Category Archives: *Written Interviews

From time to time we encounter an artist or producer toiling away at something pretty special. Here’s what they have to say, in their own words, about their work.

EdFringe Talk: The Mayor and His Daughter: A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“If you were to ask us what makes a great festival, we would reply with two words: Enormous Success.”

WHO: The Mayor

WHAT: “The Mayor and his daughter are in crisis. The soul of their beloved village is in tatters, besieged by the demonic forces of modern Britain. But there’s a light in the darkness. When they discover a sacred tome – a boxset of Russell Howard’s Good News (Series 2) – they make it their mission to repair their fractured community with laughter, by performing a genuine appreciation of comedy. Think The Krankies crossed with The Wicker Man. Nominated for Best Debut at Leicester Comedy Festival 2025.”

WHERE: Snug Bar at Assembly Roxy (Venue 139) 

WHEN: 16:10 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

My daughter and I have never OFFICIALLY been to Edinburgh. However, last year we secreted ourselves in a bunker and performed our show in incubus form. As always, we travelled a long way and tried not to upset anyone.

This year, we are delighted that we can crawl out of the woodwork and blast everyone with A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy. After all, this festival is the premium breeding ground for Professional Sketch Comedians such as Russell Howard, Bremner, Bird and Bremner, and The Kay Brothers (Peter and Vernon). It is a testament to the festival’s significance that so many comedians come here to die*.

If you were to ask us what makes a great festival, we would reply with two words: Enormous Success. What kind of success? Financial, of course! but also social (new friends) and spiritual (purging our village of demons (see below)).

We humbly ask that you help us meet our goals. In return, we will help you meet yours (i.e. repair your tattered community using the golden thread of comedy).

*We assume that is why Grey Friars is so enormous. My daughter says it’s the biggest graveyard she’s ever seen and she would like to live there one day.

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

My daughter has learnt how to draw the big Superman ‘S’. I am very proud of her for that. Similarly, I have learnt not to worry about all the dried blood on our overhead projector: it was like that when we found it and it is almost certainly not our blood!

More broadly, we have learned to speak very loudly when you aren’t using a microphone and, in turn, not to shout when you are being amplified. Stick with this and you will be (A)Live at the Apollo in no time.

Like an earnest and resilient sponge, we work day-by-day to absorb these totems. We expect to have internalised them by 2035*.

*Not legally binding

Tell us about your show.

‘A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy’ is our attempt to use Professional Comedy to purge our village of demonic forces, in particular The LinkedIn Shop (aka Modern Britain) and also some actual demons. My daughter and I wrote it after we discovered a boxset of Russell Howard’s Good News (Series 2), a tome which introduced us to the Power of Comedy. Having watched the DVD on repeat and memorised the contents, we felt prepared to produce a show which unleashes the full occult force of comedy; three weeks later, we brought our work to the masses.

Our good friends and business associates Rosie Nicholls (producer/powerful woman) and Joz Norris (director/young boy) joined our merry Morris dance, bringing us some much needed ‘sparkle’! Rosie is already an established Professional Sketch Comedian as part of award-winning double act Grubby Little Mitts, while Joz has written and performed so many Fringe shows that he has earned the right to call himself A Classic of the Genre (and he does frequently!).

We have performed a number of previews in London, Oxford, Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham and other Big City iniquity dens, but Edinburgh — Edinburgh, of all places! — will be our Debut Premier. We hope that EVERYONE comes to see it!

Post-Fringe, we have no concrete plans for the show, but Keep Your Eyes Peeled (literally — let them grow dryer than the Sahara!). Once expressed, these energies won’t return to their cage…

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

Our beautiful summer child Joz Norris is performing his show at Pleasance. We lovingly and aggressively commend him to you. In addition, please enjoy on our behalf: Caitriona Dowden; Nate Kitch; Ozzy Algar; Lil Wenker; Luly Popplewell; Sam Nicoresti; Mikey Bligh-Smith; Lorna Rose-Treen; and many more!

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EdFringe Talk: Constellations

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“This has truly been life altering.”

WHO: Ophelia Mills

WHAT: “One drink. And if you never want to see me again, you never have to see me again. A quantum physicist and a beekeeper meet at a barbeque. In that single moment an unfathomable multitude of possibilities unfold. They hit it off or perhaps they don’t. They go home together or maybe they go their separate ways. In the multiverse, with every possible future ahead of them, a love of honey could make all the difference.”

