Tag Archives: EdFestivals

+3 Interview: Sleeping Giant

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

“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 will mark the first staging of the play.”

WHO: Christopher Sepulveda: Producer

WHAT: “A writer/producer of television’s Supernatural spins a series of intimate, darkly comic vignettes in this modern thriller. When Ryan’s firework-filled marriage proposal accidentally awakens an ancient creature sleeping in a nearby lake, local residents become consumed by stories about the ‘thing’ and the dark effects it has on anyone who touches it. Admirers descend into zealotry and obsession where mob mentality, paranoia and blind faith best common sense in a landscape that looks surprisingly close to the world in which we live today.”

WHERE: Assembly Rooms – Powder Room (Venue 20) 

WHEN: 12:05 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Our partner, Celebration Theatre, has produced work in Edinburgh, including last year’s hit “Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist” and the 2010 all-male production of “The Bacchae” which our director, Michael Matthews and producer Nathan Frizzell were also involved with, but it is the first time for the rest of our team including playwright, Steve Yockey (TV’s “Supernatural” and “Scream”).

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

Aside from a recent workshop with Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, CA, this is the very first time “Sleeping Giant” will be presented to the world and we can’t wait for audiences to experience the play.

Tell us about your show.

“Sleeping Giant” weaves a series of intimate, darkly comic vignettes together to explore how mob mentality, paranoia and blind faith can overtake common sense in a landscape that looks surprisingly close to the world in which we live today. It was written by Steve Yockey (a writer/producer of TV’s “Supernatural”) and is being produced in association with Celebration Theatre—the oldest continuously producing LGBT theatre in the United States. Lead by the director, Michael Matthews, the cast includes Tony Award-winner Daisy Eagan and ‘The Vampire Diaries’ and ‘The Flash’ star, Rick Cosnett. The design team includes Tony Award-nominated Sound Designer, Cricket S. Myers who creates an otherworldly soundscape to complement the piece.

“Sleeping Giant” received a workshop reading by Center Theatre Group in July. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 will mark the first staging of the play.

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

Several friends of Celebration Theatre have projects in the festival including “30 Minute Musicals” and “Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist” which we would absolutely recommend. They’re both very different from “Sleeping Giant” (and from one another) but terrific fun!

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+3 Interview: The Merry Wives of Windsor

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

“I was brought up in Edinburgh, went to Uni in Edinburgh, then left to wander around the planet for a while … The Fringe is just the best time of year in Edinburgh.”

WHO: Harkness Robertson: Director

WHAT: “An uproarious tale of marriage, mischief, jealousy, lies and laundry. Set around Page’s Steamie on the Windsor Estate in 1950s Edinburgh, Falstaff woos two women in an attempt to swindle their husbands and regain his squandered wealth. The wily wives see through him, however, and plot their hilarious revenge. Meanwhile, Anne is pursued by two unlikely suitors, each one approved by her respective parents. But she prefers another. Will true love prevail? Will Falstaff get his comeuppance and mend his ways? And will Ford ever accept that wives may be merry yet honest too?”

WHERE: The Royal Scots Club – The Hepburn Suite (Venue 241) 

WHEN: 19:00 (90 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I was brought up in Edinburgh, went to Uni in Edinburgh, then left to wander around the planet for a while. But the call of home was loud and insistent; I came back in 2008, and have been involved in Fringe productions ever since, mostly as an actor. This is my first time directing for the Fringe, so I’m especially excited. The Fringe is just the best time of year in Edinburgh. The atmosphere is unique – absolutely buzzing with life and creativity; the town literally does not sleep at all during the month of August. I love that there is something to suit absolutely every taste – and wallet! The whole city turns into a stage, and it’s such an incredible festival to be a part of, whether as a participant or as a spectator. It’s amazing to be able to be both.

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

After EGTG’s Fringe run of Much Ado About Nothing (dir. David Grimes) last year, we took the production to Stratford-Upon-Avon to perform as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s free summer programme at The Dell. I was Stage Manager. It was completely different to performing at The Fringe, and a once-in-a-lifetime chance (or so I thought) to be involved in putting on one of Shakespeare’s plays in his own hometown. I am delighted to say that EGTG’s Merry Wives of Windsor has been invited to participate in the 2019 Dell Space summer programme, so after our run at the Fringe, we’ll be preparing to take the show to another, different audience.

