edinburgh 2015
ADRIENNE TRUSCOTT'S A one trick pony (GILDED BAlloon, wine bar @ 8:15pm)
Following a year-long tour of her multi-award-winning Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It – A One-Lady Rape About Comedy Starring Her Pussy and Little Else, a simultaneously sobering and hilarious comedy about rape, rape culture and rape jokes wherein she didn’t wear any pants – the issue was raised: was she or wasn’t she? Is she a one-hit wonder? A comedian or a performance artist? How do you follow up a show like that? With a sequel?! Do you take more clothes off or put some on?
Her new show, Adrienne Truscott’s A One-Trick Pony, starts where the last show left off and leaves it entirely behind. Still brazen, still political and as gimmicky as she wants to be, Truscott brings her absurdist’s touch to the low-down art of stand- up comedy. She’s found the perfect dress, but probably won’t get it on in time for curtains.
With more gimmicks, more hair, and possibly pants, this show is about wrestling with telling jokes while standing up. It’s also about hookers, fish, race, racist hookers, ironic fish, Indian face paint, names the internet has for pussy, trolls, Foster’s and the difference between being a one-trick pony and a horse’s ass.
For more than 15 years, Adrienne Truscott—choreographer, circus acrobat, dancer, writer, and as of late, comedian—has been making genre-straddling work in New York City as well as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Just For Laughs, Adelaide Fringe, Darwin Festival, PS122, Joe’s Pub, The Kitchen, Dublin Fringe, Danspace and Dance Theater Workshop. The Wau Wau Sisters, her neo-vaudevillian collaboration with Tanya Gagne, have performed at iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Joe’s Pub and CBGB’s (NYC), Victoria Arts Centre (Melbourne) and The Roundhouse (London), and are regular fixtures at the Edinburgh, Melbourne, Brighton, Adelaide, Perth and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, as well as often starring in the likes of La Soiree and La Clique. Truscott has taught at Wesleyan University Dance Department as a visiting artist, and guest taught at Sarah Lawrence.
Her new show, Adrienne Truscott’s A One-Trick Pony, starts where the last show left off and leaves it entirely behind. Still brazen, still political and as gimmicky as she wants to be, Truscott brings her absurdist’s touch to the low-down art of stand- up comedy. She’s found the perfect dress, but probably won’t get it on in time for curtains.
With more gimmicks, more hair, and possibly pants, this show is about wrestling with telling jokes while standing up. It’s also about hookers, fish, race, racist hookers, ironic fish, Indian face paint, names the internet has for pussy, trolls, Foster’s and the difference between being a one-trick pony and a horse’s ass.
For more than 15 years, Adrienne Truscott—choreographer, circus acrobat, dancer, writer, and as of late, comedian—has been making genre-straddling work in New York City as well as the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Just For Laughs, Adelaide Fringe, Darwin Festival, PS122, Joe’s Pub, The Kitchen, Dublin Fringe, Danspace and Dance Theater Workshop. The Wau Wau Sisters, her neo-vaudevillian collaboration with Tanya Gagne, have performed at iconic venues such as the Sydney Opera House, Joe’s Pub and CBGB’s (NYC), Victoria Arts Centre (Melbourne) and The Roundhouse (London), and are regular fixtures at the Edinburgh, Melbourne, Brighton, Adelaide, Perth and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, as well as often starring in the likes of La Soiree and La Clique. Truscott has taught at Wesleyan University Dance Department as a visiting artist, and guest taught at Sarah Lawrence.
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BABY WANTS CANDY: THE IMPROVISED MUSICAL (ASSEMBLY GEORGE SQUARE, Studio 1 @ 9:30pm)
improv all star explosion (assembly checkpoint @ 7:30pm)
One of the most electrifying and most celebrated improv extravaganzas in the world returns to the Fringe this summer with yet another explosive hour of hilarious ad-libbing song and dance.
Baby Wants Candy has fast established themselves as one of the longest running improv troupes, constantly selling out runs in New York, Chicago and LA and performing in total over 2,500 completely improvised musicals. It has launched the careers of top comedic actors and writers in the US, from Craig Cackowski (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development) to Jack McBrayer (Kenneth in 30 Rock), Vanessa Bayer and Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), Thomas Middleditch (HBO’s Silicon Valley) and Peter Gwinn (Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report).
Entirely based on audience suggestion and accompanied by a full band, the show is a roller-coaster ride of spontaneously choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses and witty, jaw-dropping comedy!
Baby Wants Candy will also be performing two extra shows, Improv All Star Explosion, promising an extra chance to delight in their spontaneous music, monologues, mayhem and hilariously insane fun, with special guests to be announced.
Baby Wants Candy has fast established themselves as one of the longest running improv troupes, constantly selling out runs in New York, Chicago and LA and performing in total over 2,500 completely improvised musicals. It has launched the careers of top comedic actors and writers in the US, from Craig Cackowski (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development) to Jack McBrayer (Kenneth in 30 Rock), Vanessa Bayer and Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live), Thomas Middleditch (HBO’s Silicon Valley) and Peter Gwinn (Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report).
Entirely based on audience suggestion and accompanied by a full band, the show is a roller-coaster ride of spontaneously choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses and witty, jaw-dropping comedy!
Baby Wants Candy will also be performing two extra shows, Improv All Star Explosion, promising an extra chance to delight in their spontaneous music, monologues, mayhem and hilariously insane fun, with special guests to be announced.
| baby_wants_candy_edinburgh_pr_2015.doc |
comedians' theatre company celebrates 10 years on the fringe
Established in 2005 by theatre director Maggie Inchley and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Phil Nichol, Comedians’ Theatre Company are celebrating their 10th anniversary this festival. Having collaborated with the top names of the comedy industry in producing thirteen highly acclaimed productions over the last ten years, this year the Company will perform seven brand new and totally diverse productions.
