Ewan Spence

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2025 – Grace Helbig – Let Me Get This Off My Chest

July 25, 2025

Season 21

Episode 3

00:28:31

This week’s Fringe preview takes in not only a Fringe show, but the evolution of social media storytelling itself.

Grace Helbig and I start by talking about he early days of content creation on the internet… I started podcasting with the Fringe Show in 2005 while Grace started during the first flush of YouTube in 2006.

That starts us down a path of online personae, presenting yourself, and the grind of content… which was then disrupted with Grace’s diagnosis of breast cancer. Her Fringe show, “Let Me Get This Off My Chest,” is about the journey from that point, and taking it while in the public eye.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2025 – Henry Naylor, Monstering The Rocketman

July 18, 2025

Season 21

Episode 2

00:36:03

As we head through July, we’ll be bringing you preview interviews that help set the scene for Fringe 2025. That could be the history of the Fringe, how traditional and online media impact the arts, the future of the Festival in Edinburgh, and the impact it can have.

In our first preview, Ewan Spence meets Henry Naylor to talk about his new solo show ‘Monstering The Rocketman,’ a timely drama about press values through the lens of Elton John and his libel case against The Sun in the 1980s.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2025 Prologue – Welcome To Season Twenty One

July 4, 2025

Season 21

Episode 1

00:08:42

The Edinburgh Fringe Show started in 2005, and as Fringe 2025 appears on the horizon, we’re going to get started on our 21st season covering the largest arts festival in the world.

We have a few traditions in these parts. One of those is our prologue podcast—a chance to ensure the website, podcast feed, and all the other digital components are ready to go. We’ll have weekly preview interviews through July to help set the scene, before a rush of recordings in August.

As always, we have the music of Daniel Cainer to remind us what it’s like to be in Edinburgh at this time of year.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 Epilogue – Some Final Thoughts On The Fringe

August 26, 2024

Season 20

Episode 20

00:11:48

And with that, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 comes to an end. Trying to capture everything that happened is a task worthy of Hercules, so I hope that I’ve brought you a flavour of the Fringe during August.

The Fringe has always faced challenges from its first days to this year and beyond. Instead of an interview to close out August, I wanted to talk a little about our Fringe community and my hope that over the next year, we can all listen to everyone’s concerns and work on solutions that benefit everyone.

Let’s ensure that when we all return to Edinburgh in 2025, the Edinburgh Fringe is the best it can be.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Anthony Alderson, The Pleasance Theatre Trust

August 23, 2024

Season 20

Episode 19

00:32:48

As we come to the end of week three, we sit down with Anthony Alderson, director of The Pleaseance Theatre Trust.

We touch on several critical issues running one of the largest venues at the Edinburgh Fringe, including the continuing impact of COVID and the importance of government funding to the Fringe community and The Pleasance. Given the cost of the Fringe is on everyone’s minds, we talk about turnover, tickets, and artistic risk.

We also talk about the work of The Plesance to support and promote the arts at Edinburgh in August and throughout the rest of the year, including various Pleasance Futures projects and the ambition of creating sustainable touring for theatre in the UK.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Tim Benzie, Solve Along A Murder She Wrote

August 22, 2024

Season 20

Episode 18

00:24:29

Tim Benzie joins us on the show today to talk about his two Fringe shows, “It’s A Mystery” and “Solve Along A Murder She Wrote”. Yes, he loves his cosy crime shows, but doesn’t everyone secretly love a mystery?

We start with the rules of detective fiction before our talk turns to Agatha Christie and Dame Angela Lansbury, how you can do a solve-along-a with a murder, and the advantages of having two shows at the Fringe where one is guaranteed to get the ticket sales.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Mark Dean Quinn, Oh No (That’s Not Your Cheese)

August 21, 2024

Season 20

Episode 17

00:23:55

Mark Dean Quinn joins me on the show today to do his best not to talk about his show ‘Oh No (That’s Not Your Cheese).’ He’s found the right level of fame, and doesn’t feel the need to go any further.

Nevertheless, we’ve lots to talk about, including the importance of the Free Fringe and how this can offer more artistic freedom, his work on the Edinburgh Fringe Performers’ Forum, and why he is ready to help people before they get to Edinburgh.

But does he eat cheese?

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Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Juliet Cowan, F*ck Off and Leave Me Alone

August 20, 2024

Season 20

Episode 16

00:24:30

Juliet Cowan has an impressive CV of character roles in TV and film following her stand-up appearances, yet 2024 is her first hour of comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. The delightfully titled show has Cown looking at the impact of the menopause and its reflection on the rush of hormones in her teenage life. We…

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Nina Gilligan, Goldfish

August 19, 2024

Season 20

Episode 15

00:21:15

To open up week three, I speak to Nina Gilligan on her show Goldfish. We start with the classic observation of a Goldfish’s memory before exploring what that means to Nina and how it ties in with the show.

We also go into the importance of “the hour” at the Fringe, why it is well suited to Nina’s show, and how she could never be as vulnerable on the regular circuit as she can be in Edinburgh.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Rachel Kaly, Hospital Hour

August 16, 2024

Season 20

Episode 14

00:19:34

Rachel Kaly is over from the US to bring their debut hour to the Fringe. Hospital Hour looks at Kaly’s many appointments and visits to the American healthcare system for psychological treatments.

We also talk about what the fringe means in general and Edinburgh specifically. How do you know when an hour is ready for the Fringe, and how does the show change throughout the month?

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