WHERE: Pleasance Online (Venue 117) 

WHEN: 17:40 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Luckily for me this is my first time at Edinburgh Festival Fringe!(and I could not be more excited).
Coming to Edinburgh Fringe has always been a dream of mine, and having the opportunity to do it with such a beautifully raw human story is mind boggling. experiencing this festival as a co-producer has been a rather crazy experience. Not only has it been a whole new level of rejection therapy, from the flying in our home town to emailing every tom, dick and harry. However I have also been able to learn so much, one about the beautiful community of thespian s that fringe is, how too make sooo many spreadsheets and I finally figured out Q-lab! But mostly learning this wonderful play, with the most amazing and compassionate cast and crew. This has truly been life altering.

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

Being my first time at fringe, it’s been a lot of learning on the job. From things like Vox pocks to how to flyer to how blinking expensive printing flyers is…. But I think mostly it’s learning to trust your team and enjoy what you’re doing. For example making silly TikTok’s to advertise, having a fair few amount of cast and crew get togethers, gettin g involved with other amazing productions that our going to Fringe.

Personally for me Fringe has just been a fever dream so far, and I cannot wait to get there to show people a show that is so personal to all of us and for our audience the feel the faith in humanity that I’ve received in this process.

Tell us about your show.

We are performing Constellations, by Nick Payne. our Version follows three couples of different sexual orientations. it follows the story of a a quantum Physicist and a beekeeper, who share a drink. A heart wrenching story of terminal Cancer and the choices we make, including topics such as assisted suicide. The play is an extraordinary story about ordinary people, which we were drew to for its human connection, and that is really at the heart of what we are doing.

This show is directed by Jack Gregory who is only 21 years old, and produced by myself and Alex Flood. our whole cast and crewe are all under 25, focusing on young people in theatre.
We had the opportunity to perform this in Exeter, where we had a lovely run, where a fair amount of tissue boxes were needed ( I’d recommend bringing a box of tissues to the show!)

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

Another amazing performance we recommend seeing is a play called ‘A Writers Mind’ written b y Tate Giller and through the company Theatre with Teeth. This play is a beautiful witty, fun and emotional performance that is another amazing tear jerker. This play is original play and we had the opportunity to watch it at there previous run in Exeter, and I can safely say you too will need tissues for this slapstick comedy which delves into the heart wrenching truths of dementia.

Another play I have seen that I’m incredibly excited to see is after taste performing at green side venue, from the 18th to 23rd. This performance looks like it focuses on the persistence of emotion, and clearly I’m a big fan of emotional plays 🙂 so I’m incredibly excited to see this performance, they also have some great marketing on the social media platforms, we all can’t wait to attend!

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EdFringe Talk: Lizzy Sunshine

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Now my mantra is “in guts we trust.” I know. I’m cringe… but I’m free!”

WHO: Liz Coin

WHAT: “With her co-star unaccounted for, Lizzy Sunshine must carry a double act… alone. A positively chaotic comedy hour by addiction’s (fun!) little sister. It’s like Glee unwilling to admit it’s Baby Reindeer. But don’t worry it’s not sad!!! This show-within-a-show features: audience participation, big characters, big feelings and your very own rose-coloured glasses. After a sold-out run in NYC and US tour, Liz Coin (Amazon Prime, The Second City) makes her Fringe debut! Directed by Makena Reynolds.”

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

WHEN: 13:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first time to Edinburgh! It’s been a tunnel vision goal of mine for the last year. Even before I knew I had a venue, before the script was even finalized, I would confidently tell people, “I’m taking the show to Fringe in 2025.” I was/am delusionally certain that EdFringe is the right place for me to grow with the show. Everyone talks about it like an artistic bender – a month where the whole universe feels full of live performance, creative discovery, and kindred spirits. Countless artists I admire have taken their shows to Fringe and regard it as the best place to hone your craft. So, duh, sign me up.

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

Not to sound insufferable, but 2024 was the most important year of my life. It’s the year I started believing that I was actually an artist. I used to deny it, cloud myself with imposter syndrome and day jobs until all of my hours were dedicated to anything but my own creative energy. With help from The Artist’s Way – I started writing daily, I created and performed Lizzy Sunshine in 3 states, I went on tour with another comedy show, I competed on MrBeast’s Amazon Prime TV show, I signed with my dream talent agency, I flopped and learned and flopped and learned, and then I wrote some more. The key takeaway was trust. I started trusting myself, trusting the timing of my life, and believing that I’m actually right on time. I’ve been an intense perfectionist for years and suddenly I’m telling myself “don’t force it.” And there are definitely still moments when I try to muscle career moves, force jokes or bits that aren’t working but serve my ego, or feel anxious that I’m not where I’m meant to be. Now my mantra is “in guts we trust.” I know. I’m cringe… but I’m free!

