Thought Daughters & Toussaint's Pigeon

Comedy shows to see this week :)

clockwise from top-left: Toussaint Douglass, Kiran Saggu, Erika Ehler, Shelf, Priya Hall, Leila Navabi, Rob Copland

Hello!

I have to begin with this because I know it has been concerning a lot of people: my Edinburgh Fringe accommodation is sorted! Probably! Look, we can make plans until the cows come home but nothing is ever fully guaranteed, things can always go wrong again and this is exactly the nice positive tone I always like to start the newsletter with. BUT I am hopeful that this one is going to stick, and it means I am now able to start planning properly!

I’m digging out my show schedule spreadsheet template! It’s colour-coded and separated by geographic zones for maximum efficiency – happy to share this if any other losers share my bananas level of Fringe organisation. This spreadsheet is my lifeline and also my secret to seeing seven shows a day :)

I’m dusting off my budget spreadsheet! This is a lot less fun. It is not colourful in any way. It does not deserve to be celebrated.

I’m searching for a new pair of trainers with good arch support and giving it enough time to wear them in comfortably enough so that I’m prepared for all the power-walking I’ll be doing up and down Cowgate.

There will be a short LMAOnaise break while I go on holiday, so you’ll have a newsletter next week but then a small gap where I sun myself, eat Tzatziki and stuffed courgette flowers, and maybe get on a sailing boat as long as I don’t have to do any sailing. (If you can guess where I’m going on holiday, you get a Twirl – just kidding, no you don’t, I owe too many people Twirls from last week’s newsletter when I failed to properly set the Ts and Cs for winning and Twirl…)

I know it might seem like a good idea to sit outside in the sun instead of going to see some potentially life-changing comedy but that’s actually wrong. An evening in the sun is fleeting, and a comedy show never gave anyone sunburn.

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Comedy shows to see!

Kiran Saggu & Erika Ehler: Thought Daughters

June 28th, 7:30pm
The Pen Theatre; Tickets here

Two phenomenal stand-ups? Together at last? Kiran Saggu and Erika Ehler are joining forces to dig deep into their minds for some very cerebral comedy. Both of these two gave brilliant performances at last year’s Fringe – Kiran with her fantastic debut and Erika returning with a sophomore show with as much bite as her first. Go for the thought, stay for the daughters.

FOC IT UP: Pride Edition

Jun 28th, 9:15pm
Soho Theatre; Tickets here

Who needs Glastonbury when you’ve got the FOC IT UP! Comedy Club? This line-up is better than ANYTHING you’ll see on the big triangle stage. Kemah Bob is the consummate host as ever, joined by Priya Hall, Leila Navabi, Emily Bampton, Crayola and AJ Yi for special Pride edition.

Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material

Jun 25th, 7:40pm
Pleasance Islington, Tickets here

Big fan of this – this is one of the Fringe debut’s I’m really looking forward to. I first came across Toussaint Douglass as part of Piñata’s lockdown Euro ĩsion (a comedians’ song contest), when he sang a song about the actual size of a Hula Hoop that has been intermittently in my head for more than four years now. His show, Accessible Pigeon Material, is about love, loss and pigeons. All I really know about it is pigeons, actually. And sometimes that’s enough!

London Clown Festival

June 16th-July 4th
Soho Theatre & Jacksons Lane; Tickets here

London Clown Festival is back! You can see oh so many shows from some of the absolute best people clowning in the UK right now including Jessica Barton, Lachlan Werner, Lil Wenker, Paulina Lenoir & Patricia Langa, Freddie Hayes and Dan Lees. There are also some smashing mixed bill nights in there you should hit up: A Night of Drama, where the cast of clowns is live-directed in a melodramatic period piece, and Naughty Cabaret, which combines comedy, cabaret and circus and is hosted by the magnificent Anna Marie Simonsen and Marie Kallevik Straume (who made me so happy with their show, Troll, at the Fringe a couple of years ago).

A bit more on a couple of LCF shows below…

50 Ways to Kill A Slug

June 17th, 8:30pm; June 18-21st, 7:30pm
Soho Theatre; Wardrobe Theatre Bristol; Tickets here

It’s the age of the slug – a slimy lump chomping its way through your lettuce leaves, trying to avoid the dreaded table salt. Joana Nastari and Dre Spisto are the first theatre-makers of the week celebrating slugs – the ultimate underdog – as a symbol of radical rest and resistance against toxic positivity. (The London show is technically sold out, but I’ve rarely met a Soho Theatre sold out performance that couldn’t be accessed with a phone call… And there are a bunch of Bristol shows straight after!)

Slug in a Club

June 21st, 10:15pm
Soho Theatre; Tickets here

Speaking of slugs… It’s not often you get two slug opportunities in one newsletter. This particular slug is going to the club. Slug in a Club, from the be-slugged Vidya Divakaran, combines clowning, stand-up and dance to take the audience on a journey through the ups and downs of a night out. Readers might already know Vidya as one of the hosts of alternative comedy night Soft Play Area (alongside director of this show, Maria Telnikoff), which also has a top line-up this Thursday, 12th – check it out here.

Lucy Pearman & Joe Kent-Walters

June 18th, 7pm
Where Else? Margate; Tickets here

A long-time fave and a newer-time fave join forces for this glorious Chump’s lunar double bill in Margate. Lucy Pearman is the Moon in her new show, Lunartic, which is coming to Edinburgh and which I’m extremely excited about as it’s been a while since I last saw her. Joining her is Joe Kent-Walters as Frankie Monroe, the breakout star of last year’s Fringe and owner of The Misty Moon, the Rotherham working men’s club what is also a portal to hell, and who is now dead and performing from beyond the grave. You will love this show, and if you don’t, we’ll have a chat about your future with this newsletter.

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