FESTIVAL MUSIC | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx FESTIVAL MUSIC | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx FESTIVAL COMEDY | Top Tips
JOANNE MCNALLY In case you hadn’t noticed, the Irish are still churning out comedians by the churn-load. With plenty charm and much verve, McNally follows up last year’s Bite Me with Wine Tamer, a show about the fibs we can’t stop telling ourselves. Pleasance Courtyard, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 6.45pm, £7–£10 (£6.50–£9). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6.
TANIA EDWARDS: NOT MY DOG Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 2–26 Aug (not 13), 3.15pm, £5. A dark exploration of modern life and our need to (mis)represent it, from stand-up Tania Edwards who has written for Mock the Week, Stand Up for the Week and Twit of the Year. TESSA COATES: WITCH HUNT Pleasance Courtyard, 4–26 Aug, 3.30pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6. After a sell-out debut, one third of Massive Dad returns with another show about how we got here – and where we’re supposed to go next. Armed with an absolutely useless degree in Anthropology, she combines storytelling with very intense academic research. Which is surely what everyone wants from their comedy.
4PM PHIL KAY: LIGHTER HOUR Heroes @ Boteco, 2–12 Aug, 4pm, 74 THE LIST FESTIVAL 3–8 Aug 2017 74 THE LIST FESTIVAL 3–8 Aug 2017 74 THE LIST FESTIVAL 1–8 Aug 2018
£10 (£8). See Phil nail all today’s major issues in his fast not furious, voice-based show. Master of mirth and energy, skipping from one thing to the next: a wheelbarrow display team, dog bites in Bangkok, and being a swineherd. VIV GROSKOP: VIVALICIOUS Underbelly Med Quad, 4–26 Aug (not 13), 4.10pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6.50. A show about self-help in the coming age of President Oprah. In this era of reinvention, Viv wants to be the best possible version of herself. So why is that so hard?
ARTHUR SMITH: SYD Pleasance Dome, 4–19 Aug, 4.10pm, £10–£12.50 (£9–£11). Following the success of Arthur Smith Sings Leonard Cohen, the comedian, again accompanied by the mellifluous Smithereens, tells the story of his own father in this brand-new show. Syd Smith fought at El Alamein, became
a POW and ended the war in the notorious Colditz Castle in Germany. WILLIAM ANDREWS: WILLY Pleasance Courtyard, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 4.45pm, £9–£12 (£8–£11). Previews 1–3 Aug, £7. A return to stand-up for this cult idiot. William is wholeheartedly embracing the Willy he always was, telling stories with a beguiling blend of daft creativity and ingenuity.
PAUL SINHA: THE TWO AGES OF MAN The Stand, 3–26 Aug (not 6 & 7), 4.55pm, £12 (£11). Preview 1 Aug, £5. After last year’s sell-out run, Paul returns to Edinburgh with his life, seemingly, still bordering on disarray. Having spent two decades juggling disparate careers, loneliness, heartbreak, a multitude of vices and an overwhelming urge to show off his general knowledge, he finds that just as one problem disappears, another suddenly emerges.
5PM
LUKE MCQUEEN: MONSTER Heroes @ The Hive, 2–26 Aug (not 15), 5pm, £5. A fifth stab at surreal anti-comedy from the stand-up who once had a working relationship with Jack Whitehall.
TESSA WATERS: FULLY SIK Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt, 2–26 Aug (not 13), 5pm, £5. Turbo-charged physical comedy kween Tessa Waters packs a non-stop rollercoaster ride of LOLs into one high-octane hour of sketch and improv.
PAUL MAYHEW-ARCHER: INCURABLE OPTIMIST Underbelly Bristo Square, 4–26 Aug (not 13), 5.15pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6.50. Paul has Parkinson’s, but he’s still laughing. Following an award-winning BBC documentary, Parkinson’s: The Funny Side, here’s a one-man show about the therapeutic power of comedy. VIGGO VENN: PEPITO Underbelly Cowgate, 4–14 Aug, 5.20pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £7. After full runs at Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, award-winning Norwegian, Viggo Venn, is back with a new version of last year’s show.
IMRAN YUSUF: SAINT, SINNER, SUFI The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 3–26 Aug (not 6, 13 & 14, 20), 5.30pm, £10 (£9). Preview 2 Aug, £9 (£8). Everyone is offended, everyone is a victim, no one is happy. A show for bleeding heart liberals and angry disenfranchised victims. A show for good guys, bad guys and those who know better. ZOE LYONS: ENTRY LEVEL HUMAN Gilded Balloon Teviot, 4–26 Aug, 5.45pm, £11.50–£12.50 (£9.50– £10.50). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6. The popular comic returns to the Fringe with a fresh crop of quick-fire observational gags, delivered with utter conviction.
6PM HENNING WEHN: GET ON WITH IT Just The Tonic at the Caves, 2–26 Aug (not 6 & 7, 13 & 14, 20 & 21), 6pm, £12.50. Surely the German Comedy Ambassador hasn’t bosched out yet another new show? Henning’s most recent television and radio appearances include Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You. ROSE MATAFEO: HORNDOG Pleasance Courtyard, 4–26 Aug (not 14), 6.20pm, £10–£11 (£8–£9). Previews 1–3 Aug, £6. Join Rose for a brand-new hour of critically acclaimed stand-up, sketch and mid-20s angst. As seen on W1A and Have I Got News for You.