Theatre
Preview: the best shows to catch at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016
With just a couple of months to go, Ben Keenan’s ‘Ed is well and truly in the clouds (geddit?) as he tells us the very best shows to catch at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a month-long comedy/boozing marathon featuring acts from all over the world. And of varying degrees of success: you could be watching Katherine Ryan at the stand one minute, and the next find yourself in a room with three people (act included), wondering how long is polite enough before you can sneak out of the room with your tail firmly between your legs! That sounds bad but, believe me, with hundreds of shows to choose from, you’ll very quickly find yourself mastering the knack of a hasty, zero-eye-contact exit from certain shows.
Still, Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an amazing experience in one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world, so just to get your appetite wet, here are a few shows that I think you’ll really enjoy this year:
The Mr G Singalong
For fans of Summer Heights High this is not to be missed! Playing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Mr G Singalong is a party for fans to relive Summer Heights High, singalong to the songs of Mr G: The Musical and more. Grab your friends and head to the Udderbelly on 18 and 24 August for an “arena spectacular”. Dressing up, dancing and laughter are very much encourage.
Rachel Parris
Rachel Parris just finished supporting Nick Helm at the O2 Forum in Kentish Town and she smashed it! Wonderfully charming, with brilliantly crafted songs and an infectious sense of fun, you’d be a fool to miss her Fringe show! Here, she presents a collection of songs, stories and stand-up about not having it all: no house, no husband, no child, no decent wage? But it’s no problem, Parris is an award-winning musical comedian and improviser and was recently named The Independent’s One To Watch.
Daphne
Hilarious sketch trio Daphne will be performing beneath the Pleasance from 3 – 28 August (with the exception of the 15 August – lazy!), and these guys are exceptional! Expect new sketches, more dramatic pauses and louder sound effects. As heard on BBC Radio 4’s Daphne Sounds Expensive, they were also the winners of Best New Act at London SketchFest 2015.
Me, Myself & ISIS
As far as attention-grabbing shows go, this one tops the bill. The follow-up to Banana Collective’s 2014 underground hit Who Shot Hitler? can be seen at T-Bar from 5 – 29 August. It’s a sketch show about lads, bants and the destructive nature of obsession; a mixture of live sketches, storytelling and video. It tells the story of Frank Law – the eponymous hero of the hit 1980’s cop show Law Of The Land (which they made up) – whose partner, Tobias, was killed just two days before retirement; now Frank will stop at nothing to find the killer. His journey for justice takes him from the seedy underbelly of Chicago and all the way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe itself, where he discovers that the price of his obsession is the loss of everything he has ever loved. It’s hilarious!
Two Girls One Mug
And finally time for a bit of self-promotional narcissism! This year will be my first full Edinburgh run and I’m over the moon to be joined by two of the funniest comics on the circuit: Amy Gledhill and Aideen McQueen. We will be at the wonderful Beir Kellar at the Frankenstein Pub every day, which give us loads of time to become severe alcoholics for the rest of the day!
Like this post? Be sure to follow Ben at @itsbenk for more of the same and to find out about all his upcoming comedy gigs.
Here’s a list of all the great shows to see at Edinburgh Festival Fringe that are being presented by Live Nation:
Katherine Ryan in Work in Progress at The Stand 6, 4 – 13 August at 4:05 p.m.
Rhys James in Forgives at Beside, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 28 August at 4:45 p.m.
Micky Bartlett in Blissfully Ignorant at Balcony, Gilded Balloon, 3 – 29 August at 5:15 p.m.
James Veitch in Game Face at 10 Dome, Pleasance Dome, 3 – 29 August (excluding 15 August) at 5:40 p.m.
Beth Vyse in As Funny As Cancer at Ballroom, Counting House (GB), 4 – 28 August (excluding 15 August) at 5:45 p.m.
Daphne in Daphne’s Second Show at Beneath, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 28 August (excluding 15 August) at 5:45 p.m.
Brennan Reece in Everglow at Bunker One, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 28 AugusBet at 6 p.m.
Jimmy McGhie in Apologia at Balcony, Gilded Balloon, 3 – 29 August at 6:25 p.m.
Rachel Parris in Best Laid Plans at Jack Dome, Pleasance, 3 – 28 August at 6:50 p.m.
Lazy Susan in Crazy Sexy Fool at Bunker One, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 29 August at 7: 15 p.m.
Grainne Maguire in Great People Making Great Choices at Beside, PC, 3 – 29 August (excluding 16 August) at 7:15 p.m.
Kai Humphries in In Full Colour at Billiard, Gilded Balloon, 3 – 29 August at 7:30 p.m.
Darren Connell in Trolleywood at Balcony, Gilded Balloon, 3 – 29 August at 7:45 p.m.
Darren Walsh in S’Pun at Below, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 29 August (excluding 15 August) at 8:30 p.m.
Ben Hanlin in Trickhead at KingDome, Pleasance Dome, 3 – 28 August at 8:30 p.m.
Lloyd Griffith in Is A Keeper at This, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 28 August at 8:30 p.m.
Sean McLoughlin in Kamikaze at Beside, Pleasance Courtyard, 3 – 28 August at 8:30 p.m.
Mark Nelson in Smiley Face at Billiard, Gilded Balloon, 3 – 29 August at 8:45 p.m.
The Mr G Summer Heights High Singalong at Udderbelly, 18 & 24 August at 11:45 p.m
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 runs from 3 – 29 August 2016. Keep checking the blog for more news, reviews and info.