Now famed for producing stand-out performances and high quality theatre, the object of the company is to put stand-up comics, improvisers and character comedians into works of theatre and to give the performers a chance to expand their base skills in acting, writing and directing for theatre.The company's first Edinburgh production, The Zoo Story, was awarded a Stage Acting Excellence Award and has gone on to mount a series of highly-acclaimed productions with all the major Edinburgh venues including True West, Talk Radio, The School for Scandal and Breaker Morant. Those involved in past productions include the likes of Stewart Lee, Stephen K Amos, Tony Law, Lionel Blair, Marcus Brigstocke, Aisling Bea, Sara Pascoe, Bridget Christie, Jack Whitehall and Ed Byrne.
In 2009, Maggie initiated the company's new writing project, Itch: A Scratch Event, which led to two full productions in Edinburgh in 2011: Matthew Osborn’s Cul-de-Sac, which received a sell-out show Laurel Award from the Fringe, and Somewhere Beneath it All, A Small Fire Burns Still by Dave Florez, which was awarded a Scotsman Fringe First. Itch continues to generate a huge amount of new work and is a valuable network for writers and performers.
A series of new CTC comedy dramas, Making the Best of It, was developed as a co-production with the BBC and was broadcast on Radio Four in February 2014.
The company is dedicated to facilitating new work and focusing the skills of the comedy community into presenting works of theatre that entertain, surprise and edify the public. They are not Arts Council funded but depend on the strength of each production to create viable and sustainable theatre that lives and dies on the response of the theatre going public.
Now famed for producing stand-out performances and high quality theatre, the object of the company is to put stand-up comics, improvisers and character comedians into works of theatre and to give the performers a chance to expand their base skills in acting, writing and directing for theatre.The company's first Edinburgh production, The Zoo Story, was awarded a Stage Acting Excellence Award and has gone on to mount a series of highly-acclaimed productions with all the major Edinburgh venues including True West, Talk Radio, The School for Scandal and Breaker Morant. Those involved in past productions include the likes of Stewart Lee, Stephen K Amos, Tony Law, Lionel Blair, Marcus Brigstocke, Aisling Bea, Sara Pascoe, Bridget Christie, Jack Whitehall and Ed Byrne.
In 2009, Maggie initiated the company's new writing project, Itch: A Scratch Event, which led to two full productions in Edinburgh in 2011: Matthew Osborn’s Cul-de-Sac, which received a sell-out show Laurel Award from the Fringe, and Somewhere Beneath it All, A Small Fire Burns Still by Dave Florez, which was awarded a Scotsman Fringe First. Itch continues to generate a huge amount of new work and is a valuable network for writers and performers.
A series of new CTC comedy dramas, Making the Best of It, was developed as a co-production with the BBC and was broadcast on Radio Four in February 2014.
The company is dedicated to facilitating new work and focusing the skills of the comedy community into presenting works of theatre that entertain, surprise and edify the public. They are not Arts Council funded but depend on the strength of each production to create viable and sustainable theatre that lives and dies on the response of the theatre going public.
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ed byrne: outside looking in (gilded balloon, debating hall @ 9pm)
One of the UK’s leading comedians returns to the Fringe, and to his roots, this summer as he shuns the high-capacity venues and brings his brand new show back to the Gilded Balloon, where it all began for him 20 years ago.
As an observational stand up, Ed Byrne is unrivalled, consistently at the top of his game and producing time and time again fabulously funny and critically acclaimed shows.
Ed’s television credits are far reaching notable appearances include Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, The Graham Norton Show, Live At The Apollo and Comic Relief Bake Off 2015 (all BBC) which saw Ed hosting one of the studio programmes as well as presenting the supporting Appeals VT, filmed in Uganda.
A future combining a TV career and his passion for the outdoors is in his sights as he has now broken into factual presenting. He continues to be a serious outdoors enthusiast and has recently climbed Mt Blanc (Europe’s highest mountain) for the second time! The past two years have seen appearances on Dangerous Roads, Volcano Live and he recently co-presented a 3 X 1 hr series, Dara & Ed’s Big Adventure, all for BBC Two.
Ed was recently heard as the host of comedy panel show called Britain Vs The Rest Of The World on BBC Radio 4, and he writes a regular column for The Great Outdoor Magazine and will be fitting is as much Munro Bagging as he possibly can on his days off!
As an observational stand up, Ed Byrne is unrivalled, consistently at the top of his game and producing time and time again fabulously funny and critically acclaimed shows.
Ed’s television credits are far reaching notable appearances include Mock The Week, Have I Got News For You, The Graham Norton Show, Live At The Apollo and Comic Relief Bake Off 2015 (all BBC) which saw Ed hosting one of the studio programmes as well as presenting the supporting Appeals VT, filmed in Uganda.
A future combining a TV career and his passion for the outdoors is in his sights as he has now broken into factual presenting. He continues to be a serious outdoors enthusiast and has recently climbed Mt Blanc (Europe’s highest mountain) for the second time! The past two years have seen appearances on Dangerous Roads, Volcano Live and he recently co-presented a 3 X 1 hr series, Dara & Ed’s Big Adventure, all for BBC Two.
Ed was recently heard as the host of comedy panel show called Britain Vs The Rest Of The World on BBC Radio 4, and he writes a regular column for The Great Outdoor Magazine and will be fitting is as much Munro Bagging as he possibly can on his days off!