Tell us about your show.

The Merry Wives of Windsor is one of William Shakespeare’s lesser performed comedies, but in my opinion, the funniest. It’s also one of The Bard’s most accessible pieces – it’s mostly prose, and the humour is very visual. I’ve loved the play for years but never thought of directing it until I went to see a production of The Steamie a couple of years ago. I had a lightbulb moment: that set would be perfect for The Merry Wives! And so the obsession began.

This production of The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in and around George Page’s Steamie in 1950s Edinburgh. I hope the audience will bring their chuckle muscles, and enjoy a thoroughly good giggle at Falstaff and his merry friends as they wash their dirty laundry in public. After we’ve finished at The Fringe, we’re off to Stratford to see what the audience at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Dell Space makes of our “Holyrood Wives”.

EGTG has been putting on productions at The Fringe for decades. Founded in 1954, the group has grown from strength to strength and brings together people of all ages from all backgrounds to produce a diverse collection of shows. I’ve been working with them since 2015.

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

EGTG is also staging Mark Ravenhill’s pool (no water), directed by Abbye Eva. It’s on right after our Merry Wives, in the same venue. Why not make it a double bill?

The week after us, Arkle Theatre is taking over the Royal Scots Club venue. Jenny Tamplin is directing Clare McIntyre’s Low-Level Panic, and David Grimes is directing Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew (12th-17th August).

Also recommended: Arbery Production’s Bull.

There’s so much to see. Even a walk down the Royal Mile is an entertaining day out! Take all the fliers; talk to the characters you meet on the streets – sometimes the best shows you see are those you choose on the spur of the moment.

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+3 Interview: Mandy Muden: Is Not the Invisible Woman

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“I can read your deepest secrets – even the ones that you don’t know yourself.”

WHO: Mandy Muden: Performer

WHAT: “Mandy Muden is a multi award-winning comedian and magician, widely known for her sensational appearances on Britain’s Got Talent. A one-woman fusillade of camp comedy and mind-blowing magic, demonstrating a tour de force in interactive entertainment. She leaves audiences astounded with both the brilliance of some (certainly not all) of her magic and in hysterics at her off-the-cuff one-liners and observations. ‘I don’t get why you’re not already a comedy superstar, that was hilarious.’ (David Walliams). ‘You have got funny bones…. Your timing is brilliant, I love you’ (Amanda Holden).”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Balcony (Venue 14) 

WHEN: 16:00 (60 min)

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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my seventh show at the Fringe. I haven’t been here for some years so I am really looking forward to it. I have always had a great time in Edinburgh.

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

I have been very busy doing a lot of shows in the UK, Italy, Australia and even in the Arctic. Also doing some TV and shows in the USA and other countries. Last year I was a semi-finalist in Britain’s Got Talent.

Tell us about your show.

It’s a brand new show for the Edinburgh Fringe. I have written and produced it myself and it’s packed with magic, fun and mind reading. I can read your deepest secrets – even the ones that you don’t know yourself. I may do a little tour in the autumn.

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

I love good quality magic – so I’d recommend Kevin Quantum’s Neon Future.

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+3 Interview: Dr Lara Love: Love Leans In

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

“This is a new show, written hurriedly after I got the final statement through from the lawyers.”

WHO: Dr Lara Love: My role is to give advice to the pitifully unloved in how to navigate their way through the world of love and relationships, whilst having the charisma of a toad or the breath of a donkey (for example). *qualifications pending

WHAT: “What is love? An unknown quantity, a mesmerising spiritual gift or a song by Haddaway? Love guru Dr Lara Love heals our loveless society in one enlightening hour. ‘Brilliant, unique and boundary bending comedy’ (TalkFringe.com.au).”

WHERE: Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire – Cave (Venue 338) 

WHEN: 16:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As myself, Dr Lara Love, yes it is my first time. I’ve been too busy building my app, ‘Love in an applicator’.

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

My husband Dikkie got sent to rehab for accidentally spending our fortune on cam girls. My app is a snip at £39.99. Get it in any good high street Woolworths.

