+3 Interview: Blank Tiles

“Hopefully the show will be picked up by big shot Hollywood producers who will turn it into a film staring Tom Hanks and Helen Mirren.”

WHO: Dylan Cole, Writer/performer

WHAT: “Scrabble world champion, Austin Michaels (played by Dylan Cole) knew over 200,000 words. Then he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Since then Austin has been in a race against time to document his memories, his greatest achievements, before they fade from his mind forever. Let Austin tell you his story… if he can remember…”

WHERE: Assembly George Square Studios (Venue 17)

WHEN: 15:55 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes it is… I’m looking forward to eating a baked potato while bathing in IRN-BRU.

Tell us about your show.

My show is called Blank Tiles, it’s about a Scrabble world champion who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and now spends his days trying to document his most precious memories. The show played at the Melbourne & Adelaide Fringe festivals and is making it’s European debut in the “burgh”. It is written, produced, performed and pimped out to festivals around the world by yours truly.

The company which I creatively call “Dylan Cole presents” started in the womb almost 30 years ago staging a production called Where is the exit? Hopefully the show will be picked up by big shot Hollywood producers who will turn it into a film staring Tom Hanks and Helen Mirren.

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

For more board game action check out James Cook’s Board Game Smackdown at Free Festival daily at 4:45pm at Bar 50 on Cowgate. It’s a show where performers play some board/card/party/tabletop games live on stage. That’s pretty much it.


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+3 Interview: Lists for the End of the World

“I came a few times as a student but probably the less said about those shows, the better!”

WHO: Rachel Briscoe, Creator and Director

WHAT: “A joyful and touching view of the world through other people’s eyes, Lists… is a show composed entirely of crowdsourced lists. Things I pretend to be interested in, times my eight year old self would be proud of me, places I would hide a body… Includes laughs, music, sad times, romance, some dancing, a dog* (*no dog). The profound and the ridiculous sitting playfully side by side. Lists… is a chance to feel connected without ever having to leave the safety of your seat. 2016 Live Lab bursary winner; co-commissioned by ARC.”

WHERE: Summerhall (Venue 26) 

WHEN: 13:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s fanSHEN’s first time, yes. I came a few times as a student but probably the less said about those shows, the better!

Tell us about your show.

Lists for the End of the World is a show made up of lists – from all sorts of people in all sorts of places. So far, over 250 people have contributed material to the show. Then we (fanSHEN) sit down with it in a rehearsal room and figure out what to include and how to present it. The show isn’t just people reading lists – there’s laughs, music, sad times, romance, some dancing, a look at the world through other people’s eyes, and the most memorable reworking of Nirvana’s ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ that you’ll ever see.

fanSHEN was founded by Dan Barnard and Rachel Briscoe, so that we could make the kind of theatre that we wanted to see: playfully political and experimental without being elitist. Over the past ten years, we’ve gathered an unorthodox family of multi-talented collaborators.

Lists… was awarded the Live Lab bursary in 2016, and we also developed it with the support of ARC. We’ve done some informal try-outs and previews but Edinburgh will be the premier. We’ll tour it in 2018.

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

How to Win Against History at 19.25, Assembly George Square Gardens.


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+3 Interview: Maddy Anholt – Herselves

“In December I got a massive piece of paper out and all of my notebooks since I started then sifted through them to see who I loved, who I hated and who would fit.”

WHO: Maddy Anholt, Performer/Writer

WHAT: “Character comedian Maddy Anholt returns following five-star sell-outs at the Edinburgh Fringe and the Soho Theatre with a brand spanking new and hilarious hour that delves into her surreal and sparkly world of outlandish characters. As seen on BBC Two’s Sunny D and heard on Radio 4’s No Smoke. Best New Show nominee – Leicester Comedy Festival 2017.”

WHERE: Underbelly Med Quad (Venue 302) 

WHEN: 13:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my third full run at the Fringe. I went up for a couple of weeks in 2011 just to discover what the Fringe was about and remember my first night there thinking: ‘what the (insert expletive) is this?!’ That was when I made the decision if I was going to do a full run at the Fringe it would have to be with a show I absolutely loved, at a brilliant venue and I would try and get it sponsored. I went up with Diary of a Dating Addict in 2015, which was on at Gilded Balloon, last year with Rent Girl also at Gilded Balloon and this year I’m at Underbelly with Herselves. Also, cheekily (and with a lot of hard work) I’ve managed to get all three shows sponsored so far.