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felicity ward: what if there is no toilet? (pleasance courtyard, above @ 9pm)
In 2012 Felicity Ward’s deeply personal show The Hedgehog Dilemma established her as one of Edinburgh Fringe’s fastest-growing favourites, turning her neuroses into an hour of laugh out loud storytelling. It went on to be nominated for or win Best Comedy at every Australian festival it toured to. Over the next two years she spent it earning a reputation as one of the top observational comics around. In 2015 she returns to the festival with a brand new hour of her multi-award winning, highly acclaimed stand-up, for the premiere of her darkest, funniest show yet.
After presenting last year’s highly successful Australian documentary Felicity’s Mental Mission (ABC1/ABC2) about mental illness and irritable bowel syndrome, Felicity realised how much more material was ready for the taking to be explored and lampooned in her own psyche and bowel. In What If There Is No Toilet?, she delves deep and funny into her depression, anxiety, a lame attempt at self-harm, and her longest running relationship: with the toilet.
In her short time living in the UK Felicity has exploded onto the scene, appearing on Russell Howard's Good News (BBC), Alan Davies’ As Yet Untitled, BBC3’s Red Button Comedy, with even more exciting upcoming appearances in Josh Widdicombe’s hotly anticipated BBC3 sitcom Josh, C4’s Digital Hijack and John Bishop’s new BBC1 variety show. And if that’s not enough, the big screen beckons too! To add to her cinema credits of co-starring in Working Dog Productions’ (The Castle /The Dish) Australian comedy feature film Any Questions For Ben? she appeared in last summer’s box office smash-hit The Inbetweeners Movie 2.
Felicity spent half of last year performing around the world. After debuting her show The Iceberg at her home country’s festivals to critical acclaim, she spent a week at the prestigious Gotham Comedy Club in New York, gigged all over LA, and appeared at the invite-only Montreal Just For Laughs and South Africa’s month long curated festival Cape Town Jive Funny Festival, alongside The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah.
In her homeland of Australia, her television appearances include Network’s popular sketch show The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, ABC’s prominent music comedy quiz show Spicks and Specks, Thank God You’re Here (Channel 7), Good News Week (Channel Ten) and her own stand-up comedy special as part of ABC2’s Warehouse Comedy, in addition to multiple appearances on Comedy Allstars Gala (Channel Ten) and Oxfam Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala (Channel Ten).
After presenting last year’s highly successful Australian documentary Felicity’s Mental Mission (ABC1/ABC2) about mental illness and irritable bowel syndrome, Felicity realised how much more material was ready for the taking to be explored and lampooned in her own psyche and bowel. In What If There Is No Toilet?, she delves deep and funny into her depression, anxiety, a lame attempt at self-harm, and her longest running relationship: with the toilet.
In her short time living in the UK Felicity has exploded onto the scene, appearing on Russell Howard's Good News (BBC), Alan Davies’ As Yet Untitled, BBC3’s Red Button Comedy, with even more exciting upcoming appearances in Josh Widdicombe’s hotly anticipated BBC3 sitcom Josh, C4’s Digital Hijack and John Bishop’s new BBC1 variety show. And if that’s not enough, the big screen beckons too! To add to her cinema credits of co-starring in Working Dog Productions’ (The Castle /The Dish) Australian comedy feature film Any Questions For Ben? she appeared in last summer’s box office smash-hit The Inbetweeners Movie 2.
Felicity spent half of last year performing around the world. After debuting her show The Iceberg at her home country’s festivals to critical acclaim, she spent a week at the prestigious Gotham Comedy Club in New York, gigged all over LA, and appeared at the invite-only Montreal Just For Laughs and South Africa’s month long curated festival Cape Town Jive Funny Festival, alongside The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah.
In her homeland of Australia, her television appearances include Network’s popular sketch show The Ronnie Johns Half Hour, ABC’s prominent music comedy quiz show Spicks and Specks, Thank God You’re Here (Channel 7), Good News Week (Channel Ten) and her own stand-up comedy special as part of ABC2’s Warehouse Comedy, in addition to multiple appearances on Comedy Allstars Gala (Channel Ten) and Oxfam Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala (Channel Ten).
| felicity_ward_what_if_there_is_no_toilet_edinburgh_2015_pr.doc |
thrones! the musical (assembly george square, studio 1 @ 5pm)
From the twisted minds of Baby Wants Candy and the genius behind last year’s smash hit 50 Shades! The Musical comes a brand new parody of one of the biggest shows on television! The Fringe is about to witness the bloodiest, raunchiest premier of the year…
Ridiculously handsome men battling White Walkers, ridiculously beautiful women riding fire-breathing dragons, and everyone trying to either kill or sleep with each other, Thrones! is a racy, gory, hilarious send-up of HBO’s phenomenally successful Game of Thrones. Nudity? Wait and see. Laughs? More than you can handle. Incest? No comment. With a captivating original score, blade-sharp writing and super-special special effects, this is one Fringe show not to be missed.
Suitable for 14 and over, if you don’t mind explaining a few things to your 14 year old afterwards.
Ridiculously handsome men battling White Walkers, ridiculously beautiful women riding fire-breathing dragons, and everyone trying to either kill or sleep with each other, Thrones! is a racy, gory, hilarious send-up of HBO’s phenomenally successful Game of Thrones. Nudity? Wait and see. Laughs? More than you can handle. Incest? No comment. With a captivating original score, blade-sharp writing and super-special special effects, this is one Fringe show not to be missed.
Suitable for 14 and over, if you don’t mind explaining a few things to your 14 year old afterwards.
| thrones_the_musical_-_edinburgh_pr_2015.doc |
joel dommett: conquer (counting house, ballroom @ 9pm)
One of the UK’s most energetic and charming comedians returns to the Free Fringe this year with his fourth solo show and his hilarious quest to become world champion at… well, literally anything he can claim world championship at.
