BCG Daily Wednesday 17th August 2022

Andy MacLeod interview

Performing at the Fringe is a dream in itself.

The stand-ups unleashing comedy on life-threatening disease

From bowel cancer to Parkinson's and dementia, the Edinburgh Fringe is full of jokes about serious illness. What's in it for the comedians - and their audiences?

Joanna Lipari interview

We become invisible as we get older.

Jerry Sadowitz back doing voiceover work at Edinburgh Fringe

The controversial comedian has been signed to record the scene-setter for a performance by Mark Borkowski, a celebrity publicist whose previous clients have included Noel Edmonds, Graham Norton and Joan Rivers.

Faye Treacy picks her comedy favourites

"I knew Eddie Murphy from the movies, but stand-up... Wow!"

Thanyia Moore: 'My material is my life, and then I sprinkle on some Hollywood to get the jokes'

The stand-up on the highs and lows of the Edinburgh Fringe, Zoom hecklers and why she doesn't have heroes.

Render unto Pleasance: Our editor with his personal opinion on the Pleasance v Sadowitz controversy

There are three things that should debar you from debates about comedy. The first is using the phrase "so-called comedian". The second is deploying your own subjective "it's not funny" as a trump card. The third is the Reductio Ad Jim Davidson - the strange logic by which if you're not a full on cheerleader for the currently dominant wave of progressive comedy, you obviously want to sit around laughing at Chalky and watching Up The Elephant reruns.

Brain tumour benefit raises £32,000

Underbelly's Big Brain Tumour Benefit raised more than £32,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity last night

Fringe comic spat on and shunned by colleagues as a 'transphobe' for show about women

Exclusive: Ignored by colleagues and spat at on the street, award-winning comedian Elaine Miller says free speech is under attack in Scotland.

What Malcolm Hardee thought of Jerry Sadowitz

As the Jerry Sadowitz row at the Edinburgh Fringe is still rumbling on (see my previous three blogs), below is an extract from the late Malcolm Hardee's autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake.

Emergency question: If your house was on fire what three items would you definitely leave behind?

...or even surreptitiously throw into the flames when no one was looking.

In conversation: Bianca Del Rio and Myra DuBois

The two comedians, who are used to touring together, trade insults as they bring their respective shows to the Fringe.

Interview: Randy Feltface

Alienation Never Felt Better: Tamara Mathias jumps on an extraordinary Zoom call with our favourite purple comedian to chat about bad felt days, the climate emergency and his long-awaited return to the Fringe.

Interviews: Sugarcoated Sisters and Kylie Brakeman

Bring it Online: The Sugarcoated Sisters and Kylie Brakeman chat about their experiences on TikTok.

EdFringe talk: Paul Williams: In the Moonlight

"The huge challenge of Edfringe is probably a big part of what makes it such an amazing and satisfying experience overall."

EdFringe talk: Where's Your Head At?

"This is my second hour. That difficult self-produced second album but yeah I'm actually really proud of this show."

EdFringe talk: Milo Edwards: Voicemail

"What's special about the Fringe I suppose is that it's so massive, you really can find anything there: good, bad and appallingly self-indulgent... I'll leave it up to you which category I fall into."

My festival: Maisie Adam

The comedian on being tall, the agony and ecstasy of competing at So You Think Your Funny, and the simple pleasure of wandering around the Fringe on your own.

Don't bring your baby to a comedy show - for the sake of the other parents there

The comedian Matt Forde has a point.

It's funny how all of Jerry Sadowitz's defenders are white men

Racial slurs and a man exposing his penis don't hit in quite the same way for them.

Letters: Jerry Sadowitz and the shifting boundaries of free speech

Readers on freedom of expression and hate speech, following the cancellation of the comedian's Edinburgh Fringe show.

Actor and musical star Bruce Montague has died aged 83

Musical star Bruce Montague has died aged 83, it has been announced.

Montague acted in over 300 television productions during his packed career, notably playing Leonard Dunn in the television sitcom Butterflies.