your dreams has a rent hike, the espresso machine is broken and you’ve given up smoking for the sake of your lungs that reality really sets in!) When Ladies Who Lunch got the reception that it had that was the big moment for me to go; ‘maybe it’s okay for me to want to do this professionally.’

Tell us about your show.

Ladies Who Lunch was written to explore the voice of the older woman. I wanted to ask some powerful and controversial questions about ageing and motherhood in theatre and explore the highs and lows of maternal challenges. The play centres around the maternal experience of four older women and one young mother; it’s witty but also poignant and I hope that many people will be able to identify with it.

The play premiered in Durham and is made up of a company of six exceptionally talented young actors, some of whom have the challenge and the most incredible ability to blend seamlessly into their roles as sixty and seventy-year-old women! My friend who turned sixty around the time of the premiere said it would never work, I was so delighted when she saw the play and said there had been not a single moment when she doubted they were the age of the characters… that’s the magic of theatre I suppose! We are also surrounded by a wonderful producing team of seasoned fringe creatives Hetty Hodgson and Charlie Whitehead (also both presidents of Fourth Wall Theatre Company). It’s an amazing team, I’m very lucky.

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

There are SOOOOOO many good things on at the Fringe this year but for me the ‘MUST SEES’ are ‘Tappuchino’ at Gilded Balloon, it’s hilariously funny and brilliant for families! On at Greenside with us is ‘Bost-Uni Blues’ by Ugly Bucket. I saw their performance at NSDF this year and it absolutely blew me away, clowning has never been so brilliant! Some amazing other Durham companies are bringing some brilliant work to Fringe this year including ‘Poseidon’s Playhouse’ and ‘Ophelia is Also Dead’, so many wonderful things to see, it’s going to be one hell of a summer!

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+3 Interview: Privates: A Sperm Odyssey

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“There was one guy called Charlie who had been to the show 5 times, on his way back from work at night. So cool! Personally, that’s what I’m most looking forward to: the community aspect of the Fringe – being reminded by a tidal wave of creatives and performers that you are anything but alone.”

WHO: Tom Curzon: Performer

WHAT: “Attention all sperm! This is a military operation in procreation. Join three fun guys who fertilise in an adventure as big as life itself. Imagine Saving Private Ryan meets the sex education you wish you had, and they don’t wear adequate protection. Nine months later this show pops out. Don’t be ejacu-late, but don’t come early. The most physical comedy you could wish for, from the pr*cks behind the total sell-out Planet Earth III, Luke Rollason, Christian Brighty and Tom Curzon. ***** (EdFestMag.com). **** (VoiceMag.uk). ‘Made me cry with laughter’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com). ‘Hugely entertaining’ (Chortle.co.uk).”

WHERE: Heroes @ Boteco – Basement (Venue 516) 

WHEN: 17:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is our first time at the Fringe performing as a trio, but we’ve all been performing in Edinburgh for a few years now. Last year Bright Buoy ran a late-night clown cabaret called ‘The Wonder Jam’ in the Speigelyurt (a beautiful yurt run by Heroes (Bob Slayer and Lucy Hopkins)), where every night we’d create whatever we could with whoever was around, trying to elicit cries of ‘we were there when…’ and ‘I’ve been back every night!’. There was one guy called Charlie who had been to the show 5 times, on his way back from work at night. So cool! Personally, that’s what I’m most looking forward to: the community aspect of the Fringe – being reminded by a tidal wave of creatives and performers that you are anything but alone.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

One of the coolest things was doing Stepdads (mine and Luke Rollason’s double-act) at the Leicester Square Sketch Off Final and the Musical Comedy Awards. Both finals held in enormous theatres with audiences expecting sketches and musical comedy. And Stepdads offering neither! We would go out in our knitwear, Luke holding his tiny children’s Casio keyboard above his head like he’d just won the world cup, and tear up the rule-book like savages. I’ve also learnt how to bake bread this year, Christian got his ear pierced again, and Luke managed to keep his phone off for an entire week once. Oh! And in Brighton, we were booked to play Privates: A Sperm Odyssey for mums and their new-borns. That was a pinnacle for sure.