Joel was recently told by his father "If you don't learn to focus you will never succeed at anything". He took this as a challenge and set out to prove him wrong, swearing “I, Joel Dommett, will focus, and become WORLD CHAMPION at something”. But it turns out that it's actually really difficult to become world champion at something. People are really good at stuff. Especially when he becomes obsessed by another possible Edinburgh show idea involving trying to find a beautiful stranger who he fleetingly saw on a train. Apparently he can’t even focus on a show about trying to focus.
Joel came onto the comedy scene in 2007 and has never looked back. After receiving great critical acclaim for his debut Fringe hour, he has gone on to appear on numerous television shows; Impractical Jokers (BBC3), Reality Bites (ITV2), Russell Howards Good News (BBC), Drunk Histories (Comedy Central), and has performed in acting roles for Popatron (BBC2) and Skins (E4). He has also been the face of MTV, presenting their daily news bulletins, presented the red carpet coverage for EMA’s and The Brits, and hosted the Channel 4 after show, Live in Chelsea.
Joel was recently told by his father "If you don't learn to focus you will never succeed at anything". He took this as a challenge and set out to prove him wrong, swearing “I, Joel Dommett, will focus, and become WORLD CHAMPION at something”. But it turns out that it's actually really difficult to become world champion at something. People are really good at stuff. Especially when he becomes obsessed by another possible Edinburgh show idea involving trying to find a beautiful stranger who he fleetingly saw on a train. Apparently he can’t even focus on a show about trying to focus.
Joel came onto the comedy scene in 2007 and has never looked back. After receiving great critical acclaim for his debut Fringe hour, he has gone on to appear on numerous television shows; Impractical Jokers (BBC3), Reality Bites (ITV2), Russell Howards Good News (BBC), Drunk Histories (Comedy Central), and has performed in acting roles for Popatron (BBC2) and Skins (E4). He has also been the face of MTV, presenting their daily news bulletins, presented the red carpet coverage for EMA’s and The Brits, and hosted the Channel 4 after show, Live in Chelsea.
juliet meyers: through the pigeonhole (counting house, the loft @ 1:15pm)
It’s about time that Juliet Meyers became a household name, and that time is the Edinburgh Festival 2015! Having slipped under the radar for far too long, this year will see Juliet prove herself to be one of the strongest performers in the industry today.
Juliet Meyers doesn't belong. Do you? Are you sure? This brand new hour is a hilarious exploration of labels we assign ourselves and others.
Bad Jew (more a self-loathing atheist), ex-vegan, non-mum (apart from her evil imaginary son Carlitos), child of an immigrant (her father is an Iraqi-Jew), rom-com hating (why do all the women in them have to be kooky?), Juliet has tried to blend in more since coming second to last in a Miss World contest at school when she was 9 and then being forced to dress as Barbra Streisand for ‘Diversity Day’. The idea of ‘community’ and finding her tribe has always appealed, but now she’s not so sure and doesn’t want to be pigeonholed.
Join her as she discusses people we idolize, class, smug therapists, Mumsnetters, vs UKIP, regionalism, music snobbery, group rivalries and who counts as ‘alternative’.
Having already established herself as a comedy writer, working on shows such as The Sarah Millican Television Programme, Mock the Week and News Quiz, Juliet has most recently contributed to Listomania on BBC Radio 2. She featured twice in the Edinburgh Festival’s Top 100 Jokes and sold out her 2014 show Unchained Biro at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She is also a regular contributor to Standard Issue Magazine.
Juliet will also be appearing in The Immigrant Diaries at the Assembly Rooms.
Juliet Meyers doesn't belong. Do you? Are you sure? This brand new hour is a hilarious exploration of labels we assign ourselves and others.
Bad Jew (more a self-loathing atheist), ex-vegan, non-mum (apart from her evil imaginary son Carlitos), child of an immigrant (her father is an Iraqi-Jew), rom-com hating (why do all the women in them have to be kooky?), Juliet has tried to blend in more since coming second to last in a Miss World contest at school when she was 9 and then being forced to dress as Barbra Streisand for ‘Diversity Day’. The idea of ‘community’ and finding her tribe has always appealed, but now she’s not so sure and doesn’t want to be pigeonholed.
Join her as she discusses people we idolize, class, smug therapists, Mumsnetters, vs UKIP, regionalism, music snobbery, group rivalries and who counts as ‘alternative’.
Having already established herself as a comedy writer, working on shows such as The Sarah Millican Television Programme, Mock the Week and News Quiz, Juliet has most recently contributed to Listomania on BBC Radio 2. She featured twice in the Edinburgh Festival’s Top 100 Jokes and sold out her 2014 show Unchained Biro at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She is also a regular contributor to Standard Issue Magazine.
Juliet will also be appearing in The Immigrant Diaries at the Assembly Rooms.
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keith farnan: anonymous (underbelly, belly dancer @ 6pm)
Liberty. Privacy. Comedy. Irish comedian Keith Farnan’s show combines all of these elements before the first two disappear in his brand new hour ‘Anonymous’.
Every day, we find out that more of our personal data has either been given away, acquired in the interest of national security or sold to the highest bidder, and yet we keep buying gadgets that are happy to share our data with everyone like some blissed out data hippy. But what’s the harm if some of our details end up on a database? Who cares if our emails and Amazon wish lists end up on the desk of the NSA? And surely algorithms analyzing words and phrases from our Facebook updates in an effort to profile us into a certain demographic is a good and useful thing. Right? Maybe the future isn’t as bad as 1984; maybe this is the future where we get stuff for free in exchange for our personal data. But what about the next generation? Have we sold their privacy in exchange for free Wi-Fi?
