The Edinburgh Fringe Show

The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast.

The Edinburgh Fringe Archive – Sarah Kendall (Get Up, Stand Up, 2012)

This week we’re back to 2012 once more, as former Perrier nominee Sarah Kendall returned to the Fringe after a five year absence.

“Get Up, Stand Up” (or is it “Get Up, Stand-Up”, how delightfully interpretive) takes on a more storytelling approach than a bang-bang-jokes routine, and Kendall’s acting chops wer brought to the fore in an hour of pitch perfect raccentouring, reflecting on motherhood, the world that her daughter was growing up in, all wrapped up by the tale of the Ugly Duckling.

Her recent work includes the TV show Frayed, which has just finished its second season, and an appearance on the UK version of Taskmaster – so as you’d expect there’s countless clips of her discovering a bag of salt.

As for 2012, we’re off to The Pleasance and the ridiculously early time of 8.30pm, to talk to Sarah Kendall.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archive – Tiff Stevenson (Uncomfortably Numb, 2012)

Tiff Stevenson has been a Fringe fixture since 2006, debuting as a solo act in 2009. Stevenson was already established on the circuit in 2012 when, following her appearance in ITV’s ‘Show Me The Funny’, she brought ‘Uncomfortably Numb’ to Edinburgh,

She continues to bring new material to the Fringe, with this year’s ‘Sexy Brain’ picking up five star reviews; And year round she runs and MCs the monthly new material night ‘Old Rope’ each month at London’s Comedy Store.

So let’s go back in time, back to The Underbelly, and back to Tiff Stevenson’s ‘Uncomfortably Numb’

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archive – Arthur Smith (…Sings Leonard Cohen, volume 2, 2013)

Into the archives once more with another Fringe legend. Over the years, Arthur Smith has performed countless stand-up sets at the Fringe, been arrested for some outdoor shows, wrote his own review and snuck it into The Scotsman, kidnapped a puppet, and many more adventures lost to time.

In 2013 he performed the second of three shows around his love of Leonard Cohen and how his music is wrapped around Arthur’s life. We invited him into our podcast studio to tell us more about “Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen, volume 2”, his memories of the Fringe, and which of the then up-and-coming comics he was watching out for.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archive – Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, 2013)

In our first trip into the archive, we start with Fleabag. Directed by Vicky Wood, written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this small show from 2013 took place in the depths of the Underbelly. It 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 Phoebe and Vicky joined Ewan Spence in the podcast studio to talk about the origins of Fleabag, highlight the importance of the subject matter, and try to remember how much of the script was cut before it reached the stage.

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Introducing The Edinburgh Fringe Archives

As we prepare to explore nearly twenty years of Fringe coverage, Ewan Spence offers a quick audio glance into the archives to give you a taste of what’s to come with some Fringe moments from Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Arthur Smith, and Tiff Stevenson.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2022 – Looking Back Over This Year’s Fringe

As the sun sets on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 2022, Fin Ross and Ewan look back on this year’s Fringe. How has it felt welcoming the Festival back to the city. Can we offer four more recommended shows for the last night or two in August? And what dangers lie ahead for the Fringe in 2023? All that, and a sneak peek to some Fringe podcasts coming up in September.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2022 – Lynn Ferguson (Storyland)

The world is full of stories. Lynn Ferguson works with stories every day, and her show at this year’s Fringe mixes a love of stories, how the tales we all tell reveal who we are, and the stories of invited guests, to create ‘Lynn Ferguson’s Storyland’. Ewan and Lynn sit down to talk about the power of stories as the Fringe begins its final weekend of 2022.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2022 – Ronnie Golden (Fringe Legend)

It might just be a ten-minute appearance at this year’s Fringe thanks to an invite from John Cooper Clark, but Ronnie Golden is once more in Edinburgh during August. Ronnie is a Fringe legend, having taken part in the Festival since 1984, sometimes alone, sometimes with his band, and sometimes with the great Barry Cryer. Ewan sits down to talk about the history of the Fringe and what comes next both for the Fringe and for Ronnie.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2022 – Fills Monkey (We Will Drum You)

Can you do an entire show using only drums? Fills Money has done just that, as they bring their delightful mix of percussion, props, and pantomime to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. The show is full of moments of “ooh, it’s that tune” and we’re not going to spoil it for you, but we are going to talk to one of the drummers about the story of the band, how they met, and how they’ve travelled the world with this show just to end up in Edinburgh.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2022 – Jenna Fincken (Ruckus)

‘Ruckus’ deals with issues around coercive control in a relationship. Ewan listens to writer and performer Jenna Fincken explain the research that went into the play, the powerful message that it delivers, and guiding the audience through an emotional and powerful piece of theatre.

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