BCG Daily Monday 7th August 2023

Festival Diary: Frankie Boyle is lost in translation for New York actor and writer

Comic offer sage advice to new performers.

Jo Caulfield on laughing through loss and how it inspired a first book

"We were laughing about how much she was enjoying planning her own funeral".

Comedy and dyspraxia have gone hand in hand for award-winning stand-up Dan Tiernan

For rising star Dan Tiernan, his comedy career and living with dyspraxia have formed a symbiotic relationship.

I took a stand-up show about trans rights across the country - here's what I learned

Messing around with gender doesn't have to be a battleground of the culture war, says comedian Chloe Petts. It can be a funny, stupid, playful place.

Some people just won't like you, but don't take it personally: what surviving the fringe taught me about life

Performing at the Edinburgh festival is hugely stressful, but the things I learned there have been useful offstage too.

No audience! Fringe stars on the day they suffered every performer's nightmare

Georgie Grier's headline-grabbing plight isn't so rare. Edinburgh veterans from Gyles Brandreth to Robin Grainger share their tales of woe.

Sikisa interview

Sassy, energetic and real.

Comedy of Operas: Crazy Opera Comes To Town

It's been a huge hit in Spain and France and now A Comedy of Operas, which combines Opera's Greatest Hits with physical comedy, is coming to Edinburgh.

Matt Price: Fighting Fit

Matt Price's new best friends are his running shoes and a set of kettlebells and his missus, the brilliant Glasgwegian comic Martha McBrier is unusually excited about her new weighted hula hoop.

The Crown Jewels review

Ultimately, The Crown Jewels is a glorified faux panto: it neither delivers on satirical wit nor offers enough audience participation. Unlike Blood's doomed attempt at a momentous act of theft, this comedy only succeeds in robbing the audience blind.

Dominique Salerno: The Box Show interview

This box full of characters has previously popped up in various cities around the US, and this August it is in Edinburgh.

Dreaming Whilst Black review

This sharp comedy rings mostly true, is funny, engaging... and incredibly Black.

Is this the future of comedy? The AI acts taking to the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe

From Courtney Pauroso's invention, Vanessa 5000, which pokes fun at the emerging technology, to improv led by AI, artificial intelligence is having an impact at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.

TikTok stars leap from small screen to the Edinburgh stage

Adrian Bliss has eight million followers on TikTok with his sketches while Henry Rowley, centre, gets a buzz on stage but Coco Sarel, right, can "be a diva".

Edinburgh Fringe Rarely Asked Questions - Sachin Kumarendran

British-Asian comedian Sachin Kumarendran, who was recently nominated for Best Show at the Nottingham Comedy Festival, brings his debut hour Deceit to the Edinburgh Fringe.

New comedy Dinosaur begins filming in Glasgow

New comedy Dinosaur begins filming in Glasgow this week, from Fleabag and The Tourist producers Two Brothers Pictures for BBC Three and Hulu.

What do you think of the critics?

Edinburgh Fringe comedians give their view...

Roundhouse Comedy Opening Gala with Rose Matafeo review

The curated mix of well-known household names and upcoming performers with work-in-progress performances results in a very exciting-looking line-up, and the opening night doesn't disappoint.

Bilal Zafar shares the best and the worst of Edinburgh

"It's so expensive, I think this will be my last Fringe for a long time".

Nalini Sharma: Why I really didn't want my dad at my comedy show

I want him to be proud, I just don't want him to see my boobs.

Labour's Eddie Izzard problem

Britain doesn't need another trans-activist MP.

Tatty MacLeod shares her comedy favourites

"Nanette made me realise that a show doesn't have to be an hour of just jokes."

Simon Amstell: 'I used to think I couldn't talk about enjoying sex'

After routines about orgies from the perspective of an 'awkward English twit', the comedian returns with an unironic and open account of carnal pleasure.

David Bowie is the focus of Jack Docherty's Fringe show

How many people listen to the advice about never meeting your heroes? Probably not too many but, then again, the majority of the population never get that opportunity.

Olivia Porter on Party Ghost

"There's a macabre fascination in all things that scare us. Circus itself embodies that fear".

Daniel Foxx on TikTok

"Bite-sized character studies are the new wave of comedy content".

Alison Spittle on her latest show

"To look at something and laugh at it doesn't take away from how hard it is".

Kate Nash on The Retreat

"Theatre in that Fringe setting is really exciting because it's very raw".

Glenn Moore on odd Fringe sights

"They were leaving this trail of destruction in their wake of crying, screaming children".

Julia Masli and Viggo Venn joint interview

"I do not know my clown, but I know when the clown is around".

Edinburgh chainsaw massacre: the 10 boldest - and most idiotic - Fringe stunts

At the Fringe, it's not enough to put on a blockbuster show - you've got to get people talking. These shows achieved just that.

One bare-all Fringe show I might just have to cover

Edinburgh, at this time of year, is not a place for anyone who's easily offended. As I wander around, eyeing the rows of posters advertising Fringe shows, I've been trying to keep track of the weirdest titles. So far, the runaway winner is A Shark Ate My Penis, a one-person musical about the history of trans men.

MC Hammersmith interview

"I've compiled my own rhyming dictionary which is 20,000 words long".

Ruby McCollister

Theatres are portals for darkness and joy.

Barn Theatre announces cast of I'm Sorry, Prime Minister, I Can't Quite Remember

The Barn Theatre has revealed casting for the upcoming world premiere of I'm Sorry, Prime Minister, I Can't Quite Remember.

Based on Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's British political satire sitcom Yes Minister and its sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, the new stage adaptation is written and directed by Lynn and dedicated to the memory of Jay, who passed away in 2016.

Trafalgar Entertainment acquires pantomime producer Imagine Theatre

Trafalgar Entertainment has announced a "majority strategic investment" in Imagine Theatre, one of the UK's largest pantomime producers.

Run by husband-and-wife team, Steve and Sarah Boden, Imagine Theatre is a production company that supports pantomimes in more than 50 venues nationwide.

Laugh like you used to: review of Jim Davidson & co

The forces of globalisation and human flux were brushing up against this strange display of English resentment, and there appeared to be little fightback beyond a few knackered old jokes.

Abigail Jensen interview

Emmie chats with Abigail Jensen about her piece Sex Diaries of an Ex-Catholic.