Having appeared on BBC’s Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow, Montreal’s Just for Laughs, Showtime’s Live from Amsterdam as well as Money, Money, Money, his own stand-up documentary for RTE, Keith Farnan has performed at festivals across the world. His Edinburgh Festival shows have proved a powerful mix of the personal and the political and have sold out their runs at the major comedy festivals in the UK as well as the Soho Theatre and Royal Festival Hall in London. Radio appearances include captaining the panel show Bad Language for BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends and BBC Scotland’s The Guessing Game with Clive Anderson.
Every day, we find out that more of our personal data has either been given away, acquired in the interest of national security or sold to the highest bidder, and yet we keep buying gadgets that are happy to share our data with everyone like some blissed out data hippy. But what’s the harm if some of our details end up on a database? Who cares if our emails and Amazon wish lists end up on the desk of the NSA? And surely algorithms analyzing words and phrases from our Facebook updates in an effort to profile us into a certain demographic is a good and useful thing. Right? Maybe the future isn’t as bad as 1984; maybe this is the future where we get stuff for free in exchange for our personal data. But what about the next generation? Have we sold their privacy in exchange for free Wi-Fi?
Having appeared on BBC’s Michael McIntyre Comedy Roadshow, Montreal’s Just for Laughs, Showtime’s Live from Amsterdam as well as Money, Money, Money, his own stand-up documentary for RTE, Keith Farnan has performed at festivals across the world. His Edinburgh Festival shows have proved a powerful mix of the personal and the political and have sold out their runs at the major comedy festivals in the UK as well as the Soho Theatre and Royal Festival Hall in London. Radio appearances include captaining the panel show Bad Language for BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends and BBC Scotland’s The Guessing Game with Clive Anderson.
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lazy susan: double act (pleasance dome, jack dome @ 8:10pm)
Fresh from a sold out run at the Soho Theatre and a critically acclaimed debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, 2014 Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award Newcomer nominees Lazy Susan return with their hotly anticipated second hour, Double Act.
Pacts, secret handshakes, routines and attempted flight: this is a show about the life (and after-life) of a double act. Playing bold, soulful characters and taking daring imaginative leaps, Lazy Susan move through time, space and cardboard in their efforts to surprise, delight and keep their act on the road. This is character comedy that shoots straight from the hip: come get a slice of the zeal.
Directed by the 2015 BBC Radio Writer’s Prize winner and Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus Christine Entwisle, Lazy Susan are writer-performers Celeste Dring and Freya Parker. They became one of the buzz shows of the festival last year, earning a Best Newcomer nomination as well as much critical acclaim. Since then they have appeared on BBC Radio 4's Newsjack and Sketchorama and have several radio and TV projects in development.
Pacts, secret handshakes, routines and attempted flight: this is a show about the life (and after-life) of a double act. Playing bold, soulful characters and taking daring imaginative leaps, Lazy Susan move through time, space and cardboard in their efforts to surprise, delight and keep their act on the road. This is character comedy that shoots straight from the hip: come get a slice of the zeal.
Directed by the 2015 BBC Radio Writer’s Prize winner and Royal Shakespeare Company alumnus Christine Entwisle, Lazy Susan are writer-performers Celeste Dring and Freya Parker. They became one of the buzz shows of the festival last year, earning a Best Newcomer nomination as well as much critical acclaim. Since then they have appeared on BBC Radio 4's Newsjack and Sketchorama and have several radio and TV projects in development.
| lazy_susan_-_double_act_edinburgh_pr_2015.doc |
mark thomas: trespass (summerhall @ 5pm)
Fondly referred to by the Metropolitan Police as ’general rabble-rouser’ and ‘alleged comedian’, the very same Mark Thomas has found time over the last twelve months in between his endless touring in both the UK and New Zealand to create what will undoubtedly be another masterpiece of a Fringe show…
Trespass carries on from where Mark's previous show 100 Acts of Minor Dissent left off. Combining his usual mix of theatre, stand up, activism, a dash of journalism and dollop of mayhem, Mark asks the question: “If the ramblers of the 1930's were here now, what would they do to open up the cities? How do we turn the skyscrapers and corporate squares into our playgrounds?” Inspired by the mass trespass of Kinder Scout in 1932, Mark turns his eye to how the government have sold off the majority of our communal spaces, from playing fields to public rights of way. Setting out to try and carve a small space in the urban world where mischief and random chance can lurk, no one knows where this show is going to end up, so join him on the start of the project.
Mark’s previous Fringe shows have all gone on to be sell-out runs, garnering the highest of critical acclaim, snapping up awards and nominations and earning commissions to become their very own Radio 4 series. He’s won a Herald Angel award, the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award and two Scotsman Fringe Firsts, and took his latest show Cuckooed to tour Australia and New Zealand this Spring.
Trespass carries on from where Mark's previous show 100 Acts of Minor Dissent left off. Combining his usual mix of theatre, stand up, activism, a dash of journalism and dollop of mayhem, Mark asks the question: “If the ramblers of the 1930's were here now, what would they do to open up the cities? How do we turn the skyscrapers and corporate squares into our playgrounds?” Inspired by the mass trespass of Kinder Scout in 1932, Mark turns his eye to how the government have sold off the majority of our communal spaces, from playing fields to public rights of way. Setting out to try and carve a small space in the urban world where mischief and random chance can lurk, no one knows where this show is going to end up, so join him on the start of the project.
Mark’s previous Fringe shows have all gone on to be sell-out runs, garnering the highest of critical acclaim, snapping up awards and nominations and earning commissions to become their very own Radio 4 series. He’s won a Herald Angel award, the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award and two Scotsman Fringe Firsts, and took his latest show Cuckooed to tour Australia and New Zealand this Spring.
| mark_thomas_-_trespass_-_edinburgh_pr_2015.doc |
marriage by comedians theatre company (assembly george square, studio 2 @ 2pm)
From the producers behind one of the most original and outrageous shows at the Fringe, The Wrestling, and Comedians Theatre Company comes a brand new adaptation of another classical theatrical piece.
