Part circus, part séance, Party Ghost is coming to Edinburgh

Part circus, part séance, Party Ghost (Adelaide Fringe's Best Circus Winner 2023) is a visually striking, ghoulish depiction of purgatory through a comedic pop culture lens, taking audiences on a journey through post-death via theatre, jokes, drag and cucumber sandwiches.

Performer Jarred Dewey divulged to us here at BCG the inspiration behind Party Ghost, why death is the perfect subject for an Edinburgh show and how being a ghost is actually quite hard work.

How did you come up with the idea for Party Ghost? Were there any personal experiences or insane dreams that inspired this delightfully absurd concept?

We were possessed with inspiration drawing from our own personal experiences with death and the deceased, finding joy in the dark as a way to both deal with and make light of taboo topics. Concepts of ghostly identity crises and the perspective of the ghost - what does it mean to become a ghost? To mourn your worldly senses... to crave a cigarette but never get a final puff?

What part of your show would you like people still to be quoting or re-enacting in years to come?

The finale is definitely an unforgettable descent into death that has touched the hearts and souls of many a macabre audience member. It's a series of unexpected delights that keeps escalating into a final reveal that will make you beg for an afterlife so you can come play with us forever and ever and ever... trust me, you will never hear Hello by Adele the same way again.

Why have you chosen the subject of death for an Edinburgh Fringe show?

Edinburgh is the PERFECT spooky setting for our twisted show about death! As one of our audience members once said, "Party Ghost is the most life-affirming show about death" they had ever seen. This show is as much about celebration as it is about death. It's about dethroning the serious and having a laugh at the absurdity of life that we know Fringe audiences will froth over.

And it's ... well, it's about twin sisters? If they are stuck in perpetual birthday purgatory, does that mean they get presents every single day?

Yes, they do get presents every single day BUT only one to share between them. So whoever the lucky sister is gets more than they bargained for when it's their turn to unwrap it! Just imagine having to share your birthday present with all the attention every single day... on repeat... things might get a little tense.

What challenges have you faced staging a show at a never-ending birthday party with two dead/not dead twin sisters?

The constant happy birthday melody playing on repeat for eternity can be quite maddening and the UNBELIEVABLE amount of laundry we have at the end of each show... being a ghost is more work than you might expect!