Ewan Spence

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Louise Atkinson, She’s Got The Look

A fun conversation with Louise Atkinson today as we talk about her show She’s Got The Look. The press release provides my first question (to the light of morning DJs the world over), but we go into more topics on the business and art of being a comic.

How can you make comedy accessible to everyone? How does Edinburgh fit into the United Kingdom’s festival circuit, and why is the Fringe one of the biggest routes into comedy? And if it’s all about rhythm, what beat does Louise work to?

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – John Meagher, Big Year

John Meagher joins me on the podcast today to discuss his life and Edinburgh Fringe debut. 8 years after starting on his performing career, he has an hour for the Fringe. Big Year is that show, and it’s an opportunity for John to look back over his life, from an island off the coast of Ireland to his own home in England.

We talk about his approach to writing material and why it has to be personal, the various culture shocks throughout his life, finding love and looking back on his life to find the good times.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Natasha Pearl Hansen, The Right Amount of Wrong

Today, I speak to Natasha Pearl Hansen. Following her breakout hour and comedy special retelling the moment she cancelled the wedding and turned it into a recording session for a live show, Natasha returns to the Fringe with The Right Amount of Wrong.

It looks at life after that not-wedding day, finding the joy and the win in the day, and the journey that followed. We talk about that, but also the challenge of transferring US comedy to the UK, how to name a show so it can be easily pitched and flyered, and (of course) the weather.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Vyte Garriga, Paper Swans

Vyte Garriga’s Paper Swans is a mesmerising and thought-provoking piece of absurdist theatre that is picking up critical acclaim in the media covering the Fringe, and offering an emotionally complex hour for the audience.

We talk about moving from Lithuania to the UK and London and why RADA felt like the only option for Vyte to further her career. From there, she talks about her academic studies and why she was hungry to be on stage, both individually and as part of a theatere company. Finally, we talk about the writing process and the challenges presented by the repeating motif in Paper Swans and the challenge if offers the audience.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Jazz Emu, Knight Fever

Archie Henderson joins me today. He’s the creative mind behind Jazz Emu, a flamboyant singer with illusions of grandeur, as Emu looks to climb the dizzying pole of stardom. The show at the Fringe is a brash mix of musical fun, intense moments, and the drive to succeed in front of royalty.

We talk about the influences of music and style behind Jazz Emu and how the audience interaction of a comic can apply to what is essentially a piece of musical theatre. How that changes depending on the venue Henderson and the full band are playing in, and why the Government’s lockdown campaign is a key part of Emu’s story.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Julie Flower, Grandma’s Shop

Joining me on the podcast today is Julie Flower, who has a story that looks at “love, memories and the stories our clothes have to tell.” Bringing the true-life story of her Grnadma’s counter-culture second-hand shop in Sheffield to the Fringe, we talk about the trailblazing nature of her relative, investigating your own family for personal and professional reasons, and subverting expectations.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Bebe Cave, The Screen Test

Bebe Cave joins me today for the big interview. She’s been a regular at the Fringe since she debuted in 2012 in a two-hander show with her sister, but this year is her first solo show. ‘The Screen Test’ is a period piece set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but it talks about the industry demands of today, as well as a near century ago in Hollywood.

We also talk about the delights of the heroines of the screwball comedy, finding the confidence to go out on stage, and the importance of family support when you work in the Arts.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Finlay Christie, I Deserve This

Today’s interview is with Finlay Christie, a comic who has found success on the stage and online, with sell-out shows at the fringe and a popular YouTube channel that can bring hundreds of thousands of viewers to his material. His show ‘I Deserve This’ sees the 19-year-old question his success and how he balances the different needs of comedy for the online and offline worlds.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 -Alison Larkin, Grief… A Comedy

Today’s interview is with Alison Larkin. She has brought “Grief… A Comedy” to the Fringe. It’s a solo piece about Alison finding love late in her life before her partner died. Alison’s grief took her on an unexpected journey full of hope, laughter, and a cameo from Archbishop Desmond Tutu… as all good stories must.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2024 – Darrell Martin, Just The Tonic

For our second preview of the Edinburgh Fringe, Ewan Spence talks to Darrell Martin, owner of the Just The Tonic venues. We talk about starting out at the Edinburgh Fringe with the Big Value Comedy Showcase before moving into venue management; the mix of ticketing at the Fringe (from Free to full price) and which Darrell thinks is best; the cost of attending the Fringe; and finally touch on the impact of politicial decision in Edinburgh and Scotland threaten the Festival.

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