Marriage: Institutional, inevitable, inescapable. Gogol's delirious classic gets a fresh twist in a new adaptation by Tom Parry (Pappy's). Starring an all-star sketch comedy super-group including Adam Riches (Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner) Ben Clark (Pappy's; Badults), Freya Parker and Celeste Dring (Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominees Lazy Susan) and Richard Soames and John Henry Falle (The Beta Males) and special guest star cameo every show.
Marriage: Institutional, inevitable, inescapable. Gogol's delirious classic gets a fresh twist in a new adaptation by Tom Parry (Pappy's). Starring an all-star sketch comedy super-group including Adam Riches (Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner) Ben Clark (Pappy's; Badults), Freya Parker and Celeste Dring (Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominees Lazy Susan) and Richard Soames and John Henry Falle (The Beta Males) and special guest star cameo every show.
papa cj: naked (espionage, pravda room @ 7:45pm)
With sell-out tours across five continents, Papa CJ is one of the world’s leading international and globally successful comedians. Born to a simple Indian family, he realised the working-class dream by completing his MBA from the University of Oxford and, landing a consulting job in London, subsequently threw it all away to follow his heart. And it is here in his 2015 Edinburgh show that his heart is truly Naked.
In this autobiographical show that straddles the realms of stand-up comedy, theatre and storytelling, Papa CJ bears all with tales of school, work, love, sex, passion, heartbreak and hope. Witness this incredible story that became the first ever show from India to be invited to premiere at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival that will make you laugh, cry and possibly change the way you look at your own life.
Not only a rising star in cities from Melbourne to Mumbai, Papa CJ represented India on NBC’s TV show Last Comic Standing in 2008 and, from the thousands of global contestants, was placed in the Top Ten. He was the first Indian comedian to be invited to perform at Canada’s prestigious Just for Laughs Festival and, not only has he appeared on numerous TV channels including Comedy Central, MTV, NBC, Paramount Comedy, ITV, BBC America and Showtime but he has performed at a police station, in a hospital emergency room whilst holding the head of a girl getting 32 stitches, and even at gunpoint!
But it is not only his comedy that Papa CJ is renowned for in his homeland; founder of the charity One Child, he helps provide for the education, health and overall development of children in rural India, striving to eradicate child labour and getting children back into the formal schooling system. He also runs The Best Medicine, performing for free for patients, their guests, doctors and nurses in hospitals around the world, Serving Those Who Serve Us, also performing for free with other comedians from his Comedy Company for the Armed Forces of India, and Great Comedy For A Great Cause, a regular fundraiser gig to support charitable initiatives. He is also a qualified Laughter Yoga Leader.
In this autobiographical show that straddles the realms of stand-up comedy, theatre and storytelling, Papa CJ bears all with tales of school, work, love, sex, passion, heartbreak and hope. Witness this incredible story that became the first ever show from India to be invited to premiere at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival that will make you laugh, cry and possibly change the way you look at your own life.
Not only a rising star in cities from Melbourne to Mumbai, Papa CJ represented India on NBC’s TV show Last Comic Standing in 2008 and, from the thousands of global contestants, was placed in the Top Ten. He was the first Indian comedian to be invited to perform at Canada’s prestigious Just for Laughs Festival and, not only has he appeared on numerous TV channels including Comedy Central, MTV, NBC, Paramount Comedy, ITV, BBC America and Showtime but he has performed at a police station, in a hospital emergency room whilst holding the head of a girl getting 32 stitches, and even at gunpoint!
But it is not only his comedy that Papa CJ is renowned for in his homeland; founder of the charity One Child, he helps provide for the education, health and overall development of children in rural India, striving to eradicate child labour and getting children back into the formal schooling system. He also runs The Best Medicine, performing for free for patients, their guests, doctors and nurses in hospitals around the world, Serving Those Who Serve Us, also performing for free with other comedians from his Comedy Company for the Armed Forces of India, and Great Comedy For A Great Cause, a regular fundraiser gig to support charitable initiatives. He is also a qualified Laughter Yoga Leader.
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piff the magic dragon: breakfast at piffanys (underbelly meadows, beauty @ 10:40pm)
Direct from Las Vegas, one of the greatest and most unique international comedy-magic acts returns to the Fringe with an hour of new tricks, old snacks and sweet, sweet prizes with a few very special guests along the way. And yes, he’s bringing the dog too.
Part magic show, part game show, part cry for help, Breakfast at Piffany’s sees Piff split the audience into teams to fight for points and prizes, and along the way witness incredible magic tricks, delicious snacks, surprise special guests and epic thumb wars.
A smash hit on the Las Vegas Strip, Piff has dished up desserts to Shania Twain, sold Hollywood star Brad Garrett a croissant for $1000, and dazzled David Copperfield himself with sleight of paw dragony miracles. Piff and Mr Piffles (the World’s First Magic Performing Chihuahua) fly into Edinburgh for sixteen nights only to give UK audiences a taste of what they’ve been missing.
The evening culminates in the Auction of the Croissant to benefit Edinburgh charity The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (but don’t tell Piff, he’s planning to buy a fancy new castle). In Las Vegas Piff raised over $15,000 in less than three months by selling stale pastry treats to minor celebrities. It’s unlikely he’ll repeat that feat in a town where punters balk at a £4 beer, but he’ll give it his best shot.
