“We’re so excited to be back after all this time!”
WHO: Martha D Lewis and Eve Polycarpou
WHAT: “Martha D Lewis and Eve Polycarpou made their first television appearance in 1987. After three decades of national and international accolades, these trailblazing British-born Cypriot legends, described as ‘witty, wicked, Mediterranean madams’ (Evening Standard ) – also award winners within their individual music and acting careers – join forces once again to celebrate their distinguished careers in this brand-new show. They are buzzed up to be back together in bonnie Scotland’s Acropolis of the North. Expect ‘soaring vocals, exhilarating rhythms and a satisfying stew of melody and mirth’ (Guardian).”
WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Wine Bar (Venue 117)
WHEN: 20:45 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
This will be our seventh time performing at Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Our first show here was in 1987 and the last time we were here was over 20 years ago! We love performing at The Gilded Balloon, which is the venue that hosted our last three shows here.
Our first Donna and Kebab show was spotted by the TV show ‘0-1 for London’, which was really the catalyst that launched our careers. Edinburgh Fringe feels really special to us for that reason – and that’s why we’re so excited to be back after all this time! There’s really nowhere like it – the Fringe has so much variety and so much upcoming talent. It’s a really inspiring place to be as an artist, whatever stage you’re at in your career. We loved it in the 80s, and we love it just as much now.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Eve: I’ve learnt that you have to take each day as it comes, especially with so many people around us who have been ill and also the risk of getting Covid myself. You just have to go with the flow and have a good time as much as you possibly can – things like exploring lovely walks which I’ve been able to do and taking time with myself.
Martha: I think what I’ve learnt is how fragile life is. From one day to another, life can change completely. The reality of going into that Covid lockdown was quite shocking. I don’t think any of us could’ve imagined that something like that could happen.
Tell us about your show.
Our show is a combination of music and comedy that looks at the British-born Greek-Cypriot (BBCs) community today and talks about current issues and topics through the eyes of our mums, grandmothers and ourselves. We use our voices as female performers with a unique bi-cultural experience and part of the LGBTQI+ community. Sharing this unique insight as BBCs is really important to us.
We wrote and produced the show with the help of our wonderful co-writer/co-director Joanna Foster. Our joint view of the world and shared sense of humour is really how we first came together – we met at Eve’s Uncles’ Greek nightclub, where we both had performance residencies. We bonded over the music of our parent culture and also had very similar experiences growing up, particularly struggling with the cultural expectations and pressures we felt from our community – how we were just expected to transition from good Greek girls to good Greek women, and then good Greek wives.
We finally created Donna and Kebab after a friend suggested we put our stories into a show – these gradually evolved into comedy sketches – that was 35 years ago! Since our first Edinburgh Fringe, we’ve performed internationally and played at some incredible places. Some of our favourites include Glastonbury and playing in Syria in the 1990’s, plus festivals all over Europe.
Our Edinburgh show is part of a much bigger story involving a UK tour next year. Music is a primary factor of our creative partnership and we’ve released a number of albums of self-penned songs, plus Martha and Eve versions of some of our favourite covers in Greek, English and even Spanish and French. This show is kicking off our campaign and getting us used to working together again. After the Fringe, we’re going to be fully focused on our national tour, but we’re also working with an award-winning filmmaker called Athena Mandis who is making a documentary about our journey as Donna and Kebab and beyond – that’s something we’re really looking forward to as well.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
There are so many shows we’re excited to see – we have tickets to see Bridget Christie, who we love. We also like the look of ‘Liz Guterbock: Geriatric Millennial’ and ‘George Zacharopoulos: Wonderland’ and we’re fans of Steve Richards who is at the Fringe with his ‘Rock N Roll Politics’ podcast. We always try and cram as much in as possible whenever we’re here!
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