2019 Edinburgh Fringe
External press features
Scottish Sun writer challenge to write stand-up act
Scottish Sun features man Simon Houston has been set the ultimate challenge of writing a stand-up act with a view to landing a spot at next year's Free Fringe comedy festival in Edinburgh.
Simon Houston, The Scottish Sun, 28th December 2019The Hot 100 2019: #2 Jess Brough (Fringe of Colour)
With numerous awards in the bag for some vital work, we catch up with the Fringe of Colour founder and PhD student to find out more about making an impact on the Edinburgh Festival landscape.
Deborah Chu, The List, 1st November 2019Mythbusting: 5 myths about Edinburgh Fringe challenged
There is a lot of preconceived notions of what Edinburgh Fringe is and isn't! I'm here to put some of those ideas to bed.
Mary Strickson, Voice Magazine, 22nd October 2019Has the Fringe Festival become too commercialised?
The almost omniscient posters that were stuck all over the city, the ones that covered buildings and lamp-posts, were of the faces of the same ten or so acts.
Liam Gould, The Boar, 23rd September 2019Fringe-goers could be charged £10 for 'reusable' cups
Festival-goers could be charged up to £10 for "reusable" cups at pop-up bars during Edinburgh's main events as part of a bid to drive down their carbon footprint.
Brian Ferguson, Edinburgh Evening News, 20th September 2019The Edinburgh Fringe - my experience
Chris Cantrill is a comedian and writer from the north west. He's one half of critically acclaimed sketch duo, The Delightful Sausage along with comedy partner Amy Gledhill. As part of a short series of blog posts about performing at this year's Edinburgh Fringe we asked Chris to sum up the experience and pass on any advice for anyone who is thinking of giving it a try.
Chris Cantrill, BBC, 30th August 2019NextUp films Edinburgh shows for release
This year NextUp filmed 14 shows including those of Zoe Lyons, Esther Manito, Ashley Storrie, Juliette Burton, Bec Hill, Robin Morgan, Edd Hedges, Daniel Wye, Anesti Danelis and Aaron Simmonds.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 29th August 20192019 Fringe was easily the toughest: Tony Cowards
This year's Fringe was easily the toughest of the six I've performed at.
Tony Cowards, Beyond The Joke, 28th August 2019How many recalls would you consider suitable?
That entirely depends on the type of production and what you will be expected to do in the show. Usually, I think the top limit of recalls should be three, but often I hear of actors being called back 10 times, sometimes even more. And this is ludicrous.
West End Producer, The Stage, 28th August 2019Winners announced for 2019 BroadwayWorld Fringe Awards
We are thrilled to announce the winners in our third annual Edinburgh Fringe Festival Awards, celebrating the best of the 2019 Festival!
Broadway World, 27th August 2019Is right-wing comedy on the rise?
This year's Edinburgh fringe was full of wokeness jokes from liberal stand-ups as well as a host of conservative comedians who punch down.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 26th August 2019Three to see 2019: Final Weekend
It's the finale weekend of the Festival, so here are some final Three To See show recommendations for 2019, all of them 5/5 performances.
Caro Moses, ThreeWeeks, 26th August 2019What is your favourite flat thing?
The last of Richard Herring's Emergency Questions.
Chortle, 25th August 2019Lizzy Shakespeare interview
The Fountain caught up with Lizzy to tell us more about the show.
The Fountain, 25th August 2019The nine finalists for this year's Comedy Awards
Comedy critic Dominic Maxwell searched high and low for the funniest folk on the Fringe.
Dominic Maxwell, The Times, 24th August 2019Will Duggan shares his comedy favourites
"One of the finest bits of stand-up the world has ever produced."
Will Duggan, Chortle, 24th August 2019Jordan Brookes: a worthy Edinburgh Comedy awards champ
Brookes has won the biggest prize in live comedy, with Catherine Cohen named best newcomer and Jessica Brough recognised for her Fringe of Colour project.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 24th August 2019Have you ever been called a nickname you didn't like?
The penultimate Emergency Question from Richard Herring's stash.