Tell us about your show.

I started writing Lizzy Sunshine in February 2024. I brought the idea of a one-woman two-person show to my friend Tim Murray (his show Witches was a Fringe sweetheart) and he helped me develop it. There is nothing more humbling than running a full show alone in a room for one person for the first time. I performed a 25-minute version of this farce at The PIT’s Solocom Festival and they asked me back for a full production! I produced the show alone, taking it back to my hometown community theater in Iowa, then to a theater attached to a bowling alley in Minnesota, and eventually back to NYC.

Though it’s been a self-produced venture until this point, I’ve now welcomed Chloe Bivona to produce and Makena Reynolds to direct. Chloe and I both went to Northwestern University a few years apart and she’s just got that ~hustle~. My director Makena saw the very first version of Lizzy Sunshine by accident! She came to the show slot for someone else but saw it and told me she’d fallen in love with it. A year later, I reached out when she was finishing up the process with “The Emily Dickinson Musical” and she was eager to work with me. Best decision I’ve made – her direction has taken this show to the next level. After Fringe I hope to tour with the show in the UK and ultimately get a run Off (or dare I say… ON?) Broadway.

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

My audiences should 100% go see Dolphin Mode by Britt Migs (@Brittymigs) because she is so funny, charming, and a hell of a story teller. I’d also suggest Paperclip by Douglas Widick (@DouglasWidick) because his musical improv is out of this world!

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EdFringe Talk: ROADKILL

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I’ve worked the last two years as a technician, first with Pleasance and then freelance, so I’m well accustomed to the craziness of the festival.”

WHO: Niamh O Farrell Tyler

WHAT: “On the 31st October 2019, Cosmo was hit by a car in an act of transphobic hate and violence. This show is not about getting hit by a car. This is a show about sex. This is a show about period sex. This is a show about working at Tesco. This is a show about living with your parents. This is a show about the Rocky Horror Picture Show. This is a show about trans euphoria, sexuality and survival.”

WHERE: Space 2 at theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) 

WHEN: 19:30 (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third Fringe but my first time bringing my own show! I’ve worked the last two years as a technician, first with Pleasance and then freelance, so I’m well accustomed to the craziness of the festival. It’s so exciting to be contributing my own work to the festival though and it’s already such a different experience – there’s such a wonderful supportive atmosphere already. I have never encountered anywhere like Edinburgh Fringe, and the fact that this year is going to be be a totally new experience all over again is really exciting.

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

Since 2024, I’ve continued working as a freelance stage manager, but also taken on a lot more acting gigs in some short films and theatre pieces and started my own queer events and theatre company, DYKEish! This especially was a huge learning curve but a really interesting one, learning what it takes to run your own company, gather an audience, and engage with the queer community in a meaningful way. What I’ve had to learn very quickly as we come up to Fringe is how to seperate being the performer of the piece from being one of the producers – wearing multiple hats can be a bit conflicting, but luckily my wonderful crew are very good at kicking Producer Niamh, as we call them, out of the rehearsal room.

Tell us about your show.

ROADKILL is a rollarcoaster of a show that is NOT about being hit by a car. What it IS about is a young trans person, Cosmo, struggling to reconcile a past transphobic attack with how they want to be viewed in the present. It’s a fast-paced, vulnerable, and oftentimes vulgar exploration of coming of age as a trans person and the pressure that comes alongside that to be the representative of a whole community. ROADKILL was written by myself and is produced by myself and the wonderful Megan Flynn, with a team of incredibly talented creatives behind us that I still can’t believe I convinced to hop on the bandwagon with me! This is the first show we are making this show under the banner of DYKEish, which is headed by myself and Megan. The ROADKILL crew have also been incredibly formative in everything DYKEish has done so far. Edinburgh will be ROADKILL’s premiere, but I’d love to tour it around Ireland afterwards and even take it to London too if possible!