Tell us about your show.

Herselves is the show I’ve been technically working on for the last 8 years. Or at least, it contains some characters I’ve been working on for the last 8 years. I guess I finally feel I’ve sort of found my feet, which is with a full hour of character comedy. In December I got a massive piece of paper out and all of my notebooks since I started then sifted through them to see who I loved, who I hated and who would fit.

Last Edinburgh I was delighted to sign with Corrie McGuire from ROARComedy who has been nurturing this show and me ever since. She’s great at giving me some cold hard notes on what works, what doesn’t work and what to kill there and then and I really needed that. I’ve kept it in the ROARComedy family by having the wonderful Alexis Dubus AKA Marcel Lucont direct me. His character work is some of the best around so I was thrilled to have him on board.

Herselves is the show I’ve worked on the longest out of all my shows. I was previewing work-in-progresses from January and in February was over the moon for it to be nominated ‘Best New Show’ at the Leicester Comedy Festival. Hopefully it’ll go to the Soho Theatre again which is an incredible venue and then… well, onwards and upwards!

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

I think we are going to be spoilt for choice this year. But some of my recommendations are: Hardeep Singh Kohli, Dane Baptiste and Suzi Ruffell.


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Meet Our +3 Team #EdFringe ’17 – Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller

“I come from Washington, DC, where the National Zoo is free and open to all for a quick visit or a day’s worth of adventures, and the Gorgie City Farm shares that spirit.”

Nathaniel Brimmer-Beller has been a host on FreshAir Radio, the Edinburgh students’ station, since October 2015. At the university’s Bedlam Theatre he’s directed Frost/Nixon, Sir Arthur Saville’s Crime, as well as How To Sell A War. Nathaniel was elected President of Bedlam in March 2017 and his own script, Mack the Knife, will premier at this year’s Free Fringe.

Nathaniel has previously interned for the American Film Institute, including two seasons as an assistant at the AFI’s Silver Theatre in Cannes during the Film Festival. He was also a Youth Teaching Assistant at the Smithsonian Institute in his native Washington DC.



What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and do you follow it?

The simplest, and most telling, is probably “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” That is a lovely sentiment, in a way, and a ridiculous, completely unrealistic one in another. That’s a rule that makes us all nod meaningfully, but we all break it at least once an hour.

Realistically, we can separate justified criticism and unjustified criticism, I think; reviewers — and most people who have something intelligent/relevant to say on an issue — offer justified criticism every day (i.e. “Transformers 5 should not have been made” or “Donald Trump is an embarrassment to human history.” To me, the deeper sentiment of the “anything nice to say” advice concerns unjustified criticism, and I do try to live by that sentiment. If someone is having a bad hair day, or maybe made a mistake or two, best not to say anything that’s just not nice. I like that part of that idea.

If space invaders came to burn down Edinburgh, but wanted to leave just one thing standing, what would you ask them to leave? (You can’t say the castle. Not even space invaders could capture Edinburgh castle.)

The Gorgie City Farm. I almost said Bedlam Theatre or John Lewis (their employee contracts are so commendable!) but honestly the Gorgie City Farm is one of those parts of Edinburgh that gives it a unique feeling. The fact that you can hop on a bus and hang out with some cows and rabbits and the like for a while then waltz back into city life is just beautiful.

I come from Washington, DC, where the National Zoo is free and open to all for a quick visit or a day’s worth of adventures, and the Gorgie City Farm shares that spirit. They also had a beautiful horse last time I was there; as a horse rider I greatly approve.

What first brought you to Edinburgh? What keeps you here?

I came to Edinburgh to go to college and I am staying for the degree, but I spend a large share of my time working on student theatre with the Edinburgh University Theatre Company housed in Bedlam Theatre. The constant, edifying sense of what’s-next and what-else-can-we-do that keeps the society’s blood pumping is unlike any group I’ve been a part of before and keeps me energized and excited to be in this city around these folks every day. But I’m also going to get that degree.

What’s the first live performance you can remember?