Chortle, 24th August 2019Jacob Hawley: interview
Stevenage soft lad Jacob Hawley presents ruminations on love, youth and mental health, with new show, Faliraki.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 24th August 2019The Malcolm Hardee Awards and after
Up in Edinburgh, the 2019 Malcolm Hardee Awards were announced and presented last night - well, this morning, because the anarchy started at midnight - in the Ballroom of The Counting House during the traditional 2-hour stage show.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 24th August 2019Ed Eales-White interview
A story of a man who decides to be a dancer.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 24th August 2019My life as an Edinburgh comedy awards judge
After hours of watching stand-up and endless meetings fuelled by bad coffee, five themes emerged from this year's Fringe.
Nosheen Iqbal, The Guardian, 24th August 2019We present the ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards 2019
Earlier today we presented the ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards in the Fellows Library at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall.
Caro Moses, ThreeWeeks, 24th August 2019Fringe female performers 'sexually harassed'
Women working on shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe have reported facing sexual harassment on a daily basis while out promoting their performances, the BBC has been told.
Chris Hemmings and Jessica Furst, BBC, 23rd August 2019Daniel Muggleton interview
"Australian comedian and tracksuit enthusiast Daniel Muggleton's just woke enough to know he's an asshole. But who wants to be a hero these days anyway?"
Caro Moses, ThreeWeeks, 23rd August 2019Jessica Fostekew picks her comedy favourites
This felt like it was a show just for me.
Jessica Fostekew, Chortle, 23rd August 2019Will Adamsdale: power-hungry puppets ate my career
Pesky meerkats, War Dogs, Basil Brush ... The puppets are taking over, says the standup - and they're sabotaging his Edinburgh show.
Will Adamsdale, The Guardian, 23rd August 2019London Hughes interview
The standup, writer and presenter on the things that make her laugh the most.
Harriet Gibsone, The Guardian, 23rd August 2019The funniest thing that ever happened to you a funeral
Another from Richard Herring's stock of Emergency Questions.
Chortle, 23rd August 2019Final Edinburgh Fringe First Award winners revealed
Five final winners have been revealed by The Scotsman.
Alex Wood, What's On Stage, 23rd August 2019Counter Culture interview with Radu Isac
Radu Isac interview.
Pat Harrington, Counter Culture UK, 23rd August 2019Matt Price interview
Matt Price was asked to work on a writing project with a former criminal.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 23rd August 2019John-Luke Roberts interview
Blam blam! The critically acclaimed idiot, John-Luke Roberts, returns with a brand-new hour of extraordinary daft-hearted comedy, following a complete sell out at last year's Fringe.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 23rd August 2019Fringe Dog's 4th Annual Terrier Awards
o boy o boy! fringe dog is here to celebrate best shows of edimbrugh fringe in year 2019.
Fringe Dog, The Skinny, 23rd August 2019Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer transfers to Bush Theatre
Fresh from a sell-out critically acclaimed world premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where the production was awarded a Fringe First, Baby Reindeer is an unmissable debut play and chilling personal narrative exploring obsession, delusion, and the aftermath of a chance encounter.
Theatre Weekly, 23rd August 2019Tom Parry: interview
Fresh from his Best Newcomer nomination in 2015, Tom Parry is back with a brand-new hour celebrating life, love and going tops off! Join the largest (girth, height) third of the legendary sketch team Pappy's as he sweats, shouts and explains everything he loves about a wedding.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 23rd August 2019Sarah Keyworth: interview
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee for Best Newcomer and winner of the Herald Angel Award, Sarah Keyworth returns with a brand-new hour of comedy about the little things, the smallest details, the fixed and distinct aspects that make up what we definitively are, how we expressly think and who we unambiguously love.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 23rd August 2019First ever To Do List awards announced
Without further ado, here's our award-winning pick of the underdogs and offbeat treats that you just have to check out at the Fringe!
Rupert Dannreuther, To Do List, 23rd August 2019Eight step Fringe: Robyn Perkins
Comedian and ThreeWeeks Preview Edition cover star Robyn Perkins offers some tips on how to get the most from the Edinburgh Festival, in eight steps...