Tell us about your show.

This is a new show, written hurriedly after I got the final statement through from the lawyers. I’d heard that an Edfringe show is a fantastic way to make lots of money quick, so here I am.

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

After my show, firstly I’d recommend a stiff gin. Then go and see: The Kagools – Cirque Du Kagool, Nicky Wilkinson – Game On, Hayley Ellis – Nobody Puts Hayley in a Corner.

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+3 Interview: Knowing Me, Knowing Uke

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“We’re all really excited to be back in Edinburgh; we had so much fun last time and this year promises to be a great follow-up!”

WHO: Tom Conti-Leslie: Performer

WHAT: “After their sell-out 2018 debut Fringe show Too Many Ukes Spoil The Broth, Ukelear Fusion are back! Their new show Knowing Me, Knowing Uke is full of brand-new covers of songs from every genre, all played using the humble ukulele. Rock, pop, country, musical theatre, and maybe even an ABBA song or two – this quirky little band can play it all. Join a group of fun-loving students from the University of St Andrews for a show full of beautiful harmonies, great uke tunes and lots of laughs. This show is fun for all the family!”

WHERE: theSpaceTriplex – Studio (Venue 38) 

WHEN: 12:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s not! With Ukelear Fusion, we made our Fringe debut last year with our show “Too Many Ukes Spoil the Broth”. It was in one of those classic small 40-person theatres that you see a lot of at the Fringe. It may not seem like much, but we were so amazed last year when we realised the room was at capacity most days! So this year, with our new show “Knowing Me, Knowing Uke”, we’ve slightly upped the size but the essence of the show remains the same. We’re all really excited to be back in Edinburgh; we had so much fun last time and this year promises to be a great follow-up!

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

We’re a student band, so since last year’s Fringe, we’ve spent most of our time studying in St Andrews. Each year, we tend to put on two big concerts, as well as a few smaller gigs (as you can imagine, anyone organising a Hawaiian-themed evening has the town’s only ukulele band on speed dial). That’s not to say big things haven’t happened though! We’ve rehearsed a lot, and we’ve taken on more and more ambitious and technical song covers which we’ve been proud to present in our concerts. We will be performing some of the more successful ones in “Knowing Me, Knowing Uke”!

Tell us about your show.

“Knowing Me, Knowing Uke” is a fun and laid-back 50-minute show featuring covers of songs from lots of different music genres, all played using our eight ukuleles and eight voices (and occasionally some kazoos to spice it up a bit)! More than a band, we’re a little group of friends and we have all worked together to prepare the songs for this year. When we meet up each week to rehearse during university term time, everyone has the chance to suggest a song to the band, and the diversity of our music tastes is definitely reflected in the set list we’re taking to the Fringe. We’ve got some real musical theatre nerds in the group, so you can expect some of that; we’ve also got some pop and classic rock fans; I like a bit of everything but the stuff I’ve personally brought to the band this year has been a tad more electronic. There’s something for everyone to enjoy!

We really love challenging ourselves and pushing the limits of what the ukulele can do. When people hear “ukulele band”, I think their mind often jumps to things like “Over the Rainbow” and “Riptide”. While we definitely have those songs in our book, our Fringe set list is made to surprise the audience. We want to get rid of the ukulele stereotype and show you that ukes can play a lot more than you thought! One of the “electro” songs I suggested this year is a classic 80s synth tune by Eurythmics; the version we’re playing is inspired by a ukulele band I greatly admire called George Hinchliffe’s Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. It’s not a song you’d expect a ukulele to be able to play, but I can guarantee “Knowing Me, Knowing Uke” will prove you wrong! As you may have guessed from our show title we’re also going to be covering some ABBA songs, in the form of a medley which we all absolutely love playing. It’s going to be great fun!

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

There are lots of other St Andrews student shows coming to the Fringe this year. I’ve been at the university for two years and I’m always surprised at how amazing and talented everyone is. Look out for shows by Bells, The Other Guys, The St Andrews Revue, and the St Andrews Gilbert and Sullivan Society (produced by the Mermaids Performing Arts Fund).

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+3 Interview: 2Elfth Night

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“Deane spent a magical year at the University of Edinburgh, living among the nudists at Hermits Croft and wandering up to Arthur’s Seat upon occasion.”

