BCG Daily Monday 29th July 2024

On the Mic Picks: James Barr

James is a sharp wit with a big heart.

Funny At The Fringe - Ian Stone is Keeping it Together

"It's really about the importance of maintenance and doing the admin. But with jokes."

Mr Bean toon gets dedicated FAST channel via TCL

China-based consumer electronics company TCL has announced the launch of a Mr Bean: The Animated Series FAST channel on its TCL Channel.

EdFringe Talk: Sarah Roberts: Silkworm

"EdFringe is great because it really teaches you to roll with the punches."

EdFringe Talk: My Brain is Soup, Your Hands Are the Spoons

"My highlight? The show where you could hear the snores of 2 sleeping French bulldogs in between laughs."

Alison Larkin: Grief... A Comedy review

The title of Larkin's show may be Grief... A Comedy, but at its heart it's bigger than that: it's about life.

Three shows with US political themes

Three shows featuring US political themes at the Edinburgh Festival 2024...

Three shows with techy and AI stuff going on

Three shows with techy and AI stuff going on at the Edinburgh Festival 2024...

Steve Coogan to play ex-Ireland football manager Mick McCarthy in film

Steve Coogan is to star as former Ireland manager Mick McCarthy in a new film about his bust-up with captain Roy Keane ahead of the 2002 World Cup.

Funny At The Fringe - Rich Spalding: Gather Your Skeletons

"My show is largely about work and death, which sounds dull and depressing, but is actually neither."

Three shows about older women

Three shows about older women at the Edinburgh Festival 2024...

Saucy! Secrets Of The British Sex Comedy review

The images and soundbites in this documentary came at you so quickly that it was almost dizzying.

Romesh Ranganathan left unimpressed after bizarre honour is bestowed on him

The TV star's had a bin lorry named as Romesh Recyclenathan after him in his home town of Crawley.

Elvis McGonagall: Cool for Cats

"Elvis McGonagall: Gin & Catatonic? is an hour of anarchic wit and satirical verse designed to bring down the Tories but they seem to be doing a good job of that themselves so it may be 60 minutes of interpretive avant-garde jazz dance with a live mariachi band."

Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: Metroland

The sketch comedy quintet chat ahead of their debut Edinburgh show.

Opinion: Freya Mallard on Parenting in the Arts

Freya Mallard writes about starting a family and gigging in comedy.

Unfiltered #41 - The reality of getting Fringe ready with Burnout Paradise

Fervent Collaboration. Hasty Meals. Structured chaos.

Fringe Quickies: 194 - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

"We invite audience to join us on stage as guest spellers in our live spelling bee competition."

Edinburgh Fringe preview: The Dreamer

James Phelan's new show, The Dreamer, is opening at the Edinburgh Fringe next month.

Grace Mulvey picks her Perfect Playlist

"I like my comedies to have depth".

Reuben Kaye interview

Reuben Kaye is back. No Fringe festival is complete without him.

Jason Byrne interview

"I love the creativity and finding new things."

Rhys Nicholson interview

"Well it's a stand up show - it's not Baby Reindeer."

Andrew Maxwell interview

"It turns out there's a venn diagram between people who love stand up comedy and people who love podcasts."

Marjolein Robertson interview

"I used to do the Fringe every year doing five minutes, then doing ten - then I realised I would never be a comedian unless I moved south to Edinburgh so I could tour the country."

An AI walks into a bar... Can artificial intelligence be genuinely funny?

We asked a professional comedian, Karen Hobbs, to deliver some jokes written by artificial intelligence on stage. What happened reveals a lot about just how much machines understand the very human sense of humour.

Have a Gander at The Edinburgh Fringe 2024 - Shitty Mozart

Ahead of their UK debut, Aaron Nemo (Shitty Mozart) spoke with Corr Blimey about their chaotic one-man show set to take the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm.

Interview: A Digital Pint with... Rhys Nicholson

Rhys Nicholson returns to the EdFringe stage this year with his new stand-up hour Huge Big Party Congratulations!

Fringe Quickies: 195 - Our Little Secret: The 23AndMe Musical

A video interview.

Unfiltered #42 - The reality of getting Fringe ready with Grubby Little Mitts: Eyes Closed, Mouths Open

A day in the life of these sweet Grubbs starts in a black box studio somewhere in London.