Tell us about your show.

Luke, Christian and Tom have tried to create the least sexy show about sex ever. It’s an action thriller and we are all dressed in skin-tight white spandex turtle-neck suits, pretending to be sperm on a mission to an egg. We dance around lots and occasionally our swimming hats pop-off. In the name of sexual education!

When we started making the show, the consensus was that our school sex-ed programmes were woeful and largely hijacked by videos of moustache-sporting, lab-coated men looking at their own sperm through microscopes. Something needed to be done! And then this show happened, and off we went to play at the Brighton Fringe. And then we were booked to play for the 300,000 people at Glastonbury, and hardly any of them came! So now we’d like our show to become part of UK school’s sex-ed curriculum. We could have a company of thousands of sperm actors and send them round the country.

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

It doesn’t seem quite right for me to plug Luke’s brilliant new solo show ‘Luke Rollason’s Infinite Content’ (12pm Monkey Barrel), so I’ll send you all off to see David McIver’s ‘Teleport’ at the Banshee Labyrinth instead. He’s just rewritten the show so that all the characters have a broken arm, and then he really genuinely broke his arm to do the show justice. I can’t wait. 12:20pm. Clashes with Luke so don’t book them on the same day.

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+3 Interview: Ian Smith: Half-Life

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“I’m looking forward to going to Mother India Restaurant – then going to a steam room the next day and smelling curry getting released from my pores and the other people in the steam room looking confused.”

WHO: Ian Smith: Performer

WHAT: “Multi award-winning comedian Ian Smith (BBC3’s Sweat the Small Stuff, Dave’s The Magic Sponge podcast) returns with his sixth solo show. It’s part one of a one-part show about halves, love and a holiday to Chernobyl. It will include theatrical techniques such as shouting and moving around. Amused Moose Comedy Award and ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award Winner 2017. ‘Catch him now before his inevitable jump to the big time’ (Telegraph). ‘One of the best you will see at the festival’ (Mirror). ‘A riot of sprightly silliness’ (Chortle.co.uk). ***** (ThreeWeeks). ***** (Mirror). **** (Chortle.co.uk). **** (Metro).”

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

WHEN: 17:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my sixth solo show – and I did a few compilation shows before that. I really love the Fringe, and Edinburgh is such a beautiful city. I’m looking forward to going to Mother India Restaurant – then going to a steam room the next day and smelling curry getting released from my pores and the other people in the steam room looking confused. Once a singer I really like, Jim Moray, came to see my show and I was delighted – that was a high point!

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

Since last year’s Fringe I got to take my show over to New Zealand Comedy Festival again. I love it over there – and this time I went fishing and caught some Red Snapper (a red fish, but not particularly snappy). One of the people in our group caught a fish and then felt so guilty they had to sit down for an hour. This year I entered a professional Scrabble tournament – so I’m talking about that in my show this year. Looking back at the games, I got beaten in one game by a woman who kept putting down fake words that I didn’t have the courage to challenge.

Tell us about your show.

My show is about love and stress – this year my fiancee and I had to postpone our wedding, I went on holiday to Chernobyl and entered this Scrabble tournament. So, the show is about those things and why they’re all linked. It’s directed by the very funny Stuart Laws. I think it’s the only show to have a cliffhanger and previously on… recap section. Hopefully I’ll be touring the show next year and I’d love to take it back to New Zealand Comedy Festival.

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

Comedy wise – I’d recommend going to see:
Jack Gleadow: Mr Saturday Night (17:45 Pleasance Courtyard)
He’s a really creative an exciting act doing his debut show – he’s worked very hard on it and there are so many unique set pieces. He’s a one of a kind!