WHO: Alan Coyne: Doyle

WHAT: “Keane & Doyle have been spies, wizards, witches and cosmological assassins. Now they embark on their most ambitious adventure yet: Twelfth Night! Unfortunately, upon arriving at the festive fringes of Edinburgh-land, they find that the rest of their company has been detained by security or lost to the pond. And so, they face the grandest questions of our time: Who will play which parts? Will they ever find home again? How many layers of cross-dressing is too many? They may need your help.”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines – The Snug (Venue 152) 

WHEN: 20:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is our first time to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; however, Deane spent a magical year at the University of Edinburgh, living among the nudists at Hermits Croft and wandering up to Arthur’s Seat upon occasion.

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

Definitely this foray into the wilds of the Festival Fringe. We’re producing our own show, and it’s been an interesting challenge keeping all the balls in the air. Keane and Doyle have appeared in ShortLived (the US’s largest audience-judged short play competition), Plethos Production’s New Year Showcase, and Stony Brook University’s Science Playwriting Competition, but this is our first international venture.

Tell us about your show.

Our show, as the name suggests, is a 2-person version of Shakespeare’s comedy, TWELFTH NIGHT. Coyne adapted it for the pre-existing characters of Keane and Doyle, who are sort of what you’d get if you mashed up Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, and Vladimir & Estragon in a big pot, and poured the result into two slightly oddly-shaped vases. Keane plays Viola, Feste, Maria, and Sebastian; Doyle plays Orsino, Sir Toby, Olivia, the Captain, a Clown, and the Officer; the rest are up to the audience. There’ll be improvised sing-alongs, clowning, and so many layers of cross-dressing that even we won’t know what’s what any more.

The company came together shortly after Coyne & Deane met doing Scott Munson’s updated adaptation of CHARLEY’S AUNT ’66 at the Douglas Morrisson Theater in Hayward, California, directed by Craig Souza in early 2017. They hit it off so well that since then, they have performed together in nearly a dozen full productions, including KEANE & DOYLE ARE SPIES, the characters’ debut, and last year’s A TIME FOR HAWKING at Indra’s Net Theater, in which they played Stephen Hawking and his wife-to-be, Jane Wilde.

2ELFth NIGHT is making its official premiere at Edinburgh, though it will have 2 preview performances in Berkeley, California. Though this specific show may not continue after the Fringe, the characters live on, making their next appearance at this year’s San Francisco Olympians Festival in SIR KAY.

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

At our venue (Paradise in Augustines), we recommend Some Kind of Theatre’s THE GRANDMOTHERS GRIMM, which restores the glory of the feminine to well-known folk tales; their group is based in Edinburgh, and took TWELFTH NIGHT to the Fringe last year! Also, our fellow Snug-dwellers the Raymondos are doing a show called ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE PLEBS, which looks right up our alley: two fellows engaging in Shakespearean tomfoolery. Literally right after us is Windfall Theatre Collective’s MORE FOOL YOU, Pt. 1 & 2, which has time travel, gender-bending, and Tudor historical drama; we definitely want to know more about that, if we can only get there in time!

Wandering a little further out, we’re interested in our fellow Americans, 1850 Productions, and their show THE PENGUIN TANGO, a screwball comedy based on the real-life adventures of two male penguins at a New York zoo who decided to raise a chick together; that’s at theSpace @ North Bridge. Also coming from the US is New Light Theater Project’s HITLER’S TASTERS, about the women who had to test the Fuehrer’s food for poison; a dark historical comedy at Greenside @ Infirmary Street.

Also, there are several space-themed shows that we’ll be watching, because Coyne is obsessed with cosmology: Strickland Productions’ APOLLO: TAKE 111 at ZOO Southside; CHAIKA: FIRST WOMAN IN SPACE by Acting Coach Scotland at theSpace @ North Bridge; and SPACE JUNK: A SOVIET MUSICAL, which is one of Slipshod Theatre’s shows, at theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall.

We have a bunch more that we’re going to see, and we’ll be talking about them a lot on Twitter: we’re using the hashtag #EdTwinge to mention shows that we feel are somehow our show’s long-lost twin.

