Press clippings Page 3
Fringe on a theme: returning Fringe legends
At the Fringe it is easy to focus on new artists and overlook those who helped shaped stand-up before it became a viable career - here's where to catch those legends in Edinburgh this year.
Ben Venables, The Skinny, 26th July 2017How comedy captured the Edinburgh Fringe: part 3
In the third part of our Fringe history, two long-forgotten venues put comedy before theatre with the help of Austin Powers and a Wonder Dog.
Ben Venables, The Skinny, 11th July 2017Ivor Dembina: comedian's response to the London attack
Less than two weeks ago, Andrew Maxwell gave his response to the terrorist killings in Manchester. Today, we asked Ivor Dembina to share his thoughts on the the latest terrorist atrocity, which happened less than a mile from Ivor's home in London.
Martin Walker, Broadway Baby, 5th June 2017Interview: Ivor Dembina
For controversial stand-up comedian Ivor Dembina, the old jokes are still among the best.
Daniel Keane, ABC News (Australia), 23rd February 2017Podcast: Ivor Dembina times three
Veteran comedian, Ivor Dembina, returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with no less than three shows. Given that he's 65 years old, that's probably too many, but then, he hasn't written one of them yet. This is a shame, because the first performance of I Should Have Listened to Ivor Dembina starts today...
Martin Walker, Broadway Baby, 16th August 2016Ten most controversial acts at Edinburgh Fringe 2016
Comedy on TV and in the clubs is safe and inoffensive. Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe is no different, because most of the shows don't exist for your benefit. They're being staged in the hopes of grabbing the attention of industry bigwigs and broadcasters. So, it makes sense to be as bland and agreeable as possible, because that's what the real target audience - i.e. people who can help your showbiz career - seem to be looking for. However, not everyone at the Fringe is pandering. Not everyone is desperate to be liked and accepted. And provocative performers haven't gone extinct just yet. If you want politically incorrect jokes, to be taken out of your comfort zone, or to hear someone challenge social orthodoxies, then here's ten acts I'd recommend you go and see at Edinburgh Fringe 2016. If you're a bit of a pussy, though, then best avoid all of these.
Jay Islaam, The Huffington Post, 9th August 2016Fringe: where shows with no audience can get 4* reviews
I was already behind on six interesting blog chats which I had had last week and which I had been going to post in the days leading up to my arrival in Edinburgh.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 3rd August 201610 Fringe comedians aged over 60
Edinburgh's often very focussed on the young and the new. But forget those whipper-snappers, complaining about the weight of turning 30, what about those with real experience of the world? Here's our round-up of just some of the over-60s hitting the festival. In ascending order of age.
Chortle, 21st July 2016Ivor Dembina: alternative comedy hates working class
The idea of offence in stand-up only arose because comedy became more middle-class in the wake of the alternative cabaret boom of the 1980s. That's according to comedian and promoter Ivor Dembina, who argues that in sweeping away the sexist and racist comics of the 1970s, the scene became prone to 'middle-class hypocrisy'.
Chortle, 14th January 2016Live review: Ivor Dembina, Old Jewish Jokes, Albany, W1
What is it that makes Jewish humour simultaneously so Jewish and so universal? Ivor Dembina's show at the Albany, Old Jewish Jokes, provides some clues.
Brandon Robshaw, Beyond The Joke, 24th November 2015