Five of the funniest shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Surrealist sketches, interactive adventures, coming-of-age comedies, and more...
Hello, and welcome to The Crush Bar, a weekly newsletter about theatre written by me, Fergus Morgan.
This issue is one of twelve specials I will be sending out during July and August, all focused on shows performing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Each issue will highlight five shows worth watching - three picked by me, plus a couple of promotional ones, too.
Some issues will be themed, some won’t be. Some shows I will have seen and loved myself, some I will just have heard good things about. All of them, though, will be made by exciting, mostly emerging/early-career artists.
You can read more about the thinking behind The Crush Bar here, and you can subscribe to get it sent straight into your inbox - go on! - using the button below…
Almost Adult - Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 1.40pm
LAMDA-trained writer and actor Charlotte Anne-Tilley makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut with Almost Adult, a hilarious and heart-warming coming-of-age comedy based on her own experiences of moving from Macclesfield to London in her early twenties.
With a winning mixture of clowning and character comedy, Anne-Tilley plays Hope, a young woman in the big city struggling to cope with the situations she finds herself in, from online dating, to awkward living arrangements, to – trigger warnings attached – sexual harassment in the workplace.
Almost Adult was part of the online Edinburgh Fringe last year, under a different name, and has already had an acclaimed run at The Space in London. It is not all Anne-Tilley is doing at this year’s festival, either: she has also created the #FemiFringe guide to female-led and non-binary-led shows, and is producing the #FemiFringe Podcast, together with F-Bomb Theatre.
The Delightful Sausage: Nowt But Sea - Monkey Barrel Comedy, 12.45pm
Yorkshire-born, Manchester-based absurdist comedy duo The Delightful Sausage – Chris Cantrill and Amy Gledhill – were shortlisted for the Edinburgh Comedy Award back in 2019 for Ginster’s Paradise, a brilliantly bizarre sketch show set in a Hi-de-hi!-style holiday camp.
The pair are back this year. Both have solo shows – Cantrill’s is The Bad Boy, Gledhill’s is The Girl Before The Girl You Marry – but they are also teaming up with comedian Paul Dunphy to perform their new hour, Nowt But Sea – a sketch show set on a luxury island – at The Monkey Barrel all month.
How to describe The Delightful Sausage? They are surreal and silly, of course, but their shows are also cleverly constructed with sharp social observations, too. They are utterly unique, and quite brilliant. Get a taste of them by watching them on Harry Hill’s Clubnite here.
Fashion Spies - Assembly George Square, 1pm
Award-winning, Midlands-based company Quick Duck Theatre has two productions at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Artistic director Will Jackson is performing the follow-up to his acclaimed 2019 solo show Yours, Sincerely. Titled Confetti, it is an infectiously fun, unashamedly queer romcom following a character rarely seen in the spotlight, the gay best friend.
The company is also bringing three-handed, family-friendly comedy Fashion Spies to Scotland after its run at VAULT Festival was cancelled earlier this year. Written and directed by Jackson, it is an interactive, choose-your-own adventure, set in the deceitful world of high fashion, and it is suitable for anyone aged seven and above.
Expensive items have been filched from fashion shows around the world, and the audience has to crack the case. “Think Devil Wears Prada meets Spy Kids,” explains Jackson. “There are car chases, songs, and an underground revolution led by some talking foxes. What more could you want?”
The Best Ideas Happen In The Toilet - TheSpace Triplex, 6.15pm
Carlisle-raised, Edinburgh-based Portuguese performer Claudia Saavedra’s debut solo show The Best Ideas Happen In The Toilet premiered with a hit one-night-stand at London’s Etcetera Theatre earlier this year. Now, it arrives at the Edinburgh Fringe for a limited run from August 14-18 at TheSpace Triplex.
Written and performed by Fourth Monkey graduate Saavedra, directed by Emily Ingram, and produced by Jacqueline Crain, The Best Ideas Happen In The Toilet is a one-woman tragi-comedy about the struggle to survive in a world of dodgy landlords, dodgy auditions and even dodgier boyfriends. Saavedra plays Frankie, a young woman trying to find work as performer, and to find herself in the process. It’s a frank and funny story about love, loss and trying to abide by the rules when all you really want is to stay in bed and have wine for breakfast.
The show is partly autobiographical, explains Saavedra, and partly inspired by the experiences of her friends. With this short Edinburgh run, she hopes to start making a name for herself as an individual artist and to connect with potential collaborators. “I want people to know who I am, and what sort of work I do,” she says. “I want this to be a platform for further work.”
This is promotional content.
2 Mouthed Men - Underbelly Bristo Square, 5.20pm
The Edinburgh Fringe has produced dozens of famous comedy duos over the years – from Fry and Laurie in the early 1980s, to Mitchell and Webb in the 1990s, to Flight Of The Conchords in the 2000s. In recent years, sketch duos Goodbear and Flo and Joan have made names for themselves at the festival. To that illustrious list, you can add the names Daniel Stanger-Cornwell and James Hawley, AKA the musical comedians 2 Mouthed Men.
The duo first met as first-year drama students at the University of Exeter, realised they shared a love of both beatboxing and sketch comedy, and decided to start making shows together. They first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2018, returned in 2019, were finalists at the Musical Comedy Awards in 2020, and now bring their third full show to Underbelly Bristo Square for the first nine days of the festival.
Expect everything from absurdist skits to observational humour – and lots of beatboxing. “I say that the show is like Nina Conti meets Bo Burnham meets Aunty Donna meets a live music gig,” explains producer Harry Neal. “Daniel and James are so talented and funny. We want to meet people. We want to do variety gigs outside the show. We want to spread the word about 2 Mouthed Men.”
This is promotional content.
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If you want to get in touch with me to ask about anything, or to suggest someone who deserves a shout-out in this newsletter, you can reach me on Twitter - I’m @FergusMorgan - or by simply replying to this email. That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.
Fergus Morgan