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+3 Interview: Micky Overman Presents: Presenting Miss Micky Overman

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“Five years ago I didn’t even know this festival existed, and now I can say I wrote two shows worth of jokes. I’m pretty proud of that.”

WHO: Micky Overman: Performer

WHAT: “This brand-spanking-new hour by the 2018 Chortle Best Newcomer nominee finally answers the question no one is dying to have answered: ‘where is she from?!’. It also covers: the value of friendship, the power of perception, the importance of agency and how to deal with terminally ill toys. Come watch as she takes you on a journey through the jungle of silly boys/creeps of her past, and watch her make a complete fool of herself as she celebrates her roots. ‘A pin-sharp torrent of precision gags and delightfully silly one-liners’ (Observer).”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 21:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third time performing at the festival, and my second solo show. It’s pretty incredible, the fact that there is such a place as the Edinburgh festival where anyone can put on a show. I love that. Five years ago I didn’t even know this festival existed, and now I can say I wrote two shows worth of jokes. I’m pretty proud of that.

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

I got to perform at the Hackney Empire in London to a thousand people. That was amazing. Also, I played for the first time ever in Amsterdam, which is where I’m from. That was a huge milestone for me.

Tell us about your show.

My show is written and performed by me, and it’s also about me. Honestly, if you like me you’ll love this. However, if you have no idea who I am (much more likely scenario), you should still totally come! I’ve written a very silly show that will speak to anyone who’s ever felt misunderstood. I also explore what it means to be foreign in the UK, and how to be friends with straight guys as a girl. If you like jokes about failed dates, childhood toys and Meg Ryan, definitely consider me. Most importantly, if you want to find out where I’m from (please ignore my answer to the previous question) come to my show! I pay homage to my home country in a way that is as moving as it is mocking. In conclusion, I guess, I wrote a lot of jokes so please come!

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

Oh my god, so many things. First off, go see Helen Bauer’s debut ‘Little Miss Baby Angel Face’, and be absolutely blown away by one of the funniest new voices in comedy – you won’t regret it. Another debut I highly recommend is Nathan D’Arcy Robert’s ‘Glowed Up’, as he is one of the funniest people I know and a damn good writer. A fellow sophomore like me to check out is Heidi Regan, whose new show ‘Heidi Kills Time’ will be a delight for anyone who likes their shows as smart as they are silly. I feel like I’m preaching to the converted when I recommend people like Olga Koch, Maisie Adam, Ed Night, Sarah Keyworth and Catherine Bohart, but do watch all of these people as they are amazing.

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+3 Interview: I Can Make You Fail Slightly Less

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“The most important thing to me is that people walk away from my shows feeling good after having had a great time.”

WHO: Dominic Berry: Writer and performer

WHAT: “Are you aware of the devastation that is possible by just one negative thought…? Do you know what will help you more: the wise words of Buddha or the fetish uniform of superhero He-Man…? Winner of Best Spoken Word Artist at Saboteur Awards 2017 and Poet in Residence at Glastonbury Festival, Dominic Berry promises to help you fail (slightly) less! ‘I love the seriousness and the humour’ (Benjamin Zephaniah). ‘An exceptional force’ (John McGrath, Artistic Director at National Theatre Wales).”

WHERE: ZOO Playground – Playground 3 (Venue 186) 

WHEN: 17:20 (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s not my first time in Edinburgh……but it is my first time doing a run of two shows at the Fringe (I’m doing a PBH Free Fringe family show too – ‘When Trolls Try To Eat Your Goldfish’). I’m going to be knackered after all that but it will be so worth it!

I’ve actually done Edinburgh Fringe five times before in total and loved every one of them. One of my family-orientated shows, ‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh! Dinosaurs!’, was voted by Fest as one of the Top 8 shows for families at the Fringe in 2016. It was the only solo show to make their list. Not blowing my own trumpet but, I’ll admit, I was very proud of that one!

The most important thing to me is that people walk away from my shows feeling good after having had a great time. I’m just really excited about this year because I’ve got my new adult show to perform and it’s some of my best work!

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

Definitely Glastonbury in June 2019! This year was my third consecutive booking. It’s indescribable, even for a poet, being a part of the Glastonbury atmosphere. So many poets…….in the sun……and mud……..and magic!