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

I highly encourage punters to try and support as much trans-made and focused theatre as possible. These are scary times for the community, but there is so much incredible art being born out of the struggle, and one of the best ways you can be an ally is to show up and support! In other words – BUMS IN SEATS FOR TRANS RIGHTS! And there’s something there for everyone when it comes to trans made and focused theatre. Kinder by Ryan Stewart will be a really interesting exploration of reactionary politics in light of recent rulings in the UK; Alter by Extraterrestrial’s description of their show as “growing into queerness, or away from it” is something that really echoes our own show; Shallowspace Cryotech Feverdream by Elastic Fantastic combines trans narratives with sci-fi horror, a marriage of ideas we can’t to see on stage; Somebody Has Got to Be John by Speakbeast Theatre will feed both your desire for queer theatre and any intrusive thoughts you’ve ever had about the Beatles; and A Xerox of a Deer by the Horgles, another Irish company, explores queerness specifically in rural Ireland.

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EdFringe Talk: Horny for the End of the World

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“I get to go be a part of the festival with my apocalyptic anti-rom-com, Horny for the End of the world. It’s great, and a little surreal.”

WHO: Tatienne Hendricks-Tellefsen

WHAT: “Gen Z, try-hard, pick-me Ebeth gets dumped by the man of her dreams the day before everyone realizes the world is going to end. With the short time she has left to live, Ebeth obsesses over her humiliating past relationships and unhinged personal philosophies. This apocalyptic anti-romcom follows Ebeth on her journey of unintentional self-reflection.”

WHERE: Stephenson Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall (Venue 53) 

WHEN: VARIES (40 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s not my first time at Edinburgh Fringe, but it is my first time performing. I went 6 years ago right after I graduated school, and I was so inspired by all the creativity and variety of the festival. It put a fire under me, I thought, “if they can do it, I can do it.” I wrote some of my web-series, Adult, while I was there, and it went on to win awards, be selected at official selection at Lower East Side Film Festival, and get me invited to Tribeca Film Festival N.O.W. Creators Market.

And now I get to go be a part of the festival with my apocalyptic anti-rom-com, Horny for the End of the world. It’s great, and a little surreal.

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

A big thing I’ve learned in 2024, is it’s no biggy to face artistic failure when everything else is failing too. If I have a fun, ridiculous, low budget apocalyptic solo play that features mainly homemade props, like a an ottoman made of suitcases and faux-fur, and a visionless vision-board? Bring it to Scotland! Who cares, all our arts funding is cut or restricted in the US anyway. There might not even be theaters in the NYC in the next few years, at least not ones that a person who isn’t MEGA wealthy can afford (I’m ready to eat my weight in fringe comps bb).

And yes, I am very much putting this lesson into practice as I write this interview.

🥰

Tell us about your show.

Of course! I wrote my show, because I was dumped right before the pandemic. I basically spent the whole time I was stuck at my parents house spiraling about a man who didn’t care about me, when I could have spent this very scary, unsure time in history connecting with my family, friends, or nature. I was out of control, I could feel how bored I was making everyone, but I could not stop.

I started channeling some of these negative social behaviors into a script, and Horny or the End of the World was born! A story about a delusional and shallow young woman named Ebeth, who gets dumped before the apocalypse and uses it as a distraction from her impending death … I do like to think I’m personally a little more self aware than my anti-heroine though.

🌍🔥🦄

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

Well, you should definitely go see my friend Michael DeBartolo’s show “Tell Me Where Home is (I’m Starting to Forget)” It’s a beautiful meditation on coming to terms with your sexuality and the challenges of loving yourself when it feels like the world doesn’t.

I’m also very excited for Bebe Cave’s new show “CHRISTBRIDE”, I haven’t been able to see Kaila Galinat’s show about rejection in Manhattan, “Okay Bye,” so I’m definitely going to be hitting that up! I’m gonna see Daniel Sloss of course. I would recommend you guys see all those shows too. Unless you want to admit to me that you have bad taste or something.

See you at Fringe! ❤

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EdFringe Talk: Bad in Bed: From Arthritis to Insomnia

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Do as much prep work as you can BEFORE you show up in Edinburgh. As there will always be things that go wrong.”

WHO: Ian TC

WHAT: “Having a bad night’s sleep has an effect on your whole day, having not sleep well for 30+ years changes the way you see the world. Throw in pain to keep you company and that’s enough to send you over the edge. Ian TC brings you his newly updated sell-out comedy show, exploring the world you see when you haven’t slept well. Loud and explosive, but always funny. Bad in Bed is one to see. ‘Like a young Billy Connolly on Speed!’ (The Stand). ‘Fu*king great’ (Tom Stade).”