ThreeWeeks, 23rd August 2019Culture of victimhood and PC is destroying comedy
Are we living in a culture of offence? Do more and more of us get triggered by words? Is political correctness killing comedy? As a comedian in the final week of my show about freedom of speech at the Edinburgh Fringe, it certainly feels like it.
Konstantin Kisin, The Telegraph, 22nd August 2019Hannah Maxwell: I, AmDram interview
I can't help thinking that almost anyone who attends this here Fringe Festival on a regular basis - whether as a punter or a performer - has probably had a brush with amateur dramatics at some point. Whether it was here in Edinburgh or somewhere else entirely.
Caro Moses, ThreeWeeks, 22nd August 2019Interview: my festival: Baba Brinkman
'I haven't had any other job besides performing for 15 years now and it's a constant hustle..'
The Scotsman, 22nd August 2019Producer admits that comics need to fit into pigeonhole
'Some comedians don't have the right kind of audience for TV'
Chortle, 22nd August 2019Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards: interview
Following their award-winning show Enter The Dragons, A&E Comedy return with a surreal and darkly hilarious brouhaha directed by Cal McCrystal.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Archie Maddocks: interview
Archie Maddocks tackles the struggles of being alive in his latest hour of provocative, exhilarating and, crucially, hilarious comedy.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Shaunagh McClean: interview
It's the season of cutting carbs, hitting it hard at the gym, and shaving everything from the chin down.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Thieves at BBC nominated for a Malcolm Hardee Award
In what could be read as a two-finger sign to BBC Studios, 'President Obonjo' has today made a clean sweep in nominations for the three annual Malcolm Hardee Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 22nd August 201950 best jokes from Edinburgh Fringe 2019's shows
As the festival enters its final days, we round up the funniest gags on offer this year.
Alice Jones, i Newspaper, 22nd August 2019JoJo Sutherland recalls her most memorable gigs
'Because you're a woman, maybe my expectations were lower'
JoJo Sutherland, Chortle, 22nd August 2019Never step in dog poo, or never smell farts but yours?
Fringe comics answer another of Richard Herring's Emergency Questions.
Chortle, 22nd August 2019Even puns are offensive now
A comedian has been asked to apologise for a vegetable-based joke.
Spiked, 22nd August 2019Sofie Hagen: interview
The Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer winner is back with a comedy show about memory and swings specifically for bums.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Sophie Duker: interview
Sophie Duker is your Venus, she's your fire, your desire. Or is she?
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Anesti Danelis: interview
Anesti Danelis returns with a new hour of witty, ridiculous and delightfully dark songs that celebrate all the fun things in life like: identity crisis, stealing from work, inescapable rumours, alternative medicine, fearless youth, goats? and more!
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019How comedy is speaking up about abortion
It remains a contentious and emotive issue - but, despite opposition, comedians are determined to break taboos and speak their minds, writes Alice Jones.
Alice Jones, BBC, 22nd August 2019Fern Brady: fighting back against everyday sexism
Comedian Fern Brady has prepared a selection of ready-made comebacks for everyday sexism in the workplace - get ready to laugh.
Lauren Geall, Stylist, 22nd August 2019Deborah Frances-White's guilt-free feminism
Known for her success in recent years with the Guilty Feminist Podcast, Oxford graduate Deborah Frances-White has become quite the feminist celebrity.
Grace Baxendine, The National Student, 22nd August 2019Michael Odewale interview
Michael Odewale is selfish. And apathetic. And so are you.
Keira Brown, The Fountain, 22nd August 2019Why body image is a weighty issue at the Fringe
There are more than 3,000 shows at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, showcasing everything from political satire to hip modern reinventions of the circus big-top. One theme which has emerged this time is body image. But why's it become so popular now?
Vincent Dowd, BBC, 21st August 2019London Hughes: if I were a white, would I be in arenas?
She started her career on Babestation and CBBC -- now she's UK comedy's next big thing.
Alice Jones, i Newspaper, 21st August 2019We have some thoughts about that award-winning joke
No one has asked me what my opinion is on the issue. But I'm gonna tell you anyway, 'cause I can do what I want.
