Hello Marina, so where are you & your sister from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
MARINA : I live in LANDAN! Me and my sister live by Ladbroke Grove in a flat together. People say ‘is that hard living together and working together?’ And the answer is no… its very convenient.

You graduated from the prestigious Theatre and Clown school, Ecole Philippe Gaulier, last year. How did you find your studies?
MADDY : Studying for two years at that school was without a doubt the strangest but best thing i could have ever done in my life so far. The way Philippe teaches you comedy and theatre is completely original, painful but can be absolutely beautiful. He doesn’t hold back on what he thinks unless he is really quite impressed. And impressed at his standards is very high. You go through total crisis all for that one moment where he says ‘Bon… it was ok’ which is enough to celebrate for 3 days straight. He taught us that within all theatre is a game. It is about impulse and play and being completely in that moment. This is something that I have in mind in every performance I do now. The biggest lesson you can learn there is how to fail, how to take massive risks on stage and how to have to confidence to lose your ego to try and be vulnerable on stage. The more you show that side of yourself the funnier you become. I had some serious ups and downs at the school! I could go on forever about it but I think my greatest moment was in the characters module when i failed and failed again but refused to give up so changed costumes 4 times until i landed on a completely insane american prom queen called Sandy Mayonnaise to which Philippe said “Bon.. this character is good” I almost died.

You have performed in three films coming out the end of this year, can you tell us about them?
MARINA : Yes one is called ‘Breathe’ in which I play a woman called Pamela who doesn’t know if she should marry her partner because he’s ugly. For reference I eat cake in the scene. The other I’m an alien who fists a punk up the a-hole to split into my male identical twin. This is called ‘How to talk to girls at parties.’ it is not a porno. The other was a Shakespeare ‘A Caribbean dream.’ I was playing Hermia and it was filmed in Barbados. Scary because it was my first ever professional experience but there were turtles so I was ok.

Why comedy, what is it about being funny in front of other people that makes you tick?
MADDY : I started performing when i was 11, but for some reason was ALWAYS cast as the jester, joker, idiot characters, once i was cast as a girl who just starred at a wall and drooled.. Typecasted at a young age i guess, but it definitely came from my enjoyment of playing those characters. Doing live comedy is completely addictive. Its the fact that anything could happen at any time, you are showing a side of yourself that you wouldn’t ever do anywhere else in front of an audience and its your job to make them laugh! And when it works there is absolutely nothing like it.

What is the creative process behind writing your sketches?
MADDY : We definitely work best when we have an upcoming gig or show. I usually book us into a night and then we make it our mission to do something completely new for it. The pressure makes me work! Me and my sister have been playing silly characters since we were foetuses. We used to constantly play character ping pong in the back of the car and would impersonate everyone we saw.. Nobody was safe. We have a huge list of characters we like playing so we usually write the sketches around them, put them into a world or a situation and go from there!

How funny is Christmas at your house?
MARINA : It’s pretty funny. We have stockings still even though all of us are adults. Last year santa put a fiver in each of our stockings. Best Christmas ever! I once got my mums face and two of our cats faces printed onto individual stuffed pillows for Christmas. She was disturbed and slightly disappointed.

You are bringing SIBLINGs to this year’s Fringe, can you tell us about it?
MARINA : Siblings is about two real life sisters who let go of any flicker of dignity and attractiveness to make the most ridiculous character comedy show, plucked from their inner childhood minds. One drama school graduate and one clown school graduate, one short, one tall, one funny, one not, both absurd performing characters from all over the globe. We want people to leave and disco HARD because they are so pumped and happy after seeing two fools bring destruction to the stage. The audience get to see what Maddy and I create in our very childish, dirty and absurd minds. We’ve found people weeping in the audience or their mouths open in complete shock which is what I love the most. It’s an unpredictable show but always free and funny so it’s a hoot!

How are you finding the Fringe so far?
MADDY : Hectic… Doing a show at 11:30pm everyday does take some getting used to, i havent seen sunlight in a while.. But i love the fringe, for me the greatest thing is being able to see comedy constantly. I have seen some fantastic stuff so far and i will continue on! I come to the fringe every year and this is my third time performing in it so I am a big fringe fan.

How do you two know when you have done a good show, & how do you feel
MADDY : You know you have done a good one when you can feel the audience are totally on your side, when they are with you all the way through and are finding it funny of course! There is a specific feeling you get when you know you have done a good show. You sort of want to fall to your knees and scream YEEEEEESSSSSSSS to the lighting rig and you want to snog everyone you see.