WHERE: Pleasance Online (Venue 117) 

WHEN: 12:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve been visiting the Edinburgh fringe (as a punter) now on and off since 1996, The First gig I ever done at the fringe was back in 2018: 5 minutes in a mixed bill of total newbies. The Edinburgh festival, in short, is one of comedy’s most important bootcamps. Every style of comedy is catered for there. You can catch the seasoned pros to the just started, the truly great, to the woefully awful. It can be silly, smart, debase and beautiful all mixed in too an over crowed mess of chaos never designed to have as much going on, but some how still works.

The jump between punter to perform can be insane amount of stress. The first time I did a full run was in 2022. The first year I was living on canal boat that we navigated from Glasgow to Edinburgh… Took 5 days! We could have walked faster.

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

We have learned from doing the fringe is that you have to set your pace and make sure you take rests. There is lots and lots going on and way too much to do it all. Do as much prep work as you can BEFORE you show up in Edinburgh. As there will always be things that go wrong. But there is lots os support too, From the Fringe, the Venues and your fellow performers. but also remember everyone will have their own “thing” going on too so don’t be discouraged if the first person you ask can’t help.. ask a few they will.

Tell us about your show.

ad in Bed: Arthritis to Insomnia is the evolution of my stand up comedy from club set stuff into a full show. It covers the two health topics that I rarely talk about outside of comedy, but have shaped my life more than any other factor. It’s not a sob story, it’s a comic look a the ways we deal with pain in our everyday lives. The best thing about the show, that I never expected, was that others with similar conditions have came to the show and identified with what I say and go away with a little better feeling that: one they are not alone and two that sometimes the jokes can help you get by.

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

Oh Wow! there are so many but to keep it brief:
If you are looking for a Full on crazy comedy show
Billy Kirkwood: Chaos
A Whimsical playful laugh
Craig Wilson: You Decide Then
A mixed bill of comedy:
Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe

But there are so many great comedians and show all at the Scottish Comedy Festival hosted in the Beehive and The Waverley bar .. you can just drop by and stay in the same place watching great acts all day.

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EdFringe Talk: That Show About the Hot Dog

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“We know that anything is possible, and anything can happen, in any space, at any minute.”

WHO: Frank Wiener the Magic Hot Dog (PUPPET)

WHAT: “A whimsical journey alongside Wee Wennie Wiener, an unlikely hot dog hero searching for inner hot dog truth. This multidisciplinary comedic production by the CFACoLab explores identity, diversity and the art of the hot dog through an array of vibrant characters clad in hot-dog-inspired costumes. Each scene, playfully dubbed a “DOG”, features effects, dance and culinary adventures, culminating in an epic finale that celebrates the cultural significance of the hot dog. With puppets, music, dance, visual arts and clever humour, this multidisciplinary comedic production promises a flavourful all-you-can-eat experience!”

WHERE: Forest Theatre at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) 

WHEN: 13:50 (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’m a PUPPET. I’m Frank Wiener the Magic Hot Dog Puppet. And Yes, it is my first time at the festival, my first fringe, my first time performing in my very first show. Some of the artists and directors around me have been many times. They are such “know-it-alls”. But some of us in the show are new to all of this. It’s like we’ve been given a golden ticket to a wonderful ride.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is magical. Since it’s beginning, its mission has always been rebellious, entrepreneurial, bold, daring, different. The Fringe is about making theatre and art anywhere and everywhere. Out of just thin air. We suspend belief. We believe in things that we know aren’t real–like puppets and magic hot dogs. We know that anything is possible, and anything can happen, in any space, at any minute. It’s a festival of art that believes art has the power to make the world better.

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

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha (giggling)……….I was born in 2025, so I’ve only heard stories about 2024. You humans are so caught up in the past. I’m only thinking about my future. But I have learned a lot in this past year. I’m part of a theatre company that is collaborative. We like to be messy with the creative ketchup and mustard. We don’t divide ourselves into small groups and give ourselves big titles. We all get into the same sandbox, and we PLAY and make work. Over this past year I’ve learned that collaboration makes everything better, and that our show is always best when all our fingerprints are all over every part of the project. I’ve been taught that I’m more than just the “puppet”. I can be the playwright. I can be the choreographer. I’m terrible at writing music. And they have decided NOT to let me sing in the show. Our group believes that the theatre frame and theatrical space is as much a character of the piece as the characters in the show. And I’ve learned that it’s great to begin with a blank page—to begin with nothing and from there to find everything–the answers to all the most important questions. My company believes the arts exist within a constant world of evolution—appreciating and respecting the forms of the past yet seeking to play and guide art onto new canvases and new possibilities.

