2023 Edinburgh Fringe
Graham Linehan free speech show cancelled by Leith Arches
- A free speech show has been cancelled by its host venue at the Edinburgh Fringe
- Comedy Unleashed's Thursday night showcase has been cancelled for the inclusion of Graham Linehan
- It would have been the comedy writer's Fringe debut, but venue Leith Arches has blocked the event from going ahead
A mixed bill comedy show that was due to include Graham Linehan has been cancelled over his involvement.
Best known as the co-writer of Father Ted and creator of The IT Crowd, Linehan has made a small number of stand-up appearances this year in shows staged by East London-based club Comedy Unleashed.
Resident at the Backyard Comedy Club, they were due to stage a showcase this Thursday evening at Leith Arches in the northern Edinburgh suburb of Leith, part of the city's internationally famous Festival Fringe.
The show would have been Graham Linehan's debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, appearing alongside MC Bruce Devlin and stand-ups Mary Bourke, Dominic Frisby and Alistair Williams, and was almost sold out.
However, after British Comedy Guide revealed yesterday that Linehan would be its "surprise famous cancelled comedian", the venue has cancelled the entire show, citing his views rather than any potential material as the reason.
Writing on X/Twitter, Linehan commented simply: "Holy shit the venue has cancelled the WHOLE GIG because I'm on the bill."
Comedy Unleashed co-founder and promoter Andrew Doyle said this evening: "It is astonishing that a comedy night at the largest arts festival in the world should be prevented from going ahead, simply because activists are offended.
"The comedy industry is in a dire state. It's about time that promoters, venues, comedy critics and comedians made a concerted effort to support free expression in the arts."
In an initial, now-deleted social media post, the venue said this afternoon: [sic] "we would like to thank the public for bringing to our attention, about a comedian who had been booked for an upcoming comedy show at our venue this Thursday, which we WERE NOT MADE AWARE OF until today via emails from, rightly so, outraged members of our community. We DO NOT suppprt this comedian, or his views and he WILL NOT be allowed to perform at our venue and is CANCELLED from Thursdays comedy show with immediate effect. An outside organiser was responsible for the lineup and we were unaware as to who was performing until now. We are an inclusive venue and will not allow such views to violate our space."
An updated statement adds: "We have made the decision to cancel this show, as we are an inclusive venue and this [show] does not align with our overall values."
Comedy Unleashed bills itself as "the home of free-thinking comedy", booking comics from all - and no - political backgrounds.
British Comedy Guide has approached Leith Arches for comment.