“It’s the first time I’ve very deliberately staged a show to which I’m not coming.”
WHO: Ashley Frieze
WHAT: “From the Author of How to Write, Perform and Produce a Cancelled Edinburgh Fringe Show comes an hour of nothing. Ashley Frieze is not coming to this Fringe. He’ll be singing his distinctive brand of comedy songs somewhere else. Sorry, it’s just way too expensive. I’d love to come but there’s no way that spending all the time and money creating a show will pay off. So, I’m staying at home. Enjoy this one without me. Let me know how it goes. After all, there’s no no-show business like no-show business.”
WHERE: The Lounge at Laughing Horse @ The Counting House (Venue 170)
WHEN: 19:15 (55 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This is not my first Edinburgh Fringe. I first performed at the Fringe in 2003 and had my first full show – The Musical! – in 2004. I’ve done double-act, compilation and solo stand-up shows since.
However, although this is not my first Fringe, nor is it the first Fringe I’ve missed, this year is a first for me. It’s the first time I’ve very deliberately staged a show to which I’m not coming.
Anyone can miss a Fringe, but I’ve put the extra work in, to not appear for 55 minutes on a specific date.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
I’ve learned that the AI revolution has already happened and we’re all trying to come to terms with it. Indeed, thanks to AI, I released 3 comedy albums last year, where my silly lyrics and ideas were conjured into plausible music by Udio. This “The Incredible Jukebox” project taught me a lot about songwriting, because it gave me the hunger to write more and more songs, and gave me instant feedback on whether they sounded good.
The main lesson here is to practice your craft in any form you can, and then see how the practice feeds into all areas of it. I’m a better improvised-song creator now, and I’m even releasing an album of comedy songs performed by me.
The AI revolution is hard to take on board. Some thing I’ll be sending an AI avatar to my show in my place… but that remains to be seen.
Tell us about your show.
My show is one of a kind. It’s a fully prepared, fully automated absence of a show. Though if you follow the links to my website you may find some supporting materials. The Fringe is an increasingly expensive place, where you need independent funding in order to be able to stage anything. While companies like the Free Fringe and Free Festival do their best to ease the financial burden of staging a show, the city itself, possibly through excessive tourist (and Oasis fan) demand, just gets more and more expensive a place to be in August. I’m Not Coming has cost me money to stage and is a symbol of how art comes at the cost of the artist… even absence comes at a price.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Go and give loads of love and support to Friz Frizzle. They’ve had a really tough year and yet they’re a brilliant comedian with a great story and a ridiculous amount of brilliant comedy songs. Like a lot of good people, Friz has left the cess pool that is Twitter, and so you’ll have to find them through other means.
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