Creatures, Lock Up Your Daughters and a lot of Edinburgh previews
Comedy shows to see this week :)
Hello!
I’m back from Greece! Yay(ish). I had a glorious and extremely relaxing time and now it’s July somehow. Not quite sure what that’s about but I suspect it has something to do with the passage of time.
A slight warning / heads up / whatever the positive version of warning is: it’s all Edinburgh and Edinburgh previews at the moment. You’ll be reading a lot about previews and a lot about the Fringe, as is the way at this time of year. In my opinion, it’s a win-win situation for everyone. If you’re going, you can start getting excited. If you’re not, you can gorge yourself on all of the hundreds of previews going on up and down the land.
Speaking of Edinburgh, I’m thinking of ways to get the word out about as many brilliant shows as I can. Word-of-mouth is such a HUGE part of how recommendations get circulated during the Fringe, and I want to be able to tell people about them before it’s too late to get tickets! SO, now LMAOnaise is on WhatsApp. Not in a spammy way: you don’t get messages or have to reply to anything, you can just follow and read it like a news feed when you want to.
Follow LMAOnaise on WhatsApp for daily on-the-ground comedy hot tips!
Look, as usual, I’m just trying stuff out! Reaching new people is hard! Instagram is SO MUCH EFFORT now. Every platform wants you to post reels! I’m not making reels to stay relevant! I write long, wordy things and always will. That is just who I am. So, if you’re going to Edinburgh and want tips from the horse’s mouth, help me out. Let’s give it a go. Let’s see if it’s got legs!
Comedy shows to see!
Creatures Comedy Festival
July 15-26th
Creatures Comedy Club; Tickets here
Manchester comedy fans, lucky old you. Creatures Comedy Festival returns and it’s huge. Pick from oh so many Fringe previews by Celya AB, Huge Davies, Rob Copland, Katie Norris, Alison Spittle, Sikisa and more, or returning shows from the likes of Alex Franklin and Rachel Kaly. Or if you want a smorgasbord, there are opening and closing showcases on Saturday 19th to get a sample of good’uns across the festival, and the Best In Class show on Sunday 20th, platforming a bunch of brilliant working class comics.
Soft Play Area
July 10th, 7:30pm
The Karaoke Hole, Dalston; Tickets here
The wonderful double act Maria Telnikoff and Vidya Divakaran (who happen to be getting ready for their debut Fringe hour) bring the latest Soft Play Area to the Karaoke Hole. It’s a seriously fun night where everyone is obligated to have a Nice Time and Enjoy Themselves. This edition’s line-up has Paulina Lenoir and Julia Masli teaming up for something “cosmically ordained”, alongside Cabbage the Clown, Francisco de Nata who is a giraffe, Meysoun Khan, Eleanor Chilton-Sutton, Bi-Curious George, Rosie Nicholls and the Hoop Lord aka Eugénie Bakker. A wonderful mix of styles with plenty of surprises.
Summer in the Ditch
July 10-19th
Shoreditch Town Hall; Tickets here
It’s the second year of ditch-dwelling queer performance as a combo of musicians, artists, poets and comedians work things out in the Shoreditch Town Hall basement. There is so much to see – I recommend having a look at the programme and taking a punt. Some highlights I’ve plucked out, if you need a hand: Drag king Fabio Lezonli will be doing the worm a lot and sharing his Tommy Wiseau-style talent in Scream If You Want to Worm Faster (July 10th), Frankie Thompson is focusing on all things horrible in her new experiment, Horrible Things (July 10th), Posey Mehta blends drag, clown and razzle dazzle in Mitzi Fitz (July 18th) and Ross Obolensky’s Avrilgänger unpacks the Avril Lavigne doppelgänger conspiracy (July 19th)
The Bridge House Theatre Comedy Festival
July 19th
The Bridge House Theatre, Penge; Tickets here
A packed day in Penge! Would you believe it if I told you there were Edinburgh Fringe previews happening? You’d better, because there are. This mini-festival features Sam Nicoresti, Ellen Turnhill Montoya, Andy Barr, Just the Two of Us (Soft Play) and Lucy Pearman doing their hours. The day ends with Benjamin Alborough and Michael Brunström’s The Greatest Show on Earth, a mixed bill with the paid as co-ringmasters
Southwark Playhouse Fringe previews
July 9-11th
Southwark Playhouse; Tickets here
Three sets of brilliant comedy pairs head to Southwark Playhouse for – you guessed it – Edinburgh previews! It’s a fab mix of exciting newcomers and well-known faves: on Wednesday, Liam Withnall and Ian Smith bring their new shows, with Ayoade Bamgboye and Celya AB following suit on Thursday. Desiree Burch and Joseph Morpurgo round it off on Friday.
Lock Up Your Daughters
July 12th, 7pm
Moth Club, Hackney; Tickets here
Get those bars on your daughters’ windows tightened! Don’t let them out! Or maybe just for one night, because Lorna Rose Treen’s Moth Club mixed bill returns, with a totally bonkers line-up that shouldn’t be missed. Every single one of the people on this bill is fantastically funny: Lara Ricote, Samira Banks, Jodie Mitchell, Frankie Thompson, Jonathan Oldfield, and Flo & Joan!
Fringe Features: Makin’ Magic!!
It’s back! The annual Fringe Feature series has returned for a FOURTH year and I’m really excited for you to meet all the brilliant comedians who have written stories for the series. In previous years we’ve published pieces on the themes of debuts, fantasy and gossip. This year, the theme is…MAGIC. Paying tribute to the feeling of magic you experience in really special Fringe moments.
Our first batch of comedians is Bella Hull, Ada Player & Bron Waugh and Lorna Rose Treen, talking about spells, potions and things beyond the realm of understanding. Have a read of their features and look out for more – they’ll be dropping throughout the rest of the month.
Disclaimer: I’m sorry to say this is not our pivot to being a newsletter about magic shows, though if enough people want it…………I like magic! Sue me!
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