But how did a deadpan dragon and his conjuring canine come to be billboard stars in Sin City? In late 2013, Piff’s stand-out spot on ITV1’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us (a clip that racked up over 12 million YouTube hits before being removed) caught the attention of a fancy Las Vegas producer who asked the dynamic duo to relocate to the Mecca of Magic and headline a brand new show at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Having toured with Mumford and Sons and performed to countless audiences in world famous venues such as New York’s Radio City Music Hall, London’s O2 and Shakespeare’s Globe, not to mention sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House, Soho Theatre and the Adelaide Fringe, Piff decided he needed a break and, following in the footsteps of his magical idols, retired to the desert. But after a year of lounging by the pool with Carrot Top and swapping magic tricks with Penn & Teller, Piff missed things like rain, pessimism and free health care. Catch him quick before he comes to his senses and returns to the City of Lights and Fat Tourists.
Piff is currently appearing on america's got talent - watch this space!
Part magic show, part game show, part cry for help, Breakfast at Piffany’s sees Piff split the audience into teams to fight for points and prizes, and along the way witness incredible magic tricks, delicious snacks, surprise special guests and epic thumb wars.
A smash hit on the Las Vegas Strip, Piff has dished up desserts to Shania Twain, sold Hollywood star Brad Garrett a croissant for $1000, and dazzled David Copperfield himself with sleight of paw dragony miracles. Piff and Mr Piffles (the World’s First Magic Performing Chihuahua) fly into Edinburgh for sixteen nights only to give UK audiences a taste of what they’ve been missing.
The evening culminates in the Auction of the Croissant to benefit Edinburgh charity The Sick Kids Friends Foundation (but don’t tell Piff, he’s planning to buy a fancy new castle). In Las Vegas Piff raised over $15,000 in less than three months by selling stale pastry treats to minor celebrities. It’s unlikely he’ll repeat that feat in a town where punters balk at a £4 beer, but he’ll give it his best shot.
But how did a deadpan dragon and his conjuring canine come to be billboard stars in Sin City? In late 2013, Piff’s stand-out spot on ITV1’s Penn & Teller: Fool Us (a clip that racked up over 12 million YouTube hits before being removed) caught the attention of a fancy Las Vegas producer who asked the dynamic duo to relocate to the Mecca of Magic and headline a brand new show at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Having toured with Mumford and Sons and performed to countless audiences in world famous venues such as New York’s Radio City Music Hall, London’s O2 and Shakespeare’s Globe, not to mention sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera House, Soho Theatre and the Adelaide Fringe, Piff decided he needed a break and, following in the footsteps of his magical idols, retired to the desert. But after a year of lounging by the pool with Carrot Top and swapping magic tricks with Penn & Teller, Piff missed things like rain, pessimism and free health care. Catch him quick before he comes to his senses and returns to the City of Lights and Fat Tourists.
Piff is currently appearing on america's got talent - watch this space!
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racing minds: aaaand now for something completely improvised (pleasance dome, queen dome @ 12pm)
Having now established themselves as one of the leading comedy improv groups at the Fringe, Racing Minds return to the Pleasance this year with their total sell-out, critically acclaimed long-form improv show Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised. With more props to hand, more costumes to don and more space to play in, this year will be bigger and better than ever!
The audience immediately take control as the show opens and they decide the name of the main character, his hidden secret, the starting location and the title of the story, and the rest is completely, as promised, improvised. With no script or plot (and usually the daftest of scenarios thanks to Fringe audience’s imaginations) each show is totally unguided, entirely unpredictable and undoubtedly one of the finest and most unique hours you will catch at the Fringe. And better still, its family friendly and suitable for all ages!
Formed in 2010 by members of the Oxford Imps, Daniel Roberts, Tom Skelton, Chris Turner, Dougie Walker and Dylan Townley immediately won their fan-base at the Free Fringe in 2011 and packed out their venue every single day. A return in 2012 promised the same, and the Pleasance soon snapped them up the following year where they went on to sell out their entire run in 2013 and 2014, and in February this year they sold out a ten-night run at the Perth Fringe World, securing a nomination for ‘Best Comedy Show’. Their completely improvised fifties-style comic radio play podcast The Wireless Podcast also proved a great success with over half a million followers on SoundCloud, promising the comedy industry stars in the making.
The audience immediately take control as the show opens and they decide the name of the main character, his hidden secret, the starting location and the title of the story, and the rest is completely, as promised, improvised. With no script or plot (and usually the daftest of scenarios thanks to Fringe audience’s imaginations) each show is totally unguided, entirely unpredictable and undoubtedly one of the finest and most unique hours you will catch at the Fringe. And better still, its family friendly and suitable for all ages!
Formed in 2010 by members of the Oxford Imps, Daniel Roberts, Tom Skelton, Chris Turner, Dougie Walker and Dylan Townley immediately won their fan-base at the Free Fringe in 2011 and packed out their venue every single day. A return in 2012 promised the same, and the Pleasance soon snapped them up the following year where they went on to sell out their entire run in 2013 and 2014, and in February this year they sold out a ten-night run at the Perth Fringe World, securing a nomination for ‘Best Comedy Show’. Their completely improvised fifties-style comic radio play podcast The Wireless Podcast also proved a great success with over half a million followers on SoundCloud, promising the comedy industry stars in the making.
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richard soames: does the right thing (underbelly, wee coo @ 6:50pm)
Member of the critically acclaimed, Chortle Award nominated sketch troupe The Beta Males, Richard Soames is going alone and Does the Right Thing this Fringe in his hotly anticipated debut solo hour.
Renowned for being the nice guy, Richard faces a very public moral crisis this festival as he questions every nice thing he’s ever done, from his teenage endeavours to his misguided adult life choices, he is reliving his wrongs to try to make them right. This is morally upstanding stand-up and sketches with dreams of love, personal confessions and a healthy serving of self-scrutiny. And yes, there will be tea.
