A week into my fourth Edinburgh Fringe and I am marvelling at how differently I am approaching things this time around. I am doing a full run of 24 shows (in 25 days) of my new stand-up comedy show Shattered. I’ve done a full run before (of my debut show) at the Edinburgh Fringe in […]
Blogs and Columns
It’s day two of the IAPAR International Theatre Festival here in Pune, India. This marks my second year attending the festival, but it’s the first time I’m here as a reviewer—a new role that I’m still getting used to, after years of wearing other hats: theatre producer, writer, actor, and director. Being back in India, […]
After they returned from the Fringe and the venue The Space on the Mile, I caught up with some of the cast and the director of Get Thee to a Nursery… Disgracefully, I was unable to go and see it, however they still let me in to talk to them about their experiences of a […]
Most visitors to the Edinburgh Fringe in August will find themselves seeing a show at Summerhall. Quite of a few of those will know it is also a year round arts and cultural hub and its many events are not just confined to the Fringe weeks. Less will be aware of the over a hundred […]
“(Mommy’s a whore, Daddy’s a hitman). Laugh, cry and see God in this award-winning solo show by writer/performer Mitch Hara. Strap yourself in for a heart-wrenching rollercoaster ride you’ll never forget, featuring sex, drugs, disco balls and blackouts. All during an audition for Hamilton Unplugged. Directed by Carlyle King.” That’s the premise for Mitch Haras’s […]
Having highly reviewed an impressive Louis Katz‘s debut show at the Free Fringe at the Edinburgh Fringe, Paul Levy caught up with him at the City Restaurant and explored how he makes his comedy, the origin of the show and some of the important material covered in the show. “Fresh off his hit (1M+ views!) […]
“A surreal journey about reconciling with grief through the natural world. Jesse returns to the cottage he grew up in with a photo and cardboard box. The land is just as he left it, and his grandmother is brash as ever, but why did it take him so long to come back? Dead Animals uses […]
Jo Tomalin talks with members of Buzzcut performing Bark Bark at 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Beckett Gray, Faye James and Gabe Winsor. Buzzcut make live performances with live cameras and have created several projects. “A dog with a bird-killing problem. Two people stitching their relationship together. A house filled with taxidermy animals. When a young […]
Jo Tomalin talks with Samuel Cunningham, Lennie Longworth and Rowan Armitt-Brewster from Skedaddle Theatre about their company and A Brief Case of Crazy, playing at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “Thomas is a remarkable, unconventional introvert – typically fiddling and fumbling his way through a 9 to 5 job, occasionally looking up to admire his […]
Gregorio Richter of Circo Goyo is a circus artist and busker from Argentina who performs around the world. Gregorio speaks to Jo Tomalin from the Edinburgh Fringe where he performs his act in the streets. He talks about how and when he started to learn circus skills and why he is called Balloon Man! More […]
Photo credit: Anne Crawford El Blackwood is the creator of Tending. A verbatim piece based on over 70 interviews with nurses of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities, Tending immerses you in their day-to-day lives. In our interview she talks about the impetus to create the show, the process of recruiting nurses to interview (there was […]
Is Art in Society too “baroque? Is to too collusive? Is the new Total Arts Movement a new impulse for much needed avant garde art in society? I am taking four days out from the Edinburgh Fringe to bring my own solo show to this artistic inquiry over four days in Nancy in France at […]
Living. Dying. Dead. is an improvised theatre show that has been created to engage audiences on the taboo subjects of death, dying and bereavement. After sharing the show at improv festivals around Europe they brought their first full length (one hour) show to Edinburgh Fringe 2024. Owen talks about his work as a consultant physician […]
Bert and Nasi have developed several original devised shows together. For their latest show L’Addition they worked with director Tim Etchells to create it and they talk to Jo Tomalin about the experience and their work. “Two performers armed with a single scene – a customer orders a drink from a waiter. And then things […]
Physical theatre and dance performers and creators Luca Vaccari and Yuxi Jiang talk about their fringe production In The Round. “A dance theatre production exploring the perpetual cycles that bind our existence. Blending dance, film and verbatim sound derived from live interviews. It weaves inspirations from Tibetan spiritual practice to the vibrancy of Japanese pop […]
Earlier in the Fringe Paul Levy was in conversation with Actor Gareth Watkins and Director Pete Gomes about The Gentleman of Shallot at Edfringe 2024. In this conversation, Jules Smekens is added to a fascinating four-way discussion of Theatre of the Absurd at the Edinburgh Fringe and elsewhere. This genre has become rather niche at […]
Chris Grady has been helping producers to develop their skills, experience and expertise for many years. In this wide-ranging conversation with Paul Levy, Chris defines exactly what a producer is, how the role of prodicer is a moving feast in different contexts within the Arts, and how he helps producers to develop their capability.
