fringe

The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – Kuan-wen Huang (Ilha Formosa)

August 8, 2023

Season 19

Episode 7

00:21:30

Kuan-wen Huang’s Fringe show for 2023 is ‘Ilha Formosa’, (which means ‘beautiful island’ in Portuguese, a nod towards the sailors who landed on the islands in the 16th century). In it, he talks about how he traded his beloved Taiwan for the rainy British Isles, what it means to be Taiwanese and what it symbolises through generations of migration and shifting identities.

The show does have some autobiographical elements, how could it not given its subject, but it does offer that time-honoured use of comedy to take a sideways look at both politics and the human condition through a medium that makes it easy to talk about complicated issues.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – Emily Carding (Let The Bodies Pile)

August 7, 2023

Season 19

Episode 6

00:23:02

The Edinburgh Fringe is a mix of every genre and emotion; from stand-up and dance, through music, to cabaret and theatre, and beyond, the Fringe swings from light and fluffy to hard-hitting and heavy themes and emotions. It’s the latter that we’re going to talk about in this episode.

Emily Carding is one of the performers in Let The Bodies Pile, the other performer, Henry Naylor, is also the writer. This is an intensely political piece that looks at the reaction to Covid here in the United Kingdom, primarily in nursing homes and how society comes to terms with the decisions made by politicians.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – Bedlam Theatre Returns To The Fringe

July 31, 2023

Season 19

Episode 5

00:30:01

Bedlam Theatre is home to the Edinburgh University Theatre Company… and when August comes around Bedlam Fringe comes around with an eclectic and varied programme of shows. Except it’s not been at the Fringe since 2019.

That changes this year, as the gothic 90-seat theatre opens its doors once more. Ewan sat down with venue manager Marie Rimolsrønning to find out what it takes to return to the Fringe, what Bedlam represents, and some of the shows we can expect.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – Marc Burrows (The Magic Of Terry Pratchett)

July 24, 2023

Season 19

Episode 4

00:37:13

In today’s Fringe 2023 preview, Ewan is joined by long-time friend of the parish Marc Burrows. He’s bringing three shows to Edinburgh this year… a classic stand-up, a second show that talks about what happened in his third show, and a third show that takes us through the life and work of Sir Terry Pratchett.

When did Marc decide to bring Sir Terry to the Fringe, why the footnotes that Pratchett loved are part of the experience, and what was he thinking when he added a third show to his already busy Fringe schedule?

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – Anu Vaidyanathan (Blimp)

July 17, 2023

Season 19

Episode 3

00:32:04

The Edinburgh Fringe is drawing closer, so let’s continue our previews, talking to some of the artists who will be arriving in August.

In our second preview ahead of Fringe 2023, Ewan chats with Anu Vaidyanathan about her show ‘Blimp’, and her busy creative life. She is a comedian, filmmaker, director, and triathlete; Anu brings her show to the Fringe, exploring her nomadic and creative life with the audience.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023 – jD Shapiro (Stories From The Hood To Hollywood)

July 10, 2023

Season 19

Episode 2

00:32:39

Our first full preview of the Edinburgh Fringe 2023, and Ewan meets jD Shapiro to talk about his second Edinburgh show “Stories From The Hood To Hollywood”. How does stand-up fit into his career as a writer and director, what did he learn at the Fringe last year, and why has he come back to Edinburgh?

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The Edinburgh Fringe Show 2023: Prologue

July 8, 2023

Season 19

Episode 1

00:07:38

As we prepare to explore another year of the Edinburgh Fringe, Ewan Spence opens up the season with our traditional musical prologue from Daniel Cainer.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – MJ Hibbert (Hey Hey 16K, 2015)

February 23, 2023

Season 18

Episode 24

Following on from the viral success of his retro throwback to the days of the ZX Spectrum and other 8-bit home computers, MJ Hibbett brought his musical mix of comedy and meme-ability to the Edinburgh Fringe… although the hit song was released in 2000, and he didn’t make the Fringe till 2015, this might feel tenuous but when you have a one-hit wonder online, you live the dream.

MJ, along with Steven Hewitt, expanded that little ditty into a time-travelling rock and roll opera, mixing in Back to the Future, Ukuleles, and obscure Doctor Who references. They join myself and Jen Blacker in he Leith Radio Studios to talk about the show, viral success, and of course, they brought a guitar for a bit of a turn.

So not only are we back in time to 2015 but back in time to 1982 as well. It’s the Free Fringe at Sneaky Pete\s, it’s Hey Hey 16K.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Matt Parker (Humble Pi, 2019)

January 26, 2023

Season 18

Episode 21

00:17:35

Maths and stand-up is a strange formula – but one that clearly has an abundance of puns if you put your mind to it.

One performer who has put their mind to it is Matt Parker. Like many performers at the Fringe, he’s Australian but lives in the United Kingdom. His early days at the Fringe saw him appear in ‘multi bill’ shows, with two other scientists, taking 20 minutes each… before he stepped up to a full solo show.

One of those hours was in 2019, with Humble Pi. Based on the book of the same name, it brought ‘mathematical mistakes and errors’ from history to the stage, with hilarious results… all backed up with proof.
And so lets regress (ahem) back to 2019, back to the Pleasance Dome, and back to, roughly Humble 22 over 7.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Archives – Dominic Holland (Eclipsed, 2017)

January 19, 2023

Season 18

Episode 20

00:18:28

Dominic Holland made his name at the Fringe. His first time in Edinburgh, in 1993 he won the Perrier Best Newcomer award, and was later nominated for the full Perrier. He’s made TV appearances, is a regular on the circuit… and was anointed by Bob Monkhouse as “Britain’s funniest not yet famous comedian”.

He’s a stand-up with many highs (and lows). He’s also a father, and in 2017 he brought his show ‘Eclipsed’ to the Free Fringe.

The eclipse in question is by his son Tom Holland. How was Dominic’s journey to where he is today, how did the whole family deal with each other, and how much of a protective father he is to a really talented son.

It’s a different viewpoint on the classic story of rising from humble roots to a hero – literally. With Jokes.

So let’s go back to the Fringe, back to the Voodoo Rooms, and the Free Fringe, to find out the delight of being Eclipsed.

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