Venue 33, Pleasance Courtyard, Pleasance One,
3rd-24th Aug (not 15, 22), 1.30pm-3.00pm
"A vibrant, stimulating showcase of talent."
WEDNESDAY 21st AUGUST 2024
Pleasance One, Venue 33
1.30pm-3.00pm
Tickets: £17.50
TODAY'S LINE UP
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Musicals and Opera (theatre, comedy)
A hilarious and heartfelt musical that tackles modern love in all its forms. From the perils and pitfalls of the first date to marriage, children, and the twilight years of life. Set in the modern world, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change traces the overall arc of relationships throughout the course of a life. An insightful and hilarious musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change will have audience members shouting... 'This is my life!'
Scott Bennett: Stuff (WIP)
Comedy (stand-up)
We love Stuff! It's who we are and who we want to be. But apparently, it's at odds with the looming environmental crisis… Comedian and former product designer Scott Bennett tries to cleanse his life of Stuff. Tour support for Micky Flanagan and Rob Brydon. Chortle Award nominee. From Live at the Apollo, News Quiz and The Now Show. 'Without doubt live comedy's best kept secret' (Evening Standard). ‘This barnstorming show made for a hugely entertaining night’ (Chortle.co.uk).
Good Luck, Cathrine Frost!
Theatre (comedy, new writing)
Smash-hit, one-woman show from the award-winning Det Andre Teatret is coming to Edinburgh! Nominated for Best Theatre Play by the prestigious Hedda award. Did you know Socrates was pregnant? Oh yes! He and his colleagues in Athens gave birth constantly. To something immortal, pure and civilized: ideas! Cathrine just gave life to a boring ugly baby. A true story about the universal act of being born, and how Socrates "forgot" to talk about it. A clever, funny, existential play about philosophy and childbirth – with a touch of dubstep and karate.
How I Learned to Swim
Theatre (new writing, artist(s) of colour)
Jamie can’t swim. Bit awkward when you’re 30. Fuelled by guilt and a need to mend her broken family, Jamie is taking on her biggest fear, the ocean. With the help of a chipper swim instructor, a shady spiritual guide and one cathartic crab sandwich, she’s questioning, ‘how many lengths does it take to wash away regret?’ Brilliantly witty, deeply heartfelt, this play explores what lies beneath the surface of Black people’s relationship to water. Somebody Jones’ searing debut is 'funny with fear, liberating with grief' (FringeReview.co.uk) and impossible to walk away from unchanged.
3 Chickens Confront Existence
Theatre (comedy, drama)
Three factory farm chickens attempt to find a greater sense of purpose by engaging each other in a series of philosophical debates, games, feuds and emotional experiments while awaiting their imminent trip to the broiler.
Ashley Gavin: My Therapist is Dying
Comedy (stand-up)
After a sell-out UK tour earlier this year, New York City’s Ashley Gavin brings a new show to the Fringe. Ashley has been featured on Netflix is a Joke, Hulu and Comedy Central, and regularly sells out theatres across the US. The host of top-charting podcast We're Having Gay Sex, her self released special Ashley Gavin: Live in Chicago is quickly approaching one million views on YouTube. ‘Screamingly funny comedic-force-of-nature’ (GO Magazine). ‘A great comedian, no other adjectives needed’ (Comedy Bureau). ‘Very funny... bringing queer joy to audiences across the country’ (TimeOut).
Shantify!
Music (family-friendly, live music)
Join this incredible crew of West End leading men as they transform show tunes, rock classics and pop bangers into fabulous sea shanties. Our fantastic cast, hailing from Les Miserables, Jersey Boys, Phantom, Choir of Man, Mamma Mia etc, will take your favourite songs, give them a nautical twist, and deliver a fabulously fun hour of entertainment you will not want to miss. Featuring songs from your favourite West End Musicals, as well as tracks by Elton John, Beyonce, and even The Spice Girls! Come and join us for some rip-roaring tunes as we Shantify the Fringe in 2024!
Mervyn Stutter
Host and Compere
Mervyn has been in the entertainment industry since 1974. He started in theatre where he acted, wrote scripts, songs, and directed for around 14 years. In the 1980s, he became the 'regular topical song bloke' on the BBC TV's first ever daytime show, 'Open Air', fronted by a thin Irishman called Eamonn Holmes. Over the years he has performed weekly topical songs on many TV current affairs programmes and more of the same on radio. In the late 1980s, he took his comedy songs onto the Comedy Circuit and then touring theatres. Merv's first Edinburgh Fringe was in 1986 and he has been every year since. 'Pick of the Fringe' started life as 'Have you seen anything good?', a show to help answer the perennial Fringe-goer question. The title was changed to 'Pick of the Fringe' in 1994 and it he has built it up into one of the must-see Fringe shows.
“Mervyn Stutter is very, very good as compere of this chat show, for to make such a showcase work requires skill, talent and quick reactions. Stutter works the crowd like the showman he is.”
THE OBSERVER