A close second would be that I was lucky enough to have my poetry booked for a tour of New York State back in March 2019. I’m from a family who never went on holidays overseas when I was a kid. Money was always a challenge for us and it’s only in recent years, with my work, that I’ve had the great joy to visit places like NYC. I didn’t think people like me got to make art. Not as a job! Not to tour around the world and for it to reach so many people! So I’m glad that I didn’t quit on my dreams when times were rough.

There are loads more challenges to artists from working class families, but I believe passionately in telling children to never give up on their aspirations. Easier said than done, I know……..especially now. So I’m really proud to be staging my own family show this year with PBH free fringe, (‘When Trolls Try To Eat Your Goldfish’), in the hope that families like my family are going to be more able to see the kind of art I would have loved to have seen when I was a lad. Art which I hope will inspire and fire them up!

We are all lucky to have PBHs free fringe. It brings a lot of ace art to people who wouldn’t have the chance to see it otherwise.

Tell us about your show.

‘I Can Make You Fail Slightly Less’ is my new adult show combining the following ingredients: comedy, poetry and the wisdom of the greatest self-help gurus! I wrote the show and I also perform it. But – it’s also an audience participation show so the audience actually help me perform it too! I love getting the audience involved and I will be making each show slightly different so no two shows are the same.

It’s directed by Kevin Dyer, who is just brilliant. He’s won a number of awards before, for his other work, so it was an honour to work with him on this show.

My company is me! So I suppose I came together within my own mother’s womb. In all seriousness, I had a massive interest in the performing arts from an early age, so the idea of me performing my own work to audiences was formed a long time ago. I’m just in awe of the fact that I’ve been able to do it! And very grateful.

The show has had a number of previews but it is premiering at Edinburgh Fringe 2019. Let’s see what happens following it’s run at Edinburgh. I’m very excited about performing it!

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

Every year the spoken word section at Edinburgh Fringe grows. Right now is a fantastic time to experience performed poetry. Our scene in the UK is bursting with talent and so much of it is at the fringe this year.

As a kick-off point, I’d recommend ‘Loud Poets’, which showcases tonnes of the best ‘poetry for the masses’!

For solo shows, I‘ll shout out Attila the Stockbroker, Jamie Thrasivoulou, Broccan Tyzack-Carlin, Melanie Branton, Ross McCleary, Rose Condo, and Rob Auton.

I always cringe when poets are asked who inspires them and they don’t say a poet but a singer……yet I’m gonna do the same. I recommend a man called Stewart D’Arrietta, who will be performing the works of my favourite lyricist – Leonard Cohen. I saw this show a couple of years ago, before we lost the legend of a man, so seeing it now will be all the more poignant. All the feels! Which, when all’s said and done, is what we all want from the fringe, right? All the feels!

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+3 Interview: Daniel Audritt: Better Man

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“I guess when you have an audience that can hear you clearly and aren’t worried about leaving with trench foot then they become an easier crowd…”

WHO: Daniel Audritt: Writer / performer

WHAT: “Award-winning comedian, writer and co-creator of Comedy Central’s Modern Horror Stories, Daniel Audritt brings his much-anticipated debut hour to the Fringe. Having previously written for 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Mock the Week, Comic Relief, The News Quiz, Dead Ringers, NewsJack and many more, the show will be punchline-heavy stand-up comedy show that questions love, relationships, modern masculinity and what it takes to be a good guy. Dave’s fourth Best Joke of the Fringe 2018. ‘A winning wit’ (Bruce Dessau, BeyondTheJoke.co.uk).”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Caves – Just Up the Stairs (Venue 88) 

WHEN: 13:05 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This will be my 5th time at the fringe, but my first time doing an hour show on my own.
For two years I performed in a tent in the middle of the Free Sisters. The “venue” was the worst – so much so that I don’t think it counts as a venue any more – but I loved it, which is why I went back two years on the bounce. The whole tent would flood if (and when) there was rain, it had a busy road on one side and a beer garden that played the football on the big screen on the other. At least a few times every day I’d think “what am I doing here?”… but then every time I did a gig in an actual venue, it felt so much easier than it used to. I guess when you have an audience that can hear you clearly and aren’t worried about leaving with trench foot then they become an easier crowd…

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

The biggest thing that has happened to me was last year when I was doing my work in progress show. I thought I was keeping myself off the radar, but then one of my jokes came 4th on Dave’s Best Jokes of the Fringe. That was pretty crazy.

