2010 Edinburgh Fringe

More details

In a specially-created one-man show for the 2010 Edinburgh Festival, through a series of amazing but true anecdotes Simon Donald takes his audience on a journey from Viz's origin to the birth of his stand-up career in just 5 minutes.

Then utilising "the magic of show business" he brings five new comic personalities to life, the audience witnessing the transition of his character creating skills from the page to stage. These characters take their inspiration from the same experiences that shaped his work as a cartoonist on Viz, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year.

Featuring Barry Twyford, the slightly effete market researcher with a survey that asks many more questions than it answers, infamous drunken street philosopher Bingo from Benton, Cockney motormouth Rick Kestrel "supplier to the stars", Jeremy Jitler the humourless humourist and Dominic Farquhar, first year medic, who will, quite literally, do some stand-up comedy, actually.

"Donald's ability to create characters didn't stop at Viz... completely outrageous... deadpan ... superb, inventive comedy." - Stage

"People laughed hysterically throughout" - The List

Biography

Simon Donald was co-founder of record-breaking comic magazine Viz and worked on it until 2003.

He set up the magazine in 1979 with his brother Chris in a bedroom in the family home in Newcastle. His most famous creation for the magazine is probably Sid the Sexist.

After leaving Viz he wrote and presented on TV, before moving into full-time stand-up comedy in November 2008.

He specialised as an antagonist on Carlton TV's live debate programmes in the early 1990s and moved on to play an important role in the BBC's I Love series, and Channel 4's 100 Greatest.

He presented a self-penned film at the launch of BBC Choice (now BBC3), and did the same for a project by Carlton 'The Great London Debate'.

In 2004 he presented The Regionnaires, a hugely successful six part regional panel show broadcast on ITV Tyne Tees, which he co-wrote with his former Viz partner Alex Collier.
In September 2005 he started performing his stand-up comedy routine, and began working the circuit on Tyneside and Wearside.

In November 2005 he met Hungover Stuntmen and in 2006 joined their management team. He became their sole manager in 2007. The band recorded an album in Ibiza, played the Ibiza Rocks Festival two years running and appeared at Newcastle Arena with Paul Weller.
His work with the band stopped when Simon became full-time carer for his eldest brother Steve, who was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2008 and passed away the following November.
Simon returned immediately to stand-up comedy, beginning to appear on stage as the characters he had previously talked about in his routine.

He has spent 18 months writing his autobiography Him off the Viz due for release on 7th October 2010, published by Tonto books.