Fringe Quickies: 199 - Solve It Squad

A video interview

Miriam Margolyes on her literary hero: 'He was a bastard, no question, but he wrote like a king'

Depending on who you ask, Miriam Margolyes is either a foul-mouthed octogenarian or an untouchable national treasure. Ahead of her return to the Edinburgh Fringe, she tells Becca Inglis about finding new levels of fame in later life and her undimmed passion for the flawed Charles Dickens.

Ginger Johnson on her new Edinburgh show 'It's about how far I will go for a round of applause'

She was anointed winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK last year, but rather than resting on her Swarovski laurels, Ginger Johnson is pursuing new challenges. Lucy Ribchester hears about a risqué new solo show that promises daredevil antics, shameless attention seeking and 'cunning stunts'

Harriet Kemsley on the rare experience of being on an all-women comedy bill: 'We danced like crazy in the bar afterwards'

Harriet Kemsley has had a turbulent time of late, but she hopes things can only get better. The comic chats to Marissa Burgess about parental encouragement, quirky influences and the slow pace of change after #MeToo.

Fringe Quickies: 200 - How To Mate: The Ted XXX Talk

"The show completely changes depending on who is in the audience!"

Elysian Dreams

We chat to folk at The Elysian Theatre, LA - the venue behind some of our favourite recent Fringe hits.

Fringe preview review: Nerine Skinner: The Exorcism of Liz Truss

This show is something that defines what Fringe shows can be - fun, one where even the audience feel like they are part of it and with a positive conclusion at the end.

John Tothill's Edinburgh Binge, Cringe and Whinge

Hear me out... what if the Fringe was LONGER?

Latitude Festival 2024 review

I've done flying visits to Latitude before but never quite as flying as this.

US comedian brings taboo-busting show to Fringe

Yola Lu is a Texas-based comedian who is hoping her new show will prompt dialogue and banish taboos.

Piglets' Mark Heap: "Me as a police officer? I'd have no street cred!"

Mark Heap on how police trainers Bob and Julie are at loggerheads as they battle to be boss in ITV sitcom Piglets.

Funny At The Fringe - Raul Kohli: Raul Britannia

"Raul Britannia is all a celebration of modern multicultural Britain from the personal perspective of a Half Hindu, Half Sikh, Indian-Singaporean Geordie who along the way has befriended Chinese Scousers, White Bradfordians with Indian accents."

Josh Thomas on quitting stand-up - and what brought him back

The Australian comic started stand-up at 17, but a fear of 'schlepping around' for 60 years led him to retire. Now, eight years later, he has rediscovered his mojo - and is back with a set musing on his recent autism diagnosis.

American Whore Story Q&A

BWW caught up with Naomi Grossman on bringing American Whore Story to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Snake Boy Takes Manhattan Q&A

BWW caught up with Alexander Richmond on bringing Snake Boy Takes Manhattan to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Miriam Margolyes interview

"This is the first time I have brought myself into a show about Dickens."

Lauren Pattison interview

Two time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Lauren Pattison makes her eagerly anticipated return to the Edinburgh Fringe with her fourth show Big Girl Pants.

Heartbreak for Aaron Twitchen who sees giant poster defaced

Aaron Twitchen, whose show Himbo is at the Gilded Balloon paid a fortune for giant posters only to see one of them ruined with red paint, after someone wrote on it: "Boycott the Fringe."

Interview: Eric Rushton

The inventive comedian talks about confronting insecurities and chasing laughs while trying to find happiness.

Fringe Dog meets Adam Riches

The canine journalist meets the Edinburgh Comedy Award winner (and Piper the Dog) as he brings his play Jimmy to Summerhall.

Interview: Dylan Mulvaney

Bringing her debut to the Fringe, Dylan Mulvaney talks about her online persona, Catholic upbringing and famous friendships.

Still Game star hints at legendary sitcom's return - as feature-length film

Still Game's Paul Riley has hinted the sitcom could make a comeback - as a feature-length film.

Paul said: "I think the scope's there for more Still Game. You could do a movie I suppose. They're difficult though in terms of funding. But the question of a film's one for Ford and Greg."