Directed by Vicky Wood, and written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe and remains the gold standard of Fringe legends… from a theatrical dare to a short stand-up like ten minutes, to a ‘that’s so Fringe’ run in Edinburgh, and then onwards into the zeitgeist.
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One of the most recognisable names in the world of the Eurovision Song Contest is Austria’s Conchita Wurst. In the weeks before her victory for Austria with ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’, I caught up with the singer to find out more about their public and personal sides. We discussed attitudes, dreams, songs, Shirley Bassey, and Austria’s entry into Eurovision 2014.
A few hours after this interview, Conchita would take to the stage for the first public performance of the song and start their journey to global recognition. Time was tight between rehearsals and taking to the Dutch stage, so the interview took place in the back of a taxi. Sometimes it’s the name, not the venue, that counts!
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Director Mark Craig and retired astronaut Gene Cernan to talk about the documentary film ‘The Last Man On The Moon.’
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Vint Cerf, along with Bob Kahn, developed TCP/IP, the communications protocol that lies at the heart of the Internet. Without that, nothing works, hence many calling Cerf and Kahn the fathers of the Internet.
When he joined Google, after he was talked out of working as an Archduke, was given the title of Chief Internet Evangelist. We talked about the design of the Internet and how its open nature was achieved, reaching the last billion users and using the Internet for education
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Not every actor in a film takes part in the promotional side of things, although with the rise of big budgets and social media, it’s common for everyone on the cast, and many of the higher echelons of the crew, to hit the road and sell the show.
That wasn’t always the case. With the premier of The Divide taking place at SXSW some thirteen years ago, Michael Biehn decided that he would attend not only his first SXSW but also his first film festival to support and promote a film that he believed in.
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talk to the team behind 2011’s ‘Attack The Block’, where a teenage street gang have to defend themselves from predatory alien invaders on a council estate in South London.
It’s an interview as part of the promotional cattle call, so everyone lined up for the interview gets ten minutes from walking in the room to walking out, with no do-overs. This was part of the promo circuit for Attack The Block; exec produced by Edgar Wright, directed by Joe Cornish, and a cast list including Nick Frost. All three are in the room, so it’s a hectic who gets what question ahead of the midnight premiere of the film at Austin’s SXSW Film Festival in 2011.
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Ten years ago, a single-hander show turned up at the Fringe… Rebecca Perry with ‘Confessions Of A Redheaded Coffeshop Girl’, which starts as “what if a coffeeshop with David Attenborough?” A hook that brought you in, before the performance and the piece delightfully dragged you further… a further that included an interview on this podcast.
Ten years later, Rebecca is back at the Fringe, and ten years later, Rebecca is back on the podcast.
What is the impact of a critically acclaimed show at the Fringe on a career? Why bring a show back? And how much of a personal show can remain the same after a decade of growth and performance?
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One of the delights of the Fringe is learning something new. Theatre is the great educator, hiding it within music, within moments, and sometimes even with mime.
For me, the life and work of Sutara Gayle is one of those moments. She was a pioneering female deejay on London’s infamous reggae scene in the 1980s, which earned her a first record contract; she lived through personal tragedy that sparked the Brixton Uprising, and her work with the LGBTQAI+ community, especially within the Afro-Caribbean community, is rightly celebrated.
She is bringing some of her life to the Fringe in The Legends of Them, a unique theatrical, shared spiritual experience. An ethralling force, I spoke to her ahead of the show arriving in Edinburgh.
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One of the key returns for many acts and troupes from the Fringe is to come away with an award. There’s an insane amount of competition to win one, but they can set the tone of your career for the following years.
But what does it take to manage and run one of the awards?
The ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards started in the years after Covid-19, and brought a fresh look at the comedy scene across the Fringe. With over 700 shows to see, it’s a vast undertaking to see, to judge, and to decide. On the four awards – best show, best newcomer, best tech, and panel prize
I decided to find out more, and spoke to ISH’s Sarah Bowles.
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There are so many puns available to me from today’s show. “The World’s Greatest Lover” is a new musical debuting at the Fringe, but with international ambitions beyond Pleasance One.
Writers Julien Salvia and Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal bring the titular lovers from the annals of history. Romeo, Casanova, Cyrano de Bergerac, the Marquis de Sade and MC Saint Valentine to the Fringe stage. Not only is this a closer look at five different types of love, it’s also a chance for some great new pop standards.
Julien and Ludo, on a rather long-distance call from Australia, talk about how they cho
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