Festival news and trivia

We're about half-way through the Fringe (probably... we're just guessing to be honest, we've actually lost count of the days!). Anyway, here's some of the news and trivia we've picked up so far...

Georgina to wed Marcus Brigstocke?

The show It's Got to Be Perfect sees the comedian Anna Morris running through a wedding rehearsal each day, in character as bridezilla Georgina. Last week the bride-to-be ended up almost bagging herself a new fiancé though: as the picture above shows, Marcus Brigstocke looked suitably confused as he found himself being dragged up on stage to get involved in proceedings.

Foxdog Studios need a watch

Foxdog Studios, the surreal tech-heavy show in which the audience use their phones to take part in an interactive adventure game, is excellent fun. However, not all fans heading across the Meadows to find the show are discovering the comedians there on their arrival... they're getting there 12 hours too early in fact.

Lloyd Henning and Peter Sutton - the duo behind the show - accidentally registered the time of their show in the programme as "11:15"... they should have put "23:15"!

Jay Handley needs a dictionary

Jay Handley has had flyers printed with 'religion' spelt as 'relgion'.

However, rather than scrap them, he has set up a petition to try and get the spelling put in the dictionary.

As he says: "Ask yourself this? Is it justifiable to expect one man to pay upwards of £40 to enjoy the basic human right of handing out promotional materials that don't make him look like an illiterate idiot? It seems far more sensible to get The Oxford English Dictionary to issue a recall of every edition of their publication so that it might be replaced with a new and infinitely superior version."

Nathan Cassidy's cheeky poster

Nathan Cassidy has put up a clever poster in the underpass near the Pleasance Dome. At no point does it mention his real show, '42'... instead, on first glance at least, it suggests he's a big arena touring comic with a couple of DVDs to his name.

Miranda Kane's phone calls

Miranda Kane has published her phone number (07800 834030) and invited anyone to call it or send a picture message to it. You'll have to turn up to her show to hear some of the calls she has been getting, however when BCG sat in the audience the other day we were surprised to hear she'd not been sent any "dick pics" yet. Instead, Kane's number has been mistaken on more than one occasion for the official Fringe ticket box office call centre.

Just to be clear lads: this is not a suggestion you snap your downstairs parts and send it to that number... Kane does call people back during the show!

The Fringe is getting more hipster

Whilst many of the Fringe venues resemble dungeons that even those in the middle ages might have condemned on health and safety grounds, the festival would appear to be getting a bit snobbier and posher.

The duo behind Isle of Edna: G Street, a sketch show about gentrification, have been listening out for the most 'hipster' things being said at the Fringe. Overhead phrases have included "It was really profound... almost post ironic" and "I want my coffee beans unwashed because I prefer the acidic taste".

Their winner so far though, overheard in a coffee shop:
"Tarquin, can you please find the polenta."

Nick Mohammed's insurance

Nick Mohammed's impressive Mr Swallow show features the character escaping from a Chinese Water Torture Cell (well, at least it has so far - any day could be the last day!).

It's a stunning finale that has seen the star awarded standing ovations by audiences. It's a costly stunt to perform though - aside from all the equipment, and a tank of water, Mohammed has had to take out expensive insurance to indemnify those involved should be drown.

Darren Walsh's break

Many comedians at the Fringe are looking for a big break... but in the case of pun-deliverer Darren Walsh he was on the receipt of a different kind of break. The comedian fell off his bike, resulting in a fracture.

Comedy fans may recall Walsh won joke of the Fringe 2015 with the gag "I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free." Well, now the comedian really is performing 'hands free', as he can't hold a mic.

Woman arrested... at 'free speech' gig

Irony detectors must have gone into overdrive at Rick Molland and Sully O'Sullivan's Freedom of Speech show on the first Saturday of the festival.

As the comedians explain: "In a bizarre case of life commenting on art, on Saturday night a woman was arrested in front of a full house for hurling abuse."

The woman, reportedly from Canada, begun vocally abusing the comedians and other audience members before the show had even started. Molland, feeling it was impossible to continue the show under such heated conditions, asked the woman to leave, however she refused, even after being abandoned by the associates sitting with her.

Unwilling to use physical force, the comics attempted to continue the show, but with the woman continuing her abuse, venue security became involved. She still wouldn't budge, so the police were called.

The show, which each night holds a live audience vote on whether Freedom of Speech should be further protected or curbed, witnessed its first landslide victory for 'restricting Freedom of Speech'.

More stories

We published another feature like this on the 25th August, so for the latest news and stories check it out too. Read