Actor, writer, comedian and improviser, Richard’s solo acting credits include Made for Each Other (BBC3) and the award-winning Forget Me Not, a short film which recently received its UK premiere at the London Comedy Film Festival and Palm Springs, as well as several commercials. He also took the lead in the short film Have You Seen Lucinda Jameson? and has recently worked with RSC director Gemma Fairlie in Farce Noir.
Richard was trained in Chicago style long form improv by a Second City alumnus, regularly performing with long-form improv troupe The Bishop and the award-winning improv show Monkey Toast. He is also a guest cast member of both Chortle Award nominated smash hit Austentatious and Grand Theft Impro. He can be heard commentating in smash hit comedy video gaming show McNeil & Pamphilon Go8 Bit and on Radio 4 as part of the Beta Males Sketchorama, and he is a contributing writer to Radio 4 Extra’s Newsjack.
Renowned for being the nice guy, Richard faces a very public moral crisis this festival as he questions every nice thing he’s ever done, from his teenage endeavours to his misguided adult life choices, he is reliving his wrongs to try to make them right. This is morally upstanding stand-up and sketches with dreams of love, personal confessions and a healthy serving of self-scrutiny. And yes, there will be tea.
Actor, writer, comedian and improviser, Richard’s solo acting credits include Made for Each Other (BBC3) and the award-winning Forget Me Not, a short film which recently received its UK premiere at the London Comedy Film Festival and Palm Springs, as well as several commercials. He also took the lead in the short film Have You Seen Lucinda Jameson? and has recently worked with RSC director Gemma Fairlie in Farce Noir.
Richard was trained in Chicago style long form improv by a Second City alumnus, regularly performing with long-form improv troupe The Bishop and the award-winning improv show Monkey Toast. He is also a guest cast member of both Chortle Award nominated smash hit Austentatious and Grand Theft Impro. He can be heard commentating in smash hit comedy video gaming show McNeil & Pamphilon Go8 Bit and on Radio 4 as part of the Beta Males Sketchorama, and he is a contributing writer to Radio 4 Extra’s Newsjack.
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sofie hagen: bubblewrap (liquid rooms, annexe extra @ 7:10pm)
Introducing multi-award-winning Danish comedian Sofie Hagen who has already taken the UK by storm, delighting crowds with her unique observations and home truths, tackling taboo subjects with charm and sensibility, bullet-proof timing and an insatiably amiable personality.
What is it like to have a winner's mentality but not a winner's confidence? To be an insecure but arrogant teenager, living in a bubble and discovering that adults lie. In her debut hour, Bubblewrap, Sofie discusses mental health, body image, fighting the system, a shower cabinet, a psychiatric ward... and Westlife.
Revered in her home country, Sofie was chosen to perform at the prestigious 1700+ capacity Royal Opera House for the Danish Comedy Gala in 2012 as ‘The New Hopes of Comedy’. Shortly thereafter she moved to London and the nominations and awards have since been flooding in. Having starred in various television and radio programmes in her native country of Denmark, in the UK she has appeared on BBC2’s Alan Davies: Apres Ski, as well as guest slots on Lols Lounge (BBC Radio 1) and The Verb (BBC Radio 4). She has also performed internationally at festivals, from Altitude in Austria to the Geel Comedy Festival in the Netherlands.
Her podcast Comedians Telling Stuff is available now.
What is it like to have a winner's mentality but not a winner's confidence? To be an insecure but arrogant teenager, living in a bubble and discovering that adults lie. In her debut hour, Bubblewrap, Sofie discusses mental health, body image, fighting the system, a shower cabinet, a psychiatric ward... and Westlife.
Revered in her home country, Sofie was chosen to perform at the prestigious 1700+ capacity Royal Opera House for the Danish Comedy Gala in 2012 as ‘The New Hopes of Comedy’. Shortly thereafter she moved to London and the nominations and awards have since been flooding in. Having starred in various television and radio programmes in her native country of Denmark, in the UK she has appeared on BBC2’s Alan Davies: Apres Ski, as well as guest slots on Lols Lounge (BBC Radio 1) and The Verb (BBC Radio 4). She has also performed internationally at festivals, from Altitude in Austria to the Geel Comedy Festival in the Netherlands.
Her podcast Comedians Telling Stuff is available now.
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this is your trial (assembly box @ 11:20pm)
It’s a Fringe-goers dream come true; a brand new improvised show, where top comedians play lawyers prosecuting and defending charges set against you. You decide the accused and their charges. We decide the arguments for each case. You decide their guilt. YOU are the jury!
With the cream of the comedy world already lining up to guest star, this year will no doubt put This Is Your Trial as one of the greatest and most unique comedy shows at the Fringe. Those who have ‘taken silk’ in the past include the likes of Phill Jupitus, Andrew Maxwell, Al Murray, Sara Pascoe, Marcus Brigstocke, Janey Godley, Fred MaCaulay, Pippa Evans, Trevor Lock and Alex Edelman, and with Fringe favourite Tim FitzHigham presiding over the proceedings as Judge, what could possibly go wrong? This is original improv comedy at its very finest!
With the cream of the comedy world already lining up to guest star, this year will no doubt put This Is Your Trial as one of the greatest and most unique comedy shows at the Fringe. Those who have ‘taken silk’ in the past include the likes of Phill Jupitus, Andrew Maxwell, Al Murray, Sara Pascoe, Marcus Brigstocke, Janey Godley, Fred MaCaulay, Pippa Evans, Trevor Lock and Alex Edelman, and with Fringe favourite Tim FitzHigham presiding over the proceedings as Judge, what could possibly go wrong? This is original improv comedy at its very finest!
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