Tag Archives: Underbelly

+3 Interview: Otto & Astrid: Eurosmash! (Die Roten Punkte)

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“…has the danciest songs about aliens and fruit…”

WHO: Astrid Rot, Performer

WHAT: “Berlin’s premiere art rock duo, Otto and Astrid of Die Roten Punkte, perform unashamedly slick, Eurovision-inspired pop from their new album Eurosmash! amidst some inevitable sibling dysfunction and punk spirit anarchy.”

WHERE: Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61)

WHEN: 21:10 (70 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

My brother Otto and I first played Edinburgh in 2009 with our show Super Musician and then again in 2013 with Kunst Rock (Art Rock), and in 2015 we hosted Otto & Astrid’s Haus Party which was the most fun variety show ever! This year our show Otto & Astrid – Eurosmash! has the danciest songs about aliens and fruit so we’re very excited to share this with everyone!

Tell us about your show.

Otto and I wrote all the songs – well we wrote most of them together – Otto wrote the song Look at My Fruit about…. eating fruits on a date and I wrote Body Slam which is about mixing wrestling with sex on a date with truly excellent results!

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

I think they would enjoy seeing Laura Davis, Hannah Gadsby, Children Are Stinky, Butt Kapinski and Wild Bore.

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+3 Interview: Maddy Anholt – Herselves

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“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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+3 Interview: Richard Carpenter is Close to You

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“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: Laughing Stock

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“We like to tell stories in odd and unusual ways, and so we experiment with sound and movement a lot in our shows.”

WHO: Rhys Bevan, Writer and Performer

WHAT: “Laughing Stock is a character-based and narrative-driven sketch comedy foursome. Sketches are interwoven within a rich tapestry of music, dance, mime and song in order to tell detailed and intricate tales of irreverence and irregularity. Expect reality to rub shoulders with absurdity and for everyday observations to be stretched to breaking point.”

WHERE:  Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61)

WHEN: 16:20 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As a company Laughing Stock have been up to the Fringe twice before. A couple of us did come up years ago with university plays but it’s a very different festival when you’re a student.

We love the Fringe and its relentless, serotonin-sapping, waistline-defeating, alcoholism-inducing bonkers-ness. But now that we’ve been a few times and it is, to an extent, our ‘job,’ we do have to look after ourselves a little better than we used to.

Tell us about your show.

Our show is sketch comedy with big laughs and a lot of heart. We’re all trained actors who grew up watching Smack the Pony, The Fast Show, League of Gentlemen etc and we try to bring a level of authenticity to our live shows, to commit to observed characters and situations.

It’s written by all of us, devised and directed by us, and produced and marketed by us. Self-made comedy for the crowdfunded generation!

We all met doing the Post-Grad course at the Oxford School of Drama. The show has had a first preview at the New Diorama Theatre and will probably return to London in the Autumn. After that, who knows!
We also love a song and a dance and there’s plenty of that. We like to tell stories in odd and unusual ways, and so we experiment with sound and movement a lot in our shows.

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

So so much. Shelf, Loren O’Brien, Rory O’Keeffe, Colin Hoult, Police Cops in Space, Jon Pointing, Red Bastard, Spencer Jones, Marny Godden, Kat Bond, Sleeping Trees, Joseph Morpurgo, Emma Sidi… Blah blah. We’re very excited. To be more succinct, here are three newcomers on the sketch scene to look out for: Dirty White Boys, Muriel and Cloak & Dagger Club. Three bright young things of sketch, mark our words.

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