And I might seem nice, but I’m Bossy and this puppet likes to be the “puppet-master”. I like to think of myself as the star of the show, the one in charge. So, look at this organ-grinder (ME) and don’t look at the monkey who thinks they are controlling me. I guess I am trying to learn to be humble……….but…I’m Frank Wiener…I’m a Magic Hot Dog…..and I am only one year old.

Tell us about your show.

Our show follows the story of two hot dog heroes, Wee Weenie Wiener (Wee Wee), and She She. They are looking for their inner hot dog truth. They have dreams and they want to BECOME something. They are looking for meaning in the chaotic hot dog world around them. They realize that they are an amalgamation of a bunch of meats that come together into one casing. Their history comes from many places. They have complex histories. They realize that the world is the grill. The world singes them. Yet they also realize that they as hot dogs are pre-cooked, that the heat of the world is what brings out their inner flavor and helps them become.

Our Show is written and produced by our company, the CFACoLab. The CFACoLab is a professional company housed on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas. We are a lucky group of artists endowed by the David and Stephanie Vondrak Endowment for Knowledge in the Arts. Our goal is to push the boundaries of art, to hot dog and wiener around, to make shows, and to have fun. We like it when the ketchup and mustard get all over the place. And we believe that all the condiments are ok, that we should all dress our dogs as we want and as we will.

The CFACoLab has produced several shows. We usually start with a single object and from there develop the world of the show. This year someone suggested a hot dog. Someone else said let’s call it “That Show About the Hot Dog”. And then our group ran with it. It’s a zany romp of a show—a relentless brine of scenes we call “DOGS”.

This show will premiere at Edinburgh. I am soooooooo excited! And later we hope to tour it and serve Hot Dogs many other places. We have a set of performances in Las Vegas in Early November. Viva Las Vegas!

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

I’ve been looking at the Fringe Guide. I’m “Daring to Discover.” I say don’t just go to the big known shows. Yeah, they are fine but so is having someone move your lips and put words in your mouth…….this is the FRINGE, be bold, take a risk, see something different. Go sit with a pint and watch someone make theatre in a small closet of a theatre space. At our first EDfringe our company was so not ready for it. We showed up in Scotland without posters or flyers, all we had was a show and a venue the size of a postage stamp. And it was rough at the beginning. At one of our first shows only a blind woman and her service dog came to see our show. It was one of the best performances we did that festival—and Yes, we counted the dog in our audience count, he had the best time at the show and gave it a very good review.

I’m excited to see many shows at this year’s festival. Shows like: Alasdair Beckett-King: King of Crumbs, Andrew Doherty: Sad Gay Aids Play, Jazz Emu, Norvil and Josephine, Daniel Martinez Flamenco Co., Circa: Wolf, The Land of Beat, Yonder Dance Company, Riverside Theatre Company, Brit Fishel and Dancers, Olivia Raine Atwood, G and J productions: Some MasterChef Sh*t, Tides, and of course Billy Walker’s Joan Collins Blocked me on Twitter and Kate Stewart. I’m also interested in puppet shows, but I’m really highly critical when it comes to other puppets. Did I say I was only one year old?

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EdFringe Talk: Douglas Widick: Paperclip

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Get over being cringe, market your show consistently and aggressively.”

WHO: Douglas Widick

WHAT: “Microsoft Word’s writing assistant, Clippy, has seen the future – and it is bleak. Determined to prevent the impending techno-dystopia brought about by Artificial Intelligence, Clippy travels back in time to warn humanity in a thrilling adventure through the internet. Will he succeed in stopping AI at its source? There’s only one way to find out… Douglas Widick (Time Out NY’s Top 10 Comedy Show: North Coast; Blank! The Musical; F#%king Up Everything; and Anybody: An Improvised Historical Hip-Hopera) makes his UK debut in this award winning one-person comedy musical. Winner: Best Out-of-Town Show – Tucson Fringe.”

WHERE: The Penny at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24) 

WHEN: 22:20 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve been twice to Edinburgh. First time in 2018 and performed at Monkey Barrell Hip-Hop Improv ensemble North Coast and hosted by MC Hammersmith. The second time I came as a punter and saw 29 shows in 6 days. The thing that makes Fringe so special is the collective spirit and energy of everyone involved. Walking 20K steps a day. Seeing Shrek in a bikini and the saddest thing you’ve ever seen on the same day. It’s too crazy to describe, but when you’re there, it’s all encompassing and intoxicating.