Probably Al Jarreau performing at Wolf Trap in Virginia. It began a long fruitful tradition of my parents passing down their eclectic combined music tastes to me, most of which I still listen to and love today.

What’s the best live performance you’ve ever attended?

Seeing Eddie Izzard perform the premiere of his Force Majeure tour at the Warner Theatre in Washington in 2014 was really something special. I grew up listening to his stand-up CDs with my Dad, and I could probably recite over half of his bizarre trains of thought and most of his simply bonkers bits. But seeing him perform them live was fantastic, especially considering he added plenty of jokes specifically about DC and our audience. He even had a Q&A afterwards and nodded at me! Starstruck!

What are you most excited about seeing at #Edfringe17?

I can’t wait to see Melbourne sketch trio Aunty Donna live again; they’re up there with best live performances I have ever seen, and they’re certainly my favorite modern comedy group to follow. I’ve been watching their videos since 2014 — I’m an Aunty Donna hipster, yuck. But they are just hilarious.

I’m going to go ahead and mention I’m also excited to see how audiences find Mack The Knife, a play I am working on with a crackerjack cast and crew who are a real A-team of diverse talents and trades. We’ve got live music, noir plotting, twists and turns, very dark comedy, and a completely original script, but let’s see what the reviewers have to say about it. A plea to them, quickly: if you don’t have anything nice to say… etc.


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+3 Interview: JoJo Bellini: Crash-Bang Cabaret!

“Audiences will need to buckle up for a wild ride!”

WHO: Joanne Marsh (JoJo Bellini), Performer/Writer

WHAT: “A hilariously naughty cabaret about car accidents, kink and cucumbers. Take a look into the life of cabaret queen JoJo Bellini. Who is this woman? Where has she come from? How did she recover from such a crippling car accident? Why is she touching me? Why isn’t she touching me? Is this love? Yes. Yes it is. Sit back and indulge in the unbridled naughtiness, clowning and comedy that is JoJo Bellini.”

WHERE: The Stand Comedy Club 2 (Venue 5)

WHEN: 22:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my second time doing a full Fringe run with a solo show. Last year was such a blast I just had to come back with another saucy show to get audiences motors running.

Tell us about your show.

Audiences will need to buckle up for a wild ride! It is my personal story of how I found fun, kink and sequins after a horrific car accident. It has been directed by Sameena Zhera and is filled with songs, clowning and salacious dance moves.

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

Rosalind Blessed’s play The Delights of Dogs and The Problems of People, the clowns Zach & Viggo, but most definitely John Robertson’s Dominant.


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+3 Interview: Murder, She Didn’t Write: The Improvised Murder Mystery

“We frequently outnumbered the audience but to be honest we were just happy to be performing.”

WHO: Lizzy Skrzypiec, Director/performer

WHAT: “A classic murder mystery is created on the spot in this ingenious and hilarious show from Bristol Improv Theatre’s resident company. Miss Crimson poisoned in the parlour? Mr Gold exploded by cannon in Sainsbury’s? You decide! But will you guess whodunnit? And for your Sunday night entertainment, don’t forget our additional late night shows!”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) 

WHEN: Varies (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is Murder, She Didn’t Write‘s fifth time at the fringe and it’ll be my eighth/ nineth time as a performer. I started off with a small part-improv-part-sketch group putting on a free show that was on at about 1pm in a pub far beyond the Meadows. We frequently outnumbered the audience but to be honest we were just happy to be performing. This year we have moved to the Pleasance and I couldn’t be more excited.

Tell us about your show.

Murder, She Didn’t Write is an improvised murder mystery where the cast make up a bespoke play based on audience suggestions, but it doesn’t stop there, one member of the audience decides who they want to be the victim and murderer and then it’s up to the rest of the audience to guess whodunnit. We came up with the format about five/six years ago and have been tweaking it, changing it ever since to maximize our creative freedom and the audience’s enjoyment.

When I say we, I mean Degrees of Error – a group of improvisers based at the Bristol Improv Theatre. Many of us used to perform with Bristol University’s Improv Society and the group formed with university graduates who still wanted to perform improv. However, since then our group has grown and we now have members from more theatrical backgrounds with proper acting chops! It’s lead to a truly gorgeous group of talented improvisers I’m proud to be a part of.