Stuart Laws Is All In (12:20 Monkey Barrell 1)
Not only is Stuart Laws, he’s offering $250 to the best audience member too!

Outside of comedy:
Baby Reindeer by Richard Gadd (18:25 Roundabout @ Summerhall)
Richard’s shows are always incredible and I’m excited to see this!

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+3 Interview: Beat

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2019, Plus 3 2019 – Features by

“The world and her people (including myself) remain illogical, a pure mystery and the promised wisdom of adulthood has turned out to be the waiting for Godot.”

WHO: Daniel Bellus: Alfie

WHAT: “Alfie lives with his little brother, Hugo, Mum and George. Alfie is not like the other kids, but that’s only a problem for other people: his irritated parents, the bullying classmates and the exasperated teachers. Alfie doesn’t care as long as he can play his drums. He turns his everyday routine into a life bursting with wonder and music. The funny and moving story of an extraordinary mind gone rogue. The Molière Award-nominated smash-hit show premieres in the UK. ***** (Le Parisien).”

WHERE: Pleasance Dome – QueenDome (Venue 23) 

WHEN: 14:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

My first time performing, yes! My first time coming to the Fringe, however, was at the age of 17, nearly a decade ago. Two of my good friends and myself flew over from Amsterdam (Yes, born and raised there) to see what the buzz was about.

Memories? Plenty. Sweeny Todd, the Show Stoppers and, believe it or not: Mischief Theatre, back then performing in a 100-odd-seater and completely sold out. Until present remaining the best-improvised comedy I have seen so far, in a scenario where names related to random foods were crucial to the plot development and plentifully dropped.
After an overflow of hilarity and increasing bladder pressure, during the improvised murder mystery, one of the cast members called:

‘Ah, detective Sandwich!’ The other actor seemed stunned and seemingly searching for and adequate comeback. ‘Yes, it’s me!…’, he proclaimed, barely able to hold his laughter. ‘Sandwich! Ham Sandwich’ A hundred heads howling with laughter and actors shaking with tears is most likely the signature memory of that festival.

Other memories include: late adventures, dancing in an empty night club, taking the train to Burntisland and seeing the festival city from across the bay. And falling in love with the city, the festival and in general.
I’m very much looking forward to performing my first solo show, rediscovering the beauty of the city and the festival all over again. Only this time, from the other side of the auditorium.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

Brexit! No. I’ve grown up! No… The world and her people (including myself) remain illogical, a pure mystery and the promised wisdom of adulthood has turned out to be the waiting for Godot.

But on a less Beckettonian note: I have been lucky enough to be doing a good few Voice-Over gigs, touring with the Three Inch Fools (yes, Google) and I’ve come to see more of the UK than the country I was born in!

Tell us about your show.

To me, the show is truly about freedom. It is about pursuing that which makes you feel alive. The world in which we live often focuses on surviving and perpetuating a cycle of future promises, making sure we can build an existence.
To my character Alfie however, nothing exits unless it relates to drums. And then, when there is a beat, the world is a wonder without past or future. It is a story about passion and desire and how the heart beats the most beautiful of rhythms when it is set free.

Cedric Chapuis is the writer. He has written and performed the play throughout France for over ten years and now the production is landing a l’Angleterre. I was lucky enough to be cast by himself, Stephane Battle-the director, the producers (SiT Productions) and the beyond wonderful Nadine Rennie. A truly brilliant company to be part of.

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

Anything that makes you feel alive and forget about any problems you may have.

And if you don’t have problems, the better: you’ll have plenty of dilemmas about which show to queue up for! Go to music gigs, see physical theatre such as Fish Bowl or George(by Contingency Theatre), Intolerable Side Effects (crying out loud comedy with an important message by Claire Parry) and in general: just go with the flow! Read reviews and go to one star and five star shows. Just like a Harry Potteresque box of Bertie Botts every flavour beans, you’ll never know what you’ll find. Isn’t that delightful?

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