A great festival has a thoughtful line up, eager audiences, and a food truck serving pizza with haggis on top of it ready at all times.

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

The big lessons I learned are:

  • Get over being cringe, market your show consistently and aggressively.
  • Market saturation creates a sink or swim atmosphere that requires everyone to become expert copy writers, advertisers, and marketing geniuses quickly.
  • Get comfortable shoes.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote and perform in the show myself, with expert guidance and help from director Sarah Smallwood Parsons, a long time collaborator and friend of mine. The show had a germination period of one year, which involved various work in progress workshops & preview shows at a non profit theater called The RAT in Brooklyn, in addition to a small festival preview at the Tank in midtown.

My director and I started with a storyboard that built on an existing song I had been doing as Clippy for the full year before it. I have a background in music production & Long form improv, but I had never written a cohesive scripted solo piece. I had done some silly one person cabaret shows as Rosie O’Donnell, but nothing as extensive as Paperclip.

After Edinburgh, I am doing an off broadway run at the Soho Playhouse in the West VIllage, yipee!

The show is about Clippy, yes the crappy paperclip from Microsoft Word, redeeming his reputation by saving the world from AI. How? By traveling back in time to kill Alan Turing and stop machine learning at the source. The show features appearances from Ask Jeeves, a talking CAPTCHA, The flying toaster screensaver, and lots of fun audience interaction moments as Clippy gets his destination: 1954.

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

I LOVE Liz Coin’s show Lizzy Sunshine, which is a show that helps shed comedic light on the topic of addiction. Gillian Gurganus is a must see stand up whose rabid fanbase gives her shows the type of unbridled energy I live for. I also love MC Hammersmith with the polished yet posh rhymes, Showstoppers & Baby Wants Candy for narrative musical improv excellence, and King Polish Clown Furiozo for his anything but tepid takedown of toxic masculinity.

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EdFringe Talk: UnTethered

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“It’s required us to practice a great deal of trust, courage and compassion for ourselves and each other.”

WHO: Tana Sirois

WHAT: “An autobiographical comedy that follows a queer, demisexual woman as she attempts to transcend her fears so she can find true love. When her intrusive thoughts manifest as monsters made of plastic bags, she is forced to confront her OCD. Can she experience love while staying true to herself? Or will her desire for intimacy snowball into the worst-case scenario? Praised by FringeReview.co.uk as ‘vulnerable’, ‘brave’ and ‘daring work’, UnTethered has played in Istanbul, NYC, London and Brighton with audiences crediting Tana Sirois as ‘a warrior of emotions’ in a ‘knockout performance’.”

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

WHEN: VARIES (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is our first time at Edinburgh Fringe! UnTethered premiered at the Istanbul Fringe Festival, in September, and since then, we’ve toured the show to NYC, London and Brighton. We have enjoyed all of our runs, but I must say there is something about this piece that just works so well in a fringy environment. One of our recent reviews credited the show as a disarmingly raw and vulnerable show that is “perfect fringe fodder”, which really tickled me. UnTethered is part one-woman show, part mass-dating event, so an environment like Edinburgh Fringe, which I expect contains a good amount of artsy folk who are open to connection, passionate about mental health, and longing to move beyond the traditional gendered binary, is really the perfect place for UnTethered.

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

The primary lesson of 2025 seems to be “leap and the net will appear”, which is a bit ironic considering UnTethered is all about my intolerance of uncertainty! Touring this show around the world with a three-person team has been such an exciting, exhausting, rewarding, and meaningful ride. It’s required us to practice a great deal of trust, courage and compassion for ourselves and each other, and I think these lessons have really reverberated on a larger scale for all of us and impacted our lives in quite a significant way.

Tell us about your show.

To be honest, part of me wrote this show because I was extremely fed up with explaining how my OCD gets in the way of love and intimacy to potential partners. At some point in early 2023, a fantasy emerged — I would write a play that perfectly articulates how I experience OCD in less than 60 minutes, and invite everyone I am interested in to come and watch it. If I could succeed in allowing the audience to truly see who I am, perhaps then I could bypass the emotional labor of discussing my OCD, and save a ton of time and energy by jumping straight into dating someone who fully sees and accepts me!

It turns out that writing a show about your mental health and performing it in an attempt to find love saves neither time nor energy. But, oh well — too late to back out now!

