2011 Edinburgh Fringe

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Shawn Hitchins plunges into international waters and brings his hit show, Survival of the Fiercest, to Edinburgh for a limited one-week engagement.

Survival of the Fiercest tackles urban survival in the big city through music and laughter. Hitchins skewers iPhones, Susan Boyle, subway gropings and Mormon vampires with extremely entertaining, hysterically hip and surgically precise comedic timing. Twisting songs by Guns N' Roses, Neil Young, Madonna, Lady Gaga and The Black Eyed Peas, he filters pop music through a theatrical lens and weaves an absurdly engaging yarn.

Originally titled Single White Douche and presented at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (Toronto, September 2010), the creative team developed and workshopped the lauded show with director Ed Sahely (Dora Mavor Moore Award Winner and Second City Toronto Alumni). The result of this collaboration is a laugh-out-loud and insightful touring show that balances Hitchins' wry storytelling with his passion for musical outbursts.

Hitchins has toured North America, from Puerto Vallarta to Provincetown to Halifax, and shared the screen with Rebbeca Romijn, Russell Peters, Loretta Devine, Mary Walsh and Donald Sutherland. He was a panelist on the first season of MTV's 1Girl5Gays and continues to write satirical and witty articles for Fab Magazine. Hitchins hosts events for The Luminato Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. He is a proud alumni of The Second City Conservatory and The International Cabaret Conference at Yale University.

Musical direction by Mim Adams, with Anne Barnshaw on piano.