I am the director of the show, which is an odd thing to imagine in a play without a script. But it’s my job to make sure we are all in the same page tonally, visually etc and to see how we can continue to make the show better. We tour during the year to various theatres and festivals and we are also developing completely new shows that we premier at the BIT.

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

We heartily recommend checking out some other improv shows like Showstoppers, Austentatious, And Now For Something Completely Improvised, Happily Never After, Scribble and This Is Soap. They are a hoard of varied and delightful shows by a hoard of incredibly talented improvisers.


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+3 Interview: Richard Carpenter is Close to You

“I’ve had more Edinburghs than boyfriends. In fact, Edinburgh is my boyfriend.”

WHO: Matthew Floyd Jones, Performer/Writer

WHAT: “Richard from The Carpenters used to be on top of the world looking down on creation, to the left of (and slightly behind) Karen. Now, he’s back at the piano once more in this razor-sharp tragicomedy that takes you on the ultimate ticket to ride. Cos solitaire really is the only game in town! Written and performed by Matthew Floyd Jones, the piano player from Frisky & Mannish.”

WHERE: Underbelly, George Square (Venue 300)

WHEN: 17:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve had more Edinburghs than boyfriends. In fact, Edinburgh is my boyfriend. In a Bill Sikes-Nancy way. Like, as long as Edinburgh needs me, I know where I must be, in spite of what you see, I’m sure that Edinburgh needs me. My biggest success at the Fringe was in 2011 when I sold out the purple cow with my dear friend Frisky, and we were on the cover of magazines everywhere. It was a golden era of musical comedy infotainment!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote Richard Carpenter is Close to You, I’m producing it, and I brought the company together by begging my favourite past collaborators to help me. Luckily I know a ton of brilliant people. The production has been on a preview tour since May, playing Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford, Manchester, Buxton, Bristol and York, so it’s REALLY REALLY ready now…

It’s a comedy/theatre piece about the innermost thoughts of Richard Carpenter, who is now my hero but used to represent the worst fears I had about myself. If you saw Frisky & Mannish, you’ll know what I mean. I’m definitely a Richard, not a Karen. This show depicts the frustrations I’ve faced coming to terms with that fact, but also the joy of realising that that’s ok, and that the world needs Richards too.

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

See a sunrise from Arthur’s Seat, or see a sunset from the Castle – see something of Edinburgh while you’re here, because it’s such a beautiful city. Then see Kate If You Wanna Go Butcher.


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+3 Interview: Losers

“Edinburgh’s bloomin’ expensive. We’ve finally emptied our piggy banks and taken the plunge.”

WHO: Arthur Jones, Performer

WHAT: “Grab a voting handset, meet four dangerously desperate contestants and decide their formidable fates. It’s the most nail-biting TV game show of the decade and no one’s going down without a fight. Theatrical mischief-makers Tit4Twat bring their critically-acclaimed satire to Edinburgh for the first time. 16+ (stupidity and real violence guaranteed).”

WHERE: Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61) 

WHEN: 23:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As a company – yes. We’ve been performing Losers all over the place for the last 3 years – but Edinburgh’s bloomin’ expensive. We’ve finally emptied our piggy banks and taken the plunge.

Tell us about your show.

We’re bringing Losers to Underbelly Cowgate: a rowdy, late-night and interactive satire about the depths reality TV contestants will go for a ‘big break’. Audience members are armed with electronic voting handsets, and introduced to four performers who’ll do anything (and we mean anything) to win the audience’s affection and avoid getting punished.

We, Tit4Twat Theatre, devised the show together in response to a couple of (now banned) reality shows that took torture and degradation of contestants so far that people very nearly got hurt. Google The Chair and The Chamber to see what we mean. The fact those formats were permitted to air in the first place and (indeed) people signed up to ‘star’ on them troubled us though – so we did a lot of research, and Losers is the result.

Tit4Twat is three Warwick University Theatre graduates (Arthur, Rachel and Sophie), who share a love for creating messy interactive performance. We formed the company soon after graduating, and have spent the last 3 years creating and touring Losers predominantly around London venues (Camden People’s Theatre, Rosemary Branch, Etcetera and Rag Factory) but also further afield (Warwick Arts Centre, Derby Theatre and now Underbelly).

Post-Edinburgh, we’re taking the show back to London – Rich Mix in Shoreditch – to feature in We Are Now Festival, which celebrates performance that utilises emerging and innovative technology. A Spring 2018 tour is then (excitingly) in the pipeline.

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

Barely Methodical Troupe’s Kin. We just re-watched it at Latitude this weekend and it’s SO GOOD. Circus with charm, attitude and a banana.


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+3 Interview: Rock of Ages: High School Edition

“The cast is full of talented, young, eager performers who are well-equipped to perform classic American songs favored worldwide.”

WHO: Peelee Clark, Director/Choreographer

WHAT: “It’s the end of the 1980s in Hollywood, and the party has been raging. Aqua Net, Lycra, lace and liquor flow freely at one of the Sunset Strips last venues, a place where sex machine Stacee Jaxx takes the stage and scantily clad groupies line up to turn their fantasies into reality. Amidst the madness aspiring rock star Drew longs to take the stage as the next big thing, but the fairy-tale is about to end when German developers sweep into town with plans to turn the fabled Strip into another capitalist strip mall.”

WHERE: SpaceTriplex (Venue 38) ​

WHEN: Varies (85 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As part of the American High School Theatre Festival, this is my second time bringing our theatre company to the Fringe after getting our start at the 2013 Capital Fringe in Washington D.C. with an original piece called Urban Legends.

In 2015 we performed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee to sold out audiences at Space Triplex (V 38).

Tell us about your show.

Coming off a very successful season which included School of Rock (regional premiere), American Idiot, Night of the Living Dead and Billy Elliot, which won the National Capital Area Cappies Award for Best Musical at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, we are ready to melt your face off with Rock of Ages.
Rock of Ages by Chris D’Arienzo and Ethan Popp is a highly demanding show, representing the perfect challenge for Beyond the Page.

Each individual who is a part of the production has the necessary talent and drive to pull off such a musical. This show caters to the strengths of our company as a whole and is sure to have the audience rocking in their seats. The cast is full of talented, young, eager performers who are well-equipped to perform classic American songs favored worldwide.

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

Without a doubt Trainspotting Live. This immersive, in-yer-face theatre company performs one of the most disgusting and offensive, passionate plays I’ve ever had the privilege to see. This year will be my third time seeing it and I cannot wait. Unfortunately it’s a bit rated R for my students.

However, if my students were asked this question, they would say Bruce. The two actors that manipulate the most adorable yellow block of foam have the best comic timing and we were in stitches when we saw them in 2015. Our entire cast and crew will be in the audience this time around.


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+3 Interview: Seven Crazy Bitches

“I did that horrific ‘lying on the floor like you’re a dead body to hand out flyers’ thing. Won’t be doing that this year!”

WHO: Holly Morgan, Diva

WHAT: “Join the Diva on a budget as she guides you through the Seven Ages of Woman. Pit stops include seduction via Kate Bush, an interview with the woman who lived in Prince’s head, and finding out how many two pence pieces a man can insert up his foreskin. This is standing up cabaret on a budget as you’ve never seen it before. Because the Diva’s pretty sure she just invented it… ”

WHERE: Assembly Hall (Venue 35) ​

WHEN: 19:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!


Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first year with my own show! I was in Bat Boy! the Musical when I was a student and I did that horrific ‘lying on the floor like you’re a dead body to hand out flyers’ thing. Won’t be doing that this year!

Tell us about your show.

So I’ve written it and I’ve been very lucky to have some very talented people to draw on to help out with it; my boyfriend Tom is in it and gets roundly abused by me and has to sit in a cardboard box for an hour, my mate Lisa is a fabulous director and crazy bitch herself and Esh is best described as the show’s Guru! Roshan Conn is a wizard. Or she’s really organised, great at Q lab and always has my back…that or a wizard.

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

Cat Loud’s phenomenal one woman show, Wayward.

My beautiful venue-mate Lucy Farrett has brought her hilarious show, Ladyface to Assembly. She’s on just before us and she’s awesome.

A Hundred Different Words for Love is a beautiful hour of storytelling by James Rowland – a must see.


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