5th - 26th August 2023 (not 17th, 21st, 23rd),
12.40pm - 2.10pm
"A vibrant, stimulating showcase of talent."
SATURDAY 20th AUGUST 2022
Pleasance One, Venue 33
12.40pm-2.10pm
Tickets: £15.00
TODAY'S SHOWS
Saved
Music (theatre, solo show)
Saved is a multi-layered, retro-mechanical music show built around rescued 70s home organs. Turned inside out, their internal spinning speakers are exposed for us to see as well as hear. Along with cassettes, a turntable, AM radios and a modified whisk, Saved celebrates an analogue era where A-B-C Fun Block and One Finger Chord buttons captivated our imagination. Leak, of Spaghetti Western Orchestra fame, gently transports us to a curious sound-world where the mundane becomes surprisingly beautiful. 'It knows exactly what it's doing and it does it sublimely' (Lyn Gardner, StagedoorApp.com).
Markus Birdman – The Bearable Heaviness of Nearly Not Being
Comedy (stand-up, storytelling)
The award-winning comedian returns with his 15th solo show. Fresh from supporting Jason Manford on tour, including two nights at The Palladium. It’s about life. It’s about death. It’s about getting knocked down, and getting up again. It’s about laughing in the face of it all. It’s about an hour. 'Birdman, whose jovially sour tales of his two strokes rides high on his own excellence' (Dominic Maxwell, Times). 'This thought-provoking, soul-bearing show is a joy. Such weighty material, handled with the utmost respect' (Skinny).
Bluewater
Theatre (comedy, lgbt)
London, 2008. Dizzee Rascal's Dance Wiv Me is playing on the radio. Our story is told through the relatable eyes of a 17-year-old girl. Funny and charismatic, we watch as she attempts to navigate her way from Bluewater shopping centre with the girls to the weekly party happenings on a Saturday night. Little does she know, tonight is the night she unexpectedly falls in love with a girl she's never spoken to and starts her journey to figuring out her sexuality. Conversational and nostalgic, Bluewater takes us on a comical trip down memory lane and teen struggles.
Double Drop
Theatre (new writing, drama)
North Wales, 1995. The rites and ceremonies of the Eisteddfod collide with the communion and transcendence of a rave. Lose yourself in this mind-bending play with music. Esmi is caught between the rave scene in abandoned slate quarries and the traditional culture of druids, clog dancing and poetry recitals. Join Esmi as she finds her tribe with help from the father of modern Welsh culture: an opium-addicted fraudster from the 1700s. Presented by Welsh company Dirty Protest Theatre. With original music by BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winners, 9Bach: 'Bards and beats come crashing together hilariously' **** (Stage).
Olives and Blowjobs
Theatre (comedy, drama)
Olives and Blowjobs is a five-star coming-of age one-man show written and performed by Ollie Maddigan. Taken from tragic and comedic memories from his life, Olives and Blowjobs is the story of a 15-year-old boy who just wishes he could be a man. After the sudden death of his mother, a boy is forced to change schools and move in with his, until that point, absent father. A show full of grief, hope, olives and the occasional blowjob, this story is a touching depiction of grief in early adulthood.
Aurie Styla: Green
Comedy (stand-up, solo show)
It has been an interesting couple of years, with a global pandemic showing us a different perspective on life and its meaning. To Aurie, it means looking at his own hilarious outlet and his way of dealing with change, and finally going Green (his real last name). Question is, what does being Green actually mean? Get your belly laughs finding out. As seen on: Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club (ITV), Don't Hate The Playaz (ITV2) and Mo Gilligan's Black British and Funny (Channel 4).
Paris: From Piaf to Pop!
Music (theatre, storytelling)
Christine Bovill’s award-winning Paris established her reputation as one of Europe’s finest interpreters of French song. In her new show, she travels into the 60s and the Americanisation of French music: le yé-yé. A time of great cultural change in France, would the high art of chanson survive...? This new show offers a sexy and delicious celebration of the Golden Age of French song and how it evolved during the Swinging Sixties. Singing in both French and English she honours many stars including Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg and Francoise Hardy.
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