What will you two be doing after the Fringe?
MARINA : I will probably get back to auditioning for acting work but this time with extra SASS because I will have survived a month of the insanity of the Edinburgh Fringe.

You can catch Siblings at the Fringe right now…

Gilded Balloon Teviot until the 28th August (not 23rd) : 23.30

Hello Sam, so where ya both from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
SAM : Tom and I are both from small autonomous communities based around the outer ring of the spaghetti junction. We didn’t meet until we both got through to the finals of a local Scout’s talent show. My talent was imitating the call of a barn owl, his a great grey. We formed a friendship several weeks later at a cub’s reunion meat ‘n’ greet.

Hello Tom, so when did you first realise you were, well, funny?
TOM : When I was performing to an end-of-year school assembly. My material consisted of one joke written my me, several recycled from ChuckleVision, and a burlesque dance Grandpa Simpson can be seen performing in hit computer game Virtual Springfield. Went down a storm, and my ideal audience remains Year 4 parents.

Where & when did you & Sam meet?
TOM : My first memory of Sam is the day I earned my bear-baiting badge from the Scouts. “Well done, sir!” he shouted. “Thank you, friend,” I replied. “Would you like to form a double act together and perform at the Edinburgh Fringe?” he asked. “What?” I replied.

What is it about performing live you love the most?
SAM : Performing is in my blood. Cut me and I bleed stage presence, O Negative. I have a rare blood type and a rare talent – the talent to want to cheer someone up if they’re having a bit of a rubbish day.

You are bringing your show Unrectifiable to the Fringe this August, can you tell us about it?
SAM : At its heart Unrectifiable is a show about a talking puppet. However, that element didn’t test well in preview so now it’s much more about the double act, and there’s a lot of interesting ground there as well.

What is the creative process behind writing Sam & Tom’s sketches
TOM : Suggestion-argument-compromise-frolic.

What other shows have you enjoyed this Fringe?
SAM : Mr Jolly – Fooling A Part (11:15pm, Blundabus) is a fascinating show. He’s a real-life jester and noise-art performer who represents for me the true spirit of the fringe – subversive, bewildering, and something you won’t see anywhere else this year.

Can you sum up your Fringe show in a single sentence?
TOM : The raucous and fun Sam & Tom play hide and seek, have an existensial crisis, and get five stars.

How are you finding performing at the mega-mash-up that is the Edinburgh Fringe?
TOM : Pretty darn great, thanks! My problem is, no matter how many times I come up, I never see enough shows from a wide enough variety of voices and backgrounds, so I have to really knuckle down when I look through the brochure and address previous imbalances. As such, I’m only seeing improv this year, including during our show.

What does the rest of 2017 hold in store for Sam & Tom?
SAM : Tom is taking a month out in September to go discover himself in Bali. He’s quite a spiritual guy and likes to de-toxify after the fringe. I just bought a lap-steel guitar from a charity shop, so I’ll probably be learning that.

You can catch Sam & Tom right now at the Fringe

Heroes @ Dragonfly : Aug 15-27 (18.10)

Pleasance Courtyard
Aug 17-27 (Times vary)

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This was the first time that I have seen Lee (aka Simon Brodkin) and I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Like most of us, I have sen glimpses of Lee previously when he was a younger version of his alter-ego Chav. He still comes across a wee Chav, but a bit more grown up now, so no short trousers. Bobbing along to the Pleasance Dome I was filled with a good degree of confidence that I was in for a few laughs for sure. I was a bit surprised by the size of the venue, & honestly thought it would have been in a bigger room, but the space was nice enough and gave the performance a very intimate feel, which was great. We were sitting just to the right of the stage, behind the glass divide in the bar; great seats, all-in-all, with a cracking view over the stage.

The lights dimmed, the spotlight shone on the stage, and there Lee was, ready to shower us in his banter. Certain touches did seem to hank back to the (young chav) days, but thankfully not that much. We’ve all grown up a bit now, & we have a new and more polished Lee in front of us who still gets away with his wee cheeky chappy persona. There seems to be a lot more going on these days in Lee’s life, and he duly updates us all on himself and his family; which was nice and a source of some decent material at points. Most of his jokes thankfully bounced off the crowd, who he used skilfully to get us all laughing at each other. Some of his audience participation was great, and one part especially saw a young lad in the audience get the biggest laugh of the night… and I reckon a bit of bother later on with his mum!

Overall Lee’s humour was on it, and his performance had a good mix of pace and energy. He is a seasoned pro and if you are looking for a few half-decent laughs, he is definitely your man as he mixes topical events, Scottcisms jokes and great one liners, all delivered flawlessly to rapturous applause. Lee was great, and controlled the audience well… there were a couple of people trying to heckle him but it would not be advised with Lee his wit is far too sharp and he doesn’t suffer fools lightly! The show flew by and the hour was gone far too quickly, which is always a good signal you’ve been having fun.

Reviewer : Mark Parker

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The Caves
Aug 15-27 (23.40)

F*ck Me Like Dry vegetable is an intriguing title for a comedy show and I had no idea what to expect from the hour as the message came out from Mumble HQ. In the end it turned out to be a late night stand -up comedian named Matthew Harrison, who in a recent interview with The Mumble,describes his show as being;

About my many many years as a croupier in a London casino. I give the audience an insight into what really goes on inside a gamblers paradise and I don’t hold back. I thought of a few other names prior to this one. First was ‘Matthew Harrison Everyday I’m shuffling’ which had a nice ring to it. Then I thought of ‘The King Of Spades’ obviously a double entendre. Funnily enough the term spade (for a black person) wasn’t in use that much anymore. So basically because people became less racist, it ruined that title. So then I went with ‘F*ck Me Like Dry Vegetable’.

Matthew is a good performer & has a unique story to tell, giving us hilarious insights into what it was like working with gamblers. During the show we also learn the meaning of the title, while Matthew tosses vegetables into the crowd. He talked, too briefly I felt, about the addiction many gamblers are facing. He also brushed lightly into racism, making just some simple laughs out of it. With these serious topics, I thought Matthew could have given us more emotive comedy, & my heart was straining for him to do it – but Matthew & his material this Fringe are in too frivolous a mood. Still, what Matthew does give us is pretty damn funny and a good time rushes into the room the moment he steps onto the stage. All in all a grand effort, but with Matthew’s talent and experience, the final product could be have been a tad better.

Reviewer : Michael Beeson

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House
Aug 14-19 (11 AM)

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There is nothing more life-affirming than doing what you want to do, & so the Fringe welcomes back John Porter for another wee stint of doing his comedy. The guy was struck with Cerebal Palsy in younger years, which provides the gagline to about half of his material. The rest is a gentle float through his say-to-day life, his dreams, his expectations, based around the premise of a question he was asked himself half a decade years ago – ‘What do you want to do in five year’s time?’ Shortly after that he decided he would notch being a comic into his belt, & thus we are presented with something likehis Match of the Day highlights show. As for subject matter, in a recent interview with The Mumble, when asked, ‘upon which life-experiences do you draw your own comedy?’ John replied;

All of ’em! That’s the entire show this year. In my life I’ve been (and still am) disabled, depressed, in love, broken hearted, inspired, lonely, and all kinds of things. My experience of love, depression and comedy all come through in my work at different times. In one sense I try to let my feelings out on stage, because suddenly when you can laugh at them, they don’t seem like the big deal you thought they were.

‘We’ve all got differences,’ says Porter, ‘we’ve all got different tales to tell… & this one’s mine.‘ His tale will be worth hearing yes, but for me it is a tad too early. John is only 27 & needs more life experience from which to draw his hunour. To imagine the experience of watching John as a comedian, picture a hot day in the Kalahari desert, & your comedy meter is a buffalo, & Mr Porter’s jokes are the buffalo’s tail occasionally flicking out to squat a fly. Yes, its a very calm, almost tame outing, but Mr Porter is an immensely likeable Mancunian with a genuine love of life, & being in his company at 11AM is actually a pleasant way to start a day at the Fringe.

Reviewer : Damo

Hello Matthew, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
I was born in the bush, Shepherds Bush. Good old West London. Naturally the next question that people ask when I tell them I’m from London is, ‘no where are you really from’. Well my mum and dad were born here so I think the answers still London. ‘No but where are you REALLY from’…ok ok grandparents are from Jamaica and Barbados. I now live all the way out in Surrey, because it makes my fiancé happy.

When did you first realise you were, well, funny?
Probably primary school, class clown and all that. I was that hyperactive kid who most people laughed at and others just wanted to kick. I continued this throughout my teen years but the point when I realised that I wanted to try stand up was when I was at a comedy club and they invited people from the audience up on stage to tell a joke. Best joke would win tickets to another show. I got up on that stage and brought the house down! It was at that point when I thought hhmmm, I could get used to this.

You’ve been washed up on a desert island with a solar-powered DVD player & three films. Which would they be?
Well providing that I get a solar powered television to go with it I would bring Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. What a man. I live by some of his lines in that film. “Don’t think….feeeeeeeel”. Plus I’ll learn enough of his moves to defend myself against any killer monkeys on the island. Second would be The Matrix as it was the first film to ever blow my mind. Had me in my kitchen trying to bend cutlery with my thoughts. Final film is Bugsy Malone. I think I’ve actually seen that film more than I’ve seen my own reflection. Absolutely love it and if I’m on a desert island I need a good sing along. “My name is Talula….”

What is it about performing live you love the most?
I can’t lie, stand up is like a drug. I love the feeling of being in the moment and reacting to what’s happening in the room. Making a room full of people laugh is a difficult thing to achieve so when you do it, and do it well, it’s extremely rewarding. I do a few online comedy projects but with the stand up you get your feedback instantly and I guess more honest as well. If they didn’t like it then they probably didn’t laugh.

You have been described on the comedy circuit as “the people’s champion,” what have you done to earn such a title?
Aah yes the people’s champ. So I was performing at the Glee Club in Cardiff in the BBC New Act of the Year competition (which was aired on BBC4 extra). It was incredible, performing to 400 people and absolutely smashed it. One of the best gigs of my life. I was sure I’d be one of the three acts to go through. They announced the the first two and my name wasn’t mentioned. The crowd started chanting my name, but it wasn’t to be. There was definitely an feeling of confusion in the air and of course I’m not taking anything away from the other acts but the crowd made it clear that they wasn’t happy. After the show I spoke to many members of the audience and they felt that I was the crowd favourite, the people’s champ. I liked the title. Similar thing happened in another competition and my comedy friends also dubbed me the People’s Champ.

Last year you were part of the trio, ‘A Girl With Two Dicks’, & this year are going solo. What’s the backstory?
So A Girl With Two Dicks was a brilliant opportunity for me to get up to the fringe without actually doing all the crazy admin by myself. My good friend and comic Susie Steed asked if I wanted to join her in a three hander. She said it’s a chance to be able to do a longer set each day as opposed to doing the usual 5 or 10 minute spots we did in London. I thought well why the hell not. A chance to get a taste of the old fringe lifestyle without doing all the hard work and see if I can captivate an audience for longer than the time it takes someone to smoke a fag. I got such good feedback from the audience and I realised that it’s not as hard as I originally thought to do all the admin so I knew from then that next year I would go solo….and here I am, 45 minutes of Meeeeee.

You are bringing your catchily titled show F*CK ME LIKE DRY VEGETABLE to the Fringe this August, can you tell us about it?
So my show F*ck Me Like Dry Vegetable is about my many many years as a croupier in a London casino. I give the audience an insight into what really goes on inside a gamblers paradise and I don’t hold back. I thought of a few other names prior to this one. First was ‘Matthew Harrison Everyday I’m shuffling’ which had a nice ring to it. Then I thought of ‘The King Of Spades’ obviously a double entendre. Funnily enough the term spade (for a black person) wasn’t in use that much anymore. So basically because people became less racist, it ruined that title. So then I went with ‘F*ck Me Like Dry Vegetable’. This title is basically explained in the show.

How do you are you finding performing at the mega-mash-up that is the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017?
So far it’s going great, I’m getting packed rooms every night and great feedback from the audience. I even take a picture with my audience after every show and tweet the picture with the hashtag #FMELIKEDRYVEG . As you could imagine I get some lively crowds in at 11.40pm but they enjoy themselves and that’s why I’m here. Also it’s great to be able to watch alot of shows while I’m here. This fringe is full of talent.

When do you know you have pulled off a good show?
I know I’ve absolutely smashed it my audience is laughing so hard that it makes me laugh. Laughing really is contagious. It’s these performances where I can literally do anything and they laugh. It’s like riding a wave of comedic brilliance and you step of that surfboard feeling like a god, a comedy god.

In one sentence can you describe the experience of performing in Edinburgh in August?
This fringe has been an amazing experience, helping me not only grow as a comic but also reminding me why I do this.

The Principal Hotel
Aug 13, 15-20, 22-27 (times vary)

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Last night I went to The Wedding Reception at Principal Edinburgh. Kate and Will were across the street getting married, expecting a simple dinner afterwards. Kate’s family had other plans. The bride and groom didn’t know we were coming! This was a perfectly believable setting, the Principal is gorgeous,  & we began the night mingling with our fellow guests met in a beautiful reception room with bar. We were soon greeted by the bride’s mom and the best man. They chatted with all of us, the bride’s mom, Lynne, in her words, “bubbling over!” with excitement, “it’s a surprise! we’re surprising them!” The best man played a friendly host, while taking bets in a little black book on just how long the groom’s speech would be. I loved the Wedding Planner, running in the room officiously, quickly adjusting little things here and there, then running out with clipboard in hand.

Everything we expect from a wedding reception was there: sentimental speech from father of the bride, (“Look into the eyes of your loved one, dear friends, this is the person statistically most likely to murder you”) the party-crashers, (members of the groom’s family), the groom’s speech (unprepared, he told the best non-joke I’ve ever heard), the cutting of the wedding cake, bride’s bouquet toss, and first dance, plenty of room for mishap and mayhem!

Four talented actors with impeccable comedic timing and ad lib played over eight characters. The traditional rites of a wedding celebration were there but nothing traditional followed. And there was the surprise entertainment, who’d have expected Elton! I enjoyed every minute of this hysterically funny reception. This theatricals were so much fun, and yes, the food was delicious right down to the coffee. That’s saying a lot from a Seattle guest. I cannot praise this show enough, encumbered as I am by a top mark of 5 stars, I would give more.

We are all invited to the most madcap marital celebration of them all. Don’t miss it.

Reviewer : Donna Waddington

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The Counting House
Aug 3-13, 15-27 : (14.20)

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Andy Stedman has written an EPs worth of songs which he hopes will guide his boy, Jack Elvis, through the trials & tribulations of adolescence, and has decided to share his songs with the world as well. Among these, he sings about his son’s first day of school when mummy will give him a last hug, and his new mates will shame him for it. Andy’s also written a song about the ‘birds and the bees’ for his son, from the perspective of a sperm.  In case Andy should die before Jack becomes a man, Andy has composed a sentimental letter with his final words of wisdom on life.

Parental Guidance is sweet and hilarious. Andy is a real master of the stage, thriving on interaction with his audience, even inviting them to take the piss out of him. The show I attended was in a grumpy mood, I thought, the Free Fringe roulette ball had landed awkwardly, & even though the crowd was tough can handle a bit of awkwardness and if just a few people are willing to have fun, Andy holds the space for fun to happen. In a recent interview with the Mumble, Andy told us why he likes to be up front in the room;

Connecting with people. I don’t have a script at all, although I know what I am generally going to say and have edited it down a lot. I really like people generally, which is why i also do a fair bit of MCing, It’s just a lot of fun when something genuinely happens in the room.

https://youtu.be/tjdrpvVftvQ

Andy thrives off real life. He’s not just going up and doing the proven script, time & time again. He’s there to have fun, kick back, sing some wicked songs & get us all right comfortable in his kitchen sipping a G&T.  Andy Stedman is a cool guy, & damned good at what he does, which is essentially be… Andy Stedman!

Reviewer : Michael Beeson

The Caves
Aug 6-13, 15-27 (13.00)

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Imagine its a really, really hot day – the fan’s not working, the beers are flat & you’re stuck on a noisy bus. Well that’s the Fringe. Then you come to your stop, there’s a cool ocean breeze, an ice-cream van is parked right by the bus, & there’s a clear-watered, empty outdoor swimming pool just waiting to be dived into. That’s what going to see The Delightful Sausage in Edinburgh, 2017, is exactly like. Refreshing beyond belief. OK, to catch people’s notice in a such a plethoraic arena, you need a gimmick a two, & dressing up as a sausage suddenly does that. A little needlessly, one would say, but Amy who dons the sausage outfit seems to enjoy herself, so its all good. Her partner, Chris Cantrill – a former Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year (2013) – is her perfect foil, & the duo gambol like two happy lambs in a glade, bouncing off each other’s energy & setting up each others’ gags with precision timing. In a recent interview with The Mumble, Team Sausage’s Amy described Cold Hard Cache as;

A sketch comedy show which is loosely about The Internet. So, so loosely. The central premise sees myself and Chris running a free course for those in the community who need a helping hand with modern technology. It’s all just an elaborate structure from which to hang some premium titting about. 

Team Sausage bristles with good old fashioned Northern English wit, which is channeled through an educational seminar on life & then, later, the internet. There are also moments of quite off-the-wall brilliance; statements such as ‘my boyfriend’s gonna leave  a dead mