"A vibrant, stimulating showcase of talent."
WEDNESDAY 24th AUGUST 2022
Pleasance One, Venue 33
12.40pm-2.10pm
Tickets: £15.00
TODAY'S SHOWS
Alex MacKeith: Thanks for Listening
Comedy (music, stand-up)
Alex MacKeith (2020 Musical Comedy Awards winner) delivers his debut show. Join Alex and his guitar and hopefully other audience members on an acoustic odyssey of songs that are playful, dark and maximum three minutes long*. If you’re looking for a sexy, confident musical comedian, by all means please find one and bring them to this. 'Hilarious' (Time Out). 'Ridiculously hilarious' (Skinny). 'Utterly hilarious' (Telegraph). 'Brilliantly funny' (Stage). 'Able to find gags from all sorts of angles' (Chortle.co.uk). *Please note some songs may be longer than three minutes. No refunds.
Nina Gilligan: Late Developer
Comedy
Nina Gilligan is a so-called 'late developer'. She's never hit a single milestone and at 50 is still trying to grasp the complex rules of womanhood. She knows she's not alone. As her eggs deplete and her body becomes hotter than earth's core she is certain only of one thing: she refuses to go on a cruise. Both outrageous and loveable. A circuit favourite. Leicester Mercury Comedy award winner 2021. 'A bolshier Mrs Merton with razor-sharp wit used at will' (Skinny). 'Breath-taking' ***** (Student Newspaper). 'Transcends any perceived age barriers effortlessly... charming sass' ***** (Deadline.com).
ASSISTED
Theatre (new writing, sci-fi)
Jordan and Connie want their next-generation AI voice assistant – Alivia – to make their perfect lives just that little bit better. But what happens when the technology starts to take control? ASSISTED explores the trend for technology to play a role in the most intimate parts of our day-to-day domestic existence, capturing and manipulating increasing amounts of unfiltered information about ourselves and our lives. ASSISTED reflects and speculates on what might happen – in our use of language, in how we love and in how we exercise agency – as that technology stops being purely our servant.
head/lining
Theatre (music, spoken word)
A profound, thrilling mix of music and storytelling, head/lining is a lyrical deep dive inside the mind of a working-class white lad coming to terms with his life so far; from noxious upbringing to alcoholism and homelessness. Finding absolution in words and poetry, writer/performer Charlie Heptinstall’s spoken-word/indie-rock gig confronts an individual’s battle with identity and mental health, combined with Britain’s ever-growing prejudicial obsession with class. After a sell-out run at The Pleasance, OffComm award-winning head/lining (directed by Matt Strachan) has been described as punchy and fast-paced, offering audiences an insight into the harsh and angry struggles that go unspoken.
Are You Guilty?
Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (contemporary, international)
Korea’s TOB Group presents a double bill of contemporary dance shows exploring the bystander effect and mass consumerism. The show fuses together hip-hop, theatre and dance to illustrate our social landscape, relatable to audiences anywhere in the world. Are You Guilty? showcases a radical and contemporary view of the bystander effect and explores the fine line between a perpetrator and a victim using amazing dance moves. Barcode, a bold new work about mass consumerism, questions our need to acquire goods and the value we attach to products and even people. Part of the Korean Showcase 2022.
Luke Kempner: Macho Macho Man
Comedy (stand-up, cabaret)
Star of Spitting Image (Britbox), Steph's Packed Lunch (Channel 4) and with over 10 million views online, comedian Luke Kempner has found out he is to become a father, but can he be the macho macho man he believes he needs to be? With a razor-sharp roster of contemporary impressions from Piers Morgan and Bojo to Ted Hastings and Paul Hollywood, Luke is bringing his highly anticipated show to Edinburgh. As seen (and heard) on: The Last Leg (Channel 4), The Stand-Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Love Island: Aftersun (ITV2), The Now Show (BBC Radio 4).
Collision
Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (family, circus)
B-boy meets Bendy boy. Hip-hop and Hula Hooper. Pop, lock and adagio. Collision is a cross-pollination of contemporary circus and street dance, teaming together two Brisbane powerhouses, Casus Creations and Mad Dance House. Casus Creations is a pioneer contemporary arts company known for ground-breaking acrobatics and physical poetry with a reputation as a leader in the contemporary circus on the world stage. Mad Dance House is mover and shaker in the urban and street dance international scene, responsible for some of Australia's most charismatic and celebrated street dancers. Collision is an explosion for your senses!
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