Tell us about your show.

Daniel Audritt: Better Man is a stand-up show about Love, Relationships and Modern Masculinity.
I thought I’d learnt everything I ever needed to know about life from 90s rom-coms but then I found myself in a relationship that I hope will last and have been forced to question everything. In the show, I will explore what it means to be a better man in 2019 – taking a look at everything from Toxic masculinity to the aggressive language on my moisturiser.

Edinburgh will be the show’s official premiere – I’ve been previewing it this year and developing it around the country on basically any stage (and often there wasn’t actually a stage) that people would let me tell jokes on. I’d love to tour the show afterwards, but let’s see if I get through Edinburgh first shall we?

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

It’s hard for me to choose one, so here are 4 that I’m really looking forward to…

Stand Up with Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated) – Janine is a seriously good stand up and was part of the cast of Modern Horror Stories, my Comedy Central show.

Northern Power Blouse – Touching Cloth – A silly, over the top sketch show. Also, my writing partner is in it, and she’s the funniest person I know.

Emmy Blotnick: Party Nights – Great stand up from the US. I heard this album a few weeks back and it was great, I’m really looking forward to seeing it live.

Anna Drezen: Okay Get Home Safe!! – Another US comic and writer. She used to write loads of the Reductress’s best articles, now she writes a lot of SNL’s best sketches. I’m looking forward to that one.

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+3 Interview: Atomic Saloon Show

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

“To create and rehearse the show we have brought our entire producing team from New York and Las Vegas to Edinburgh for the month of July as well as the fourteen incredible performers who come from Australia, USA, Ukraine, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Sweden, Wales, Ireland and Iceland.”

WHO: Andrew Dunn: Creative Director

WHAT: “The wildest watering hole in town. Madam Boozy Skunkton has been collecting the prettiest, sexiest, dumbest, drunkest troupe of entertainers and acrobats on earth, and is determined to create the greatest saloon show the world has ever known. Moulin Rouge meets Blazing Saddles, and America’s Got Talent meets Westworld. From the creators of the hit Las Vegas show Absinthe. Featuring some of the best names in variety and physical comedy, this world premiere is a must-see before it heads to its permanent home on the Las Vegas Strip. Directed by Cal McCrystal (One Man, Two Guvnors).”

WHERE: Assembly George Square Gardens – Palais du Variete (Venue 3) 

WHEN: 22:10 (70 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Spiegelworld presented a small ridiculous show in Edinburgh in 2015 where we just had fun trying out new ideas. Vegas Nocturne was an out of control cabaret directed by American clowning legend John Gilkey and we were honoured to be named Strangest Show! We see Edinburgh as a perfect stage to develop and premiere new work.

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

Celine Dion took a break from her gruelling Las Vegas concert schedule, came to see our show Absinthe at Caesars Palace and declared it was her favourite disaster since Titanic.

Tell us about your show.

Spiegelworld has been talking to UK’s leading comedy director Cal McCrystal for years about creating a show together. We have long admired his joyful, madcap, subversive style of physical comedy which is a perfect complement to our incredibly skilled and sexy young circus acrobats. Finally we have the opportunity to make the dream a reality with a show which takes the audience to the Wild West as it never was . To create and rehearse the show we have brought our entire producing team from New York and Las Vegas to Edinburgh for the month of July as well as the fourteen incredible performers who come from Australia, USA, Ukraine, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, Sweden, Wales, Ireland and Iceland. After its world premiere in Edinburgh the show will be immediately transferred to its permanent home at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.

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

Our show is definitely adults-only and with our incredibly good looking and sexy acrobats, most of our audience will be shamed into re-joining a gym immediately after seeing our show. But we can also recommend the more family-friendly and brilliant Australian circus company Circa and their show Humans. We are really excited to be surrounded by so many exceptional circus companies and Cirque Berserk, La Galerie and The Storm are just some of the many shows on our list to see.

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