Blizzard Comedy, 21st August 2019+3 interview: Could It Be Magic?
"We have sold over 1200 tickets already from very strong word of mouth and whilst it's a comedy show the magic has been getting great reactions and gasps and cheers in all the right places."
Dan Lentell, Edinburgh49, 21st August 2019Eight steps Q&A: The Thinking Drinkers
Fringe veterans The Thinking Drinkers offer some tips on how to get the most from the Edinburgh Festival, in eight steps...
ThreeWeeks, 21st August 2019Fringe acts offered rooms in exchange for sex
Young performers and worker at the Edinburgh Fringe are being pressured into offering sex in return for accomodation, The Times has learnt.
Marc Horne, The Times, 21st August 2019The past Edinburgh Comedy Award winners you should know
Before we find out who won this year's prize, we've taken a look back over some of the most significant wins since the Edinburgh Comedy Awards began.
Zoe Paskett, Evening Standard, 21st August 2019Malcolm Hardee - the infamous tractor incident
With the revival of the Malcolm Hardee Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe this week, it is maybe timely to remember the late, great prankster's infamous incident with the tractor... Here is an extract from his autobiography I Stole Freddie Mercury's Birthday Cake...
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 21st August 2019Lolly Jones picks her comedy favourites
'Anyone talking about a ballbag is pretty funny...'
Lolly Jones, Chortle, 21st August 2019Tiff Stevenson talks to Ed Byrne: exclusive clip
We are delighted to have an exclusive teaser clip from comedian Tiff Stevenson's podcast Tiny Revolutions for the Funny Women community to hear first!
Kate Stone, Funny Women, 21st August 2019The comedy industry favours middle class performers
Out of all the people that try to make it as a professional comedian, the number that actually achieves that goal is relatively... well, tiny.
Wyane Farry, JOE, 21st August 2019If you got on Dragons' Den, what would you pitch?
Another from Richard Herring's stock of Emergency Questions.
Chortle, 21st August 2019Phil Nichol: "Comedy is the coalface of offence"
Phil Nichol tells us about his latest show Too Much.
Simon Gage, Metro, 21st August 2019Yuriko Kotani on doing different things in Japan
I was born and raised in Japan, but I perform stand-up comedy in the UK. The reason why I do comedy in Britain is that I love British comedy so much. I find the sense of humour a lot darker and drier, which is a lot more suited to me. In Japan you get dark stuff and comedy, but they don't tend to come as a pair. Doing comedy in another language is very hard. So is writing this article in my second language, but I love doing it and when jokes work and everyone is laughing it's so rewarding.
Yuriko Kotani, The Scotsman, 20th August 2019The boxing standup donning his grandad's gloves
James McNicholas is used to performing comedy sketches. Now he's letting his guard down for the story of middleweight champ turned movie star Terry Downes.
Chris Wiegand, The Guardian, 20th August 2019Putting the 'fun' into funerals
Comedians are celebrating being alive to use their final words to mock death, writes Jay Richardson.
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman, 20th August 2019Milo Edwards on continuing to perform after dad's death
We knew he was sick, he'd done his best to battle kidney cancer for over a year, and he was strong - the doctors thought he had a year or more left. But my dad, it seems, much like the British people, had had enough of the opinions of experts. Typical.
Milo Edwards, Beyond The Joke, 20th August 2019Jenny Bede picks her comedy favourites
'Some of the greatest few minutes of television ever made'
Jenny Bede, Chortle, 20th August 2019Njambi McGrath interview
"I think this country is traumatised by its own history"
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 20th August 2019An interview with The Establishment
With their Le Bureau de Strange, The Establishment are blowing away the Fringe.
The Mumble, 20th August 2019An interview with Eli Matthewson
The Fringe is currently tripping head over heels for a young and fabulous darling from New Zealand.
The Mumble, 20th August 2019Comedy King Of Scottish Twitter crowned
A judging panel of comedians appearing at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, including Fern Brady, Mark Nelson, Janey Godley and Ray Bradshaw has revealed @marcsimps0n as the winner of Scotland's funniest tweet.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th August 2019