UnTethered is directed by Polina Ionina, and produced by her company, The How. Polina and I began working together in 2021 on a very intimate two-person movement theatre piece which was performed twice in NYC and once in Istanbul. After that experience, asking her to direct UnTethered was a no-brainer. I knew this piece needed an extremely talented, compassionate, visionary director who was hyper-attuned to the energetic life of the piece. I can’t imagine this play being directed by anyone else. On top of that, Polina is equally passionate about destigmatizing OCD diagnosis and presenting a piece that portrays an accurate and nuanced example of a disorder that is so often misunderstood.

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

We can’t wait to see Ellie Shaw’s Medium Dead! Ellie programmed UnTethered at The Glitch, and we’ve been following this show’s journey for a while now. (And of course, we have a deep respect for artists who wear many hats!)

We are looking forward to Centre of the Universe because Gaia’s marketing aesthetic is shockingly similar to UnTethered! (And because it sounds like a hilarious and moving piece.)

We’ve been following The City For Incurable Women by Fish in a Dress, and are super excited to see it.

And of course, the most anticipated show of Edinburgh Fringe is everything by Xhloe and Natasha! (And Then The Rodeo Burned Down, What If They Ate The Baby, and A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First). We’ve been following their careers for the past year and they are just absolutely smashing it! We are so impressed!

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EdFringe Talk: Angela Bra: Secret Diary of a Bingo Call Girl

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“The Free Festival and Free Fringe are core to my Edinburgh experience as it encourages both performers and audience members to take a risk on something new and different.”

WHO: Andy / Angela Bra

WHAT: “Get your dabbers ready for playful parodies, polished puns and surreal stories from the frontline of the UK party bingo circuit. With on-screen singalong karaoke lyrics, audience interaction and an actual game of bingo it’s unlike any other show you’ll see! Critics Choice Award winner at the 2024 Bay Fringe. Best Comedy Show nominee at the 2024 and 2023 Buxton Fringe. Mamma’s Drag Battle finalist 2024. ‘A cheerily endearing persona…’ (Chortle.co.uk).”

WHERE: Hollywood at Laughing Horse @ City Cafe (Venue 85) 

WHEN: On Demand (50 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be the forth show I’ve taken to Edinburgh Fringe and every year it gives me something different. Admittedly, one year it was mild food poisoning but usually it’s something positive! I love meeting my audiences as they come from all kinds of backgrounds and locations across the globe. I have a strong social media following so it’s always nice to chat to the people behind the comments and the clicks.

I also love watching shows from both acts I know and complete unknowns. The variety is amazing. Last year I mainly watched stand-up but I also watched a talk laying out the speaker’s manifesto for living; hosted in a tiny alcove at the back of a pub to an audience of six. The Free Festival and Free Fringe are core to my Edinburgh experience as it encourages both performers and audience members to take a risk on something new and different. Edinburgh Fringe really is only second to Venice in giving you the chance to take a punt…

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

I’ve learned not to worry if it’s five minutes to showtime and the room is still half empty. Being on the Laughing Horse Free Festival, you can be looking at an empty room one minute and then in the next a queer theatre cast arrive on a group night out. This actually happened last year.

I’ve also learned to be kinder to myself. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the experience you end up running multiple shows and then appearing as a guest in three times as many as a panellist or mixed-bill variety hours and, though fun, it’s utterly exhausting. This year I’m focused on the one show and a limited number of guest spots from promoters I know and trust. I want my energies to be largely directed towards my show and performing it to the best of my ability.

Tell us about your show.

Angela Bra: Secret Diary of a Bingo Call Girl is a drag musical comedy full of songs, games, stories and semi-political puns following my real life ascent from primary school music teacher to a party bingo MC who tours the pubs, clubs and hen do’s of the UK. I won “Joke of the Fest” with it at Lancaster Comedy Festival earlier this year and it has also been well received at Buxton Fringe (where my last two shows have been award-nominated.)

Whilst a solid hour of fun and nonsense, it does also have a political edge that acknowledges and challenges the rise of right wing “populism” – something I now do more and more now on Threads, a site I have been using since ending my relationship with the toxic mess that is the site formally known as Twitter.

It’s now an X…

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

I’d definitely recommend you go and see my friend and podshow co-host Aunty Ginger at Assembly. It’s a proper late night laugh full of adult humour and audience interaction. Last year we did a late night cabaret show called Drag-A-Do but because both our shows are late evening this year that hasn’t been possible. We are planning to bring it back nationally next year though.

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