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On the fringe of fame: star comics caught on camera in their early days at Edinburgh

July 15, 2017TheGuardian

A stash of film shot in the 1990s chronicles the rise of comedy’s big names including Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon and Jo Brand

As the Edinburgh festival prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary, a trove of portraits has emerged, cataloguing the history of some of the most celebrated comedians from its fringe.

The photographs feature Michael McIntyre, Eddie Izzard, Jo Brand and others, from when they were struggling for laughs in the back rooms of Edinburgh pubs. They came to light when the photographer Rich Hardcastle was putting together a book to mark his 25 years in the business.

Related: 25 years of shooting comedians

On stage their whole performance is an amplification of their personality. When they’re off stage they’re sort of normal

Heard the one about the standup who built lift shafts? Comedians on their previous careers

July 11, 2017TheGuardian

Modelling bras for Asda, giving tours of parliament, proving yourself on a building site … top comics relive their old day jobs

Alex Salmond to star in Edinburgh Fringe show

July 11, 2017TheGuardian

Ex-first minister to host Alex Salmond Unleashed – billed as mix of comedy, music, political reminiscence and chats with guests

Alex Salmond vowed to bounce back after losing his parliamentary seat last month. “You’ve not seen the last of my bonnet and me,” he said, paraphrasing a Jacobite song.

The former Scottish National party leader and ex-first minister of Scotland is aiming to fulfil that prediction next month, though not with a return to frontline politics.

The must-see standup of summer 2017: Daniel Kitson, Sara Pascoe, Rob Delaney and more

June 13, 2017TheGuardian

The star of Catastrophe brings carnality, the elusive Kitson attempts to ‘alter language’, Sara Pascoe goes dating, while Hannah Gadsby goes out with a bang

Penn and Teller
Las Vegas’s loss is Britain’s gain, as the veteran magic double-act return for UK tour. Publicity has focused on Penn Jillette’s relationship with the US president, with whom he worked on Celebrity Apprentice in 2012. “We wish we could make Trump disappear,” ran the headlines. That’s not, unfortunately, the prospectus for their new show, which should feature the usual impressive combination of jazzy set pieces hyped by Penn and tender conjuring vignettes by Teller.
• At Hammersmith Apollo, London, 20-25 June. Box office: 0844-249 4300.

Rob Delaney
When he first gigged in the UK, the American comic Rob Delaney was mainly famous for being funny on Twitter. Two years ago, cresting Channel 4’s hit show Catastrophe, he delivered a depraved (his word) standup show entitled Meat. This summer, that carnival of carnality is back.
• At Leicester Square theatre, London, 5-15 July. Box office: 020-7734 2222.

Laugh a minute: Edinburgh festival’s 2017 comedy lineup

June 8, 2017TheGuardian

Sara Pascoe looks at life after a breakup, Trygve Wakenshaw brings his baby on stage, and Alexei Sayle, Ruby Wax and talkshow king Craig Ferguson all return to the fringe this year

In recent years, they’ve populated the shortlists of Edinburgh’s major comedy awards. Now they’re back in town with all-new shows to unleash on the world. The 2011 comedy award champ, Adam Riches, returns with what he’s calling – accurately enough, I’d guess – Inane Chicanery. The 2015 best newcomer, Sofie Hagen, and 2016 best show nominee Al Porter – both excellent comics – return with new sets. Then there’s one of the country’s smartest, most inquisitive – and funniest – acts, Sara Pascoe, back at the fringe after a year off, with a new show, LadsLadsLads, about life after a breakup. (Her ex, John Robins, addresses the same subject elsewhere in town …)

How Bridget Christie found the funny side of Brexit

February 3, 2017TheGuardian

After the EU referendum result, Bridget Christie ripped up her Edinburgh show and created a new one in just a few weeks. This is an anatomy of a standup set that has changed with the headlines

Creating a new hour of standup can be a lengthy process. Most comics spend months writing material and honing punchlines. For many, performing a run in Edinburgh is the final goal. For more established names, there’s life after the fringe, with possible London runs and national tours. So what happens when, after months of labouring over an idea, world events derail your plans? On 23 June, Britain voted to leave the EU. Suddenly that seemed far more important to Bridget Christie than the topic she was writing about, so she ripped up her show and started from scratch.

I meet Christie in a cafe near her home in Stoke Newington, north London, to talk through the creation of that new show – how every idea was formed, every punchline introduced, all in just a matter of weeks. She sits down, opens her rucksack and pulls out reams of A4 paper – drafts, handwritten set lists and pen-marked notes like handed-back school tests. So let’s start at the beginning.

Laugh? I nearly died: how an aneurysm led Scott Gibson to standup

January 4, 2017TheGuardian

After undergoing brain surgery, call-centre worker Scott Gibson quit his job to have a crack at comedy – and ended up storming Edinburgh

Eight years ago, while returning home from a stag do in Blackpool, Scott Gibson began getting headaches that were so excruciating he rang the NHS’s 24-hour helpline and then had a stroke while on the phone. They sent an ambulance, but he turned it away and simply took to his bed instead – for four days. As he lay there, one thought kept going through his head: “I must be OK because I’m young and healthy.” Finally, he tried to head back to work, only to find himself going blind in one eye. Somehow he made it to hospital, where doctors diagnosed an aneurysm an inch-and-a-half deep behind his right ear. He needed major brain surgery, they said. The operation took seven hours.

After Gibson pulled through, he was determined to live life to the full – to live the life he’d always dreamed of, in fact. “I always wanted to be a storyteller,” says Gibson. “And, from day one, I knew this would be the first story I’d tell.” So, as a lifelong comedy lover, the Glaswegian embarked on a college standup course and was soon gigging regularly. In 2012, he took redundancy – £632 – from the call centre where he worked to focus fully on his new career.

At no point did I think: ‘I’m going to win an award with my debut show’

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