Venue 33, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One,
3rd-24th Aug (not 15, 22), 1.30pm-3.00pm
"A vibrant, stimulating showcase of talent."
MONDAY 22nd AUGUST 2022
Pleasance One, Venue 33
12.40pm-2.10pm
Tickets: £15.00
TODAY'S SHOWS
Sounds Impossible: A Musical Magic Show by Neil Kelso
Cabaret and Variety (magic, music)
Music is magic. It doesn’t just influence our mood, in this show it casts an irresistible spell – everyday objects are brought to life and dance to Chopin, audience members find themselves hypnotised into making unlikely choices by songs played backwards, and driving rhythms and weird harmonies are harnessed to bend light, contort metal, stop time and distort space. Member of The Magic Circle and award-winning concert pianist Neil Kelso unveils the secret powers of advertising jingles and unravels the mysteries of the unseen.
Emily Wilson: Fixed
Comedy (stand-up, cabaret)
Humiliating and outrageous, New York comedian and Fringe newcomer Emily Wilson shares the story of her experience as a finalist on The X Factor USA at the disastrous age of 15. Through stand up, footage and original songs, Emily is exposing her embarrassing past in the UK, the birthplace of both The X Factor and legend/icon/talent-scout-extraordinaire Simon Cowell. Emily is joined in Edinburgh by her co-writer and director Sam Blumenfeld. 'Original, fresh and insanely funny' (Please Don't Destroy). 'Funnier than everyone you know' (Heidi Gardner, Saturday Night Live).
GirlPlay
Theatre (spoken word, new writing)
Lucy is average, awkward and unassuming. And, when it comes to sex, what she lacks in experience, she makes up for in curiosity. That’s all set to change. On a night of firsts, she opens the door to a world of relationships and sex that she had only ever dreamt about. But, is the reality all she had hoped it would be? GirlPlay is an exploration of love and sex spun out in slam. Reviews from audio version: ‘A powerful examination of emotion, sex and the female body’ ***** (TheWeeReview.com). 'Littered with firsts – and thirst' **** (Stage).
A Highly Suspect Murder Mystery
Theatre (interactive, comedy)
Following a 2021 sell out run, acclaimed mystery maestros Highly Suspect return to the Fringe with a new duo of hilarious and interactive murder mysteries, which you – the audience – must solve! Featuring a fiendish plot, evidence to examine, cryptic clues to crack and four highly suspicious suspects – the game is afoot. But can you deduce whodunnit? Fun, frivolity and fatalities guaranteed! ‘Providing plenty of laughs and a few twists… I challenge you not to feel exhilarated by Highly Suspect’s hugely successful production.’ ***** (EdFringeReview.com).
1902
Theatre (comedy, new writing)
Saltire Sky is back! The multi award-winning 1902 takes an access-all-areas approach to working-class life in Scotland as we follow four young wannabe football hooligans in their quest to see Hibs win the Scottish Cup Final. Pub theatre at its finest, this immersive production has sold out its last four Fringe runs and is back for a fifth after receiving the prestigious Bobby Award from Broadway Baby last year and winning the OffFest Short Run Award 2022! Grab a pal, grab a pint and get yourself along to see this electric piece of new writing.
Alistair Barrie: Alistaircratic
Comedy
Having sold out his 2018 run, Alistair cancelled his 2019 show as his wife was giving birth, took 2020 off to single-handedly battle Covid before returning in 2021 for a short run where he caught it. He then wasted precious time writing a new show only for Vladimir Putin to render most of it obsolete. Hopefully he is now bringing his latest hour of topical musings to the Fringe, but this was written in March and you can never be too sure these days. 'A no frills master of his craft' ***** (Scotsman).
Beats on Pointe
Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (dance, family)
Direct from Australia, this is a non-stop, fun-filled show for everyone, bringing you an exciting commercial blend of electric entertainment fusing modern and old-school street-dance and ballet. Featuring a highly talented cast of dance athletes, this is a tightly choreographed show anchoring a dynamic modern story of two opposing dance worlds peppered with breaking, contemporary, acrobatics and captivating dance theatre as well as freestyle acts, singing, moments of well-timed comedy and a thumping soundtrack! 'To call this a 'dance show' is to sell it short – this piece is a theatrical extravaganza' (AussieTheatre.com.au).
Mervyn Stutter
Host and Compere
Mervyn has been in the entertainment industry since 1974. He started in theatre where he acted, wrote scripts, songs, and directed for around 14 years. In the 1980s, he became the 'regular topical song bloke' on the BBC TV's first ever daytime show, 'Open Air', fronted by a thin Irishman called Eamonn Holmes. Over the years he has performed weekly topical songs on many TV current affairs programmes and more of the same on radio. In the late 1980s, he took his comedy songs onto the Comedy Circuit and then touring theatres. Merv's first Edinburgh Fringe was in 1986 and he has been every year since. 'Pick of the Fringe' started life as 'Have you seen anything good?', a show to help answer the perennial Fringe-goer question. The title was changed to 'Pick of the Fringe' in 1994 and it he has built it up into one of the must-see Fringe shows.
“Mervyn Stutter is very, very good as compere of this chat show, for to make such a showcase work requires skill, talent and quick reactions. Stutter works the crowd like the showman he is.”
THE OBSERVER