Mychelle Colleary talks to Kate Saffin about her first experience of developing a solo auto biographical show. Without giving too much away about the content she shares some of the influences, the work in getting this far and the challenges of navigating the Fringe for the first time. Ambitious Underachiever is an musical one-woman show at […]
Actors Matthew Boston and Mark Boyett talk about Plotters by Brian Parks from Twilight Theatre Company. Playing in a Brian Parks work is usually a challenge for actors. Words fly up off the pages, into and out of the mouths of performers at breakneck speed. Matthew and Mark discuss the excitement and the exertions involved […]
Will talks to Kate Saffin about his journey to his first solo political satire show at the Fringe: Will Sebag-Montefiore: Will of the People Like many presenting political satire, Will found himself engaged in a major rewrite in the run up to the Fringe… He also talks about how he came to add this style […]
British actor and writer Yolanda Mercy is presenting her new solo show Failure Project at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. She talks with Jo Tomalin about why she writes and performs and the mental health and other struggles writers experience. “A comedy drama… or “dramedy” about Ade, a successful writer, or so it seems. She […]
As a fringe regular for a decade or so I’ve met many people and made a number or friends. This gives me a familiarity with the Fringe as it changes year on year. Maybe it’s because I’m an observer that tries to be relaxed and in-tune with what’s going on around me. Principally I’m here […]
Storyteller Sinead O’Brien from Wandering Stories brings her acclaimed show No One is Coming to the Scottish Storytelling Centre during the Edinburgh Fringe. “No One Is Coming is a devised, storytelling performance about a mother and a daughter inspired by lived experience and infused with Irish mythology and comedy. This storytelling event is not just […]
San Francisco Fringe Festival:https://www.theexit.org/
Paul Levy wends his way down Edinburgh’s Royal Mile in August during Edfringe 2024. He hears about shows that find their way into his hand from the many performers in all kinds of costumes flyering their shows to passersby. The noise of the crowds,street performers and a few landmarks on the way…
Richard the photographer from ‘fringefoto’ gives a unique view of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe After a busy week, I took some ‘time-out’ and caught the bus to Roslyn Chapel with Kate and Jo. On a sunny Tuesday afternoon we arrived early for our timed slot and were allowed in to explore the chapel and look […]
Jo Tomalin talks to Hannah Smith and Ralph McCubbin-Howell from Trick of the Light theatre company based in New Zealand. They talk about how they work with light and developed prior shows that they have presented at EdFringe. Their latest show – at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 – is Suitcase Show. “A traveller arrives at […]
Jo Tomalin talks to Amy Veltman, writer and performer about her show PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement and why she decided to develop this show and present it at 2024 San Francisco Fringe Festival. Listen to our interview with Amy Veltman here: Instagram: @
Kuang Lee, Writer and Performer and Kevin Rebultan, Director of Gags playing at the San Francisco Fringe talk to Jo Tomalin about how and why this show developed around the topic of grief. Chinese American, Lee discusses his solo comedy and musical performance about grief and how he developed Gags. “Inspired by his grief counselor’s […]
Poet and storyteller, Laura Thurlow, talks to Kate Saffin about her new show ‘River Time’ (Edfringe 2024 show details below). The title is taken from one of the show’s opening anecdotes. As a student in Edinburgh with unmanaged ADHD (and later realising also Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria), Laura would often go for a night out on […]
Steve Goodie is a musician and comedian from Nashville, Tennessee. He has been the host of the internationally renowned music venue The Bluebird Café in Nashville for 17 years. Steve’s album of Harry Potter parody songs was a hit on audio entertainment platform SiriusXM, and legendary broadcaster Dr Demento describes him as “one of our most […]
Richard the photographer from ‘fringefoto’ gives a unique view of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe This year’s fringe is now well underway as the first weekend comes to a close. I’m just about on top of my photo editing with one more launch show’s pics to finish. Here are a few pictures to give an idea […]
Herbert F Mintz II talks about his show My Uncle Sam, My Military Family and Me with Jo Tomalin, before its run at the 2024 San Francisco Fringe Festival. He talks about his projects, writing and how he developed this show. “A series of interconnected nonlinear memories that lay bare the personal and institutional arrangement […]
Richard the photographer from ‘fringefoto’ gives a unique view of the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe After a long over-night drive from just outside London, I’m here in Edinburgh. Settled into my accommodation, equipment unloaded and sorted out, ready for the pre-festival rush of previews shows. First ‘FringeReview’ reviewers meeting to kick things off. I find these […]
Producer, Storyteller and Standup Turan Ali talks with Jo Tomalin about his international storytelling shows – and Queer Folks’ Tales playing weekly on Thursdays August 8, 15 and 22 at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the Scottish Storytelling Centre. “The five-star hit LGBTQ+ storytelling show returns for its second Fringe – camper, fruitier and […]
Stand up comedian Cathy Zhao talks with Jo Tomalin about her latest show playing at the 2024 San Francisco Fringe festival in August. “I Wish I’d Said That: A Standup Comedy with Hecklers Presented by the Family of Chaos,comedy by Cathy Zhao, Frank Zhao, and Fiona Zhang, Laugh It Out Hub, San Francisco, CA. Standup comedian Cathy […]
Physical theatre is based on physical expression that takes the place of words (or some spoken words) or expresses figures or forms or is applied in stylised movement. Those of us that do physical theatre as a performer or deviser may feel that this is one of the best genres of theatre because of how […]
Donald Stewart, our Scotland editor, makes a considered selection… Three thousand plus shows, sixty less venues, shorter runs for many shows than normal and question marks over funding to the whole shebang, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is upon us. And so, as we get out the planners, the pencils and the coloured markers to sort […]
Matthew Roberts reflects on how his skills development from writing, performing and producing several Solo Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2014 are applicable to exploring his PhD – Queering the British Holiday. He is in his second year (part-time) studying a PhD Text, Practice as Research at The University of Kent. Since embarking on this […]
A quick guide to getting the best comedy experience at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe
Notes from an open space session at Devoted and Disgruntled 2024 at Slung Low, Leeds, UK, 16th March 2024. Theatre producer Chris O’Grady emphasized the enduring value of reviews, especially when conducted by respected but lesser-known reviewers, as they can aid in both promoting a show and securing funding. Traditional paid reviewers are dwindling in […]
So, what is to be done about theatre and the performing arts? This is a question that has been asked 18 times at the Devoted & Disgruntled conference organsied by Improbable, “pioneering improvisers, theatre makers and conversation facilitators”. Described as a self-organised conversation which uses an approach to meeting called Open Space Technology, a few […]
Let’s be fair. When she arrived, Michelle Terry said as the Artistic Director of The Globe that she would not be directing. She was always going to be, ironically, an acting Artistic Director. Some of us therefore thought the title was odd. But then she began. There were productions which were the first at the […]
Agpalo “Ting” A.J. Alvarez-Maquinta talks about his background as a multidisciplinary artist, his choreography and storytelling to Jo Tomalin in San Francisco. Listen to our Interview with Ting here (17 minutes):
Edinburgh exudes culture, art and community during August at the Festival Fringe. This was only my second Fringe, my first was pre-pandemic in 2019 and I marvelled at this event that encourages theatrical experimentation and has more shows on offer than you could ever possibly watch. That time my experience was expertly curated by friends […]
2023 photographs – More Galleries Show Pictures Clearing the Backlog I can’t really believe how quickly the last couple of weeks have gone by as I sit at my computer updating picture galleries, reviewing and sorting photographs to upload. As you may suspect I’m drawn to visually interesting shows and I feel lucky to have […]
There’s a first time for every Fringe writer, performer, director, producer… and sometimes they are they are all the same person! Those pre Fringe nerves will all be tingling as they get ready for their first show. Will the set/costumes/props last the month? Should we have made more cuts? And the big one, will anyone […]
Solo performers probably outnumber every other group at the Fringe if you include theatre, comedy, spoken word and music. The 262 solo theatre shows listed this year offer diverse work across every genre and style, every venue and every imaginable topic (well, possibly not every one but certainly a great range!). Many are new writing, […]
Gillian Lacey-Solymar is a first-time Fringer at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Gillian is the Bookwriter and Lyricist of IrrePRESSible: The Musical and she talks to Jo Tomalin about how and why she is inspired to create the show. Gillian’s career includes working as a consumer affairs correspondent at the BBC and as a senior […]
In December 2022 I went off to watch, in the Southside of Glasgow, a disabled theatre company – handily called the Southside Group –I had seen virtually online and had loved their work. With the return to live performance getting the opportunity to see them up close was too good to miss. Here we hear […]
They’ve ignored my press release! Whether you are bringing a show to a Fringe festival or simply trying to get media coverage for a show at any time of the year, these tips are for you. There could be a number of reasons why your press has been not responded to by potential reviewing publications. […]
Get the **** off stage! Here is a bit of as personal and despesarte plea to theatre makers at this year’s Brighton Fringe… So, the lights fade slowly and we are ready for a fairly silent, dare I suggest, stunned exit. Before even five seconds have elapsed since the final blackout, the lights shoot […]
When I began to work with Fringe Review, I opined that I hated the Edinburgh Fringe. Over the years I have softened and my old joke that people believe we have a cultural supermarket each August, and think it is Sainsbury’s when it is actually Aldi or Lidl has been used so often it is […]
Antonio Vega is artistic director of Por Piedad Teatro (Mexico | USA) and he is co-creator of DJANGO IN PAIN with Por Piedad Teatro founder and artistic producer, Ana Graham. Jo Tomalin talks to Antonio Vega about his background in theatre, and how he developed this show during the pandemic. DJANGO IN PAIN is digital […]
Erin B. Mee talks to Jo Tomalin about directing theatre in innovative spaces and her latest digital show, Tree Confessions, written by Jenny Lyn Bader. Tree Confessional is a digital audio play, site-specific and self-scheduled, presented on demand through the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2023, January 4-15. “While it is obvious that we need to […]
Lockdown for many theatre companies was one of the most challenging times, however for some it was an opportunity to spread their wings and do some new things. And there was something stirring in the Southside of Glasgow, where a learning disabled group took to the internet and showed themselves off with a wonderful piece […]
http://www.cookingstageleft.com BriggsBreese Productions
Angry Black Woman 101 takes a introductory dive into the microaggressions,tropes and stereotypes Black women grapple with daily. Using slides, videos, music and history this storyteller deftly illustrates misogynoir and it’s effects. This show is couched in a truthful and hurtful work situation during her tenure at TechSoup, a nonprofit. Twitter @JuicyDLight Facebook
https://nakedempirebouffon.org/
Potato Topos by Andomifevin comprised of Andrew Rose, Dominique Nigro, Fenner Merlick, and Kat Countiss A poet, a dancer, a clown, and a clarinetist bring you their first collaboration, a multi-sensory poem-play about potatoes. An hour long show with themes of nostalgia, fantasy, and expansion. The modalities include performance, light, sound, textiles, and language. The […]
Instagram @bingewatchimprov
“I’m a San Francisco based solo performer. My shows are about my experiences with bipolar mood disorder, which I’ve managed to keep private the majority of my life. For the most part my mood swings have been mild enough to hide, but I’ve had a few full on manic episodes that have led to some […]
https://www.loreleizarifian.com/author/lorelei-zarifian https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-scar-is-born-tickets-346834349877?aff=odcleoeventsincollection
Kazu Kusano (Producer, Writer, Performer) is a comedian, actress, and writer. She has a Japanese accent, crazy physicality, a dark sense of humor, and hot flashes. Kazu immigrated to America all alone in her thirties to do comedy. Kazu can be seen on Comedy Central UK’s Cannel Hopping as a Japanese correspondent. Also, she is the […]
Christina Augello’s Bio from The EXIT Theatre Website: Christina Augello is the founder and artistic director of EXIT Theatre and is an actress, arts activist and arts administrator. She has been involved with American theater for over 50 years, growing up in the 1950s as the daughter of the proprietor of a famous theater saloon and […]
When I’ve had the chance I’ve taken a few pictures around the fringe, late at night and during the day. Here are a few in a slideshow. Note to self: Must get out and about more!
Final few days Friday of the last week opened to a dreary Edinburgh with rain in the air. Fortunately the rain cleared as I made my way to the final ‘FringeReview’ gathering for this year. These are one of my favourite mornings of the fringe as I am guaranteed to have a good chinwag. Today […]
Pamela Banchetti – Instagram @pamelaandpinolinoPoldo and Pinolino Show Reel
“Award-winning contemporary circus company returns with an extraordinary show looking at the hectic pace of today’s world. In a unique set design featuring a giant treadmill, four performers and two musicians mix dance, running, cyr-wheel acrobatics and original live music, while running almost a whole marathon. This UK debut for Runners marks the company’s fourth […]
Sarah-Louise Young is a theatre maker with 26 years’ experience at her 17th Fringe with her 40th production and the 13th show she has created. Which is nicely serendipitous because it’s also the first show she has made telling a very personal story. We found what we thought would be a quiet corner of Summerhall… […]
Actor, Samara Neely Cohen talked to Kate during Edfringe 2022 about 9 Circles, 9 Circles by Bill Cain asks how can a soldier be trained to be a cold-blooded killing machine while clinging on to the threads of humanity? A Dantesque descent into the conundrums, contradictions and hypocrisies of war through the eyes of a […]
Sarah talks about her journey to embracing the chronic pain she has lived with since her teens and how she developed Pain and I. She describes it as a bold exploration into chronic pain experience, featuring playful choreography, experimental dance, intimate autobiographical text, and original classical music composition by Alicia Jane Turner. In addition to […]
By David Visick The ghost staggers into the light, head down, eyes up. The things those eyes have seen. As the daylight finds it, it falters, then rallies and comes again. It opens its mouth as if to speak, but no words come. The face is liquid, the once solid flesh having resolved into a […]
With All Jew Respect Cyril Squirrel Grounded Self Service The Sound of Mucus
Daniel Cainer and Kate Saffin met in a dressing room at Sweet on the Grassmarket as Fringe virgins in 2006. Since then Daniel has brought his ever evolving stories in song show to a number of different venues and now seems to have permanently settled at Underbelly. In this interview he shares something of those […]
Fourth Wall’s musical show Fruit Flies Like a Banana comes in two flavours for their first Edfringe: one for children and a longer one for adults (not that there is anything unsuitable for children in the longer version, it is just framed differently). It’s a show that combines extraordinary physical acrobats with virtuoso musical skill […]
www.annerabbitt.com
“Dublin’s hottest all-women improv troupe brings you an unscripted comedy show unlike any other. We create extended and continuously improvised stories based entirely on your suggestions, full of whacky worlds and crazy characters.”
“How do you live your best ho life? Have you accidentally become your parents? These are the questions NYC-based comedian Ann Chun (SF Chronicle, Timeout) explores in her solo show about an immigrant coping with the dissolution of her parents’ marriage in Thailand, while learning how to be a fuccboi in America. Ann’s immersive storytelling […]
Poet Tina Sederholm talks to Kate Saffin about her transition from three day eventer to poet
You are not quite beautiful enough to be rescued. Thank goodness. Anyone can be born talented or gorgeous. Kindness, that takes effort, especially with the annoying people. (Tina Sederholm 2022)
Emilienne Flagothier creates contemporary dance, directs non-theatrical text theatre and performs in street theatre, a solo show and more. At the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe she directs a new show called We Should Be Dancing, based on observations of children playing, working with her collective from Brussels.
“Triple Fringe First and Olivier winning Fishamble, in association with Fringe First winning Sunday’s Child, return to Summerhall with the 2019 hit show Mustard by Eva O’Connor. A darkly comic play about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism. When the man of her dreams, a professional cyclist, leaves E, she plummets […]
‘If I invited you to come with me on a journey, a story, will you come with me?’ Northern Uganda. When Okumu’s village is attacked by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), he and his brother’s lives are changed forever. Far Gone is a profoundly moving story of a young boy’s journey from childhood innocence to […]
“Pluto and Vector have been dating for almost a year now, but as they hike up the mountain where the Greek god Prometheus was bound as punishment, their relationship hits its breaking point. The myth of Prometheus looms large over the mountain’s cold peak as Pluto and Vector confront their differences, their fears about their […]
Thursday 4th August MC: Lou Conran Maise Adam Mythos Ragnarok James Roque Finlay Christie Elf Lyons Tehran Von Ghasri Grant Buse Basil Brush Pete Firman Kylie Brakeman Just These Please
Thursday 4th August – McEwan Hall A selection of photographs of the press launch. Featured shows Dragons and Mythical Beasts Rhys Nicholson Caligari Emmanuel Ja’mime La Clique Balloon Myra Dubois Rob Madge La Clique – Charlie Wheeler Cyr Camille BOOM
Riddles Court – 12:00pm Thursday August 3rd The morning following my arrival at this year’s fringe I eased myself into the round of venue launches. Here are some photos I took at the Greenside Launch held at their ‘Riddles Court’ venue at the top of the Royal Mile. Following the welcome we saw excerpts from: […]
The Importance of Being An Earnest Reviewer – Kind of…
(With apologies…Kind of…) In April of this year, the Oliviers were back. After three years of not celebrating those who have got to the be seen as the best in theatre … We celebrated them publicly and without Zoom. But… There was one story that was deep in my heart. It reminded me that the […]
theSpace Triplex theSpaceUK bounced back into 2022 with what they claim to be ‘the biggest new writing programme of the fringe’. Here are a selection of photographs from the shows previewed. Featured Shows – Compered by Fraser Brown Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience Crossing the Void Apartness Prejudice and Pride Merrill Means Well Brother’s Keeper The Mistake […]
40th Anniversary Festival Gala – Assembly on the Mound Gathering in the courtyard of the Mound I prepared to photograph this show. When we were allowed in they ushered us to a specially prepared space for photographers. Yes we had an unobstructed view, but I like to select my vantage point from where to photograph. […]
“Verbatim is a type of documentary theatre constructed from the words of real people responding to a particular theme or a real event. These words might be taken from interviews or testimonials, or even from media or news footage.”. (Naomi Joseph) There are always verbatim theatre productions at the Edinburgh Fringe and, if you haven’t […]
Improvised performance tends to be mostly comedy-based at the Fringe. Yet there is also a smattering of improvised music and theatre as well. There are news shows on offer each year and the quest for a novel angle is always at the forefront as compnaies and performers try to win the audience battle. There are […]
I have to admit I am disappointed at the lack of science-fiction at this year’s Fringe. Despite it being a comeback fringe with less shows, there are still well over three thousand to choose from. Could it be that our worst sci-fi nightmares have arrived in the present, with environmental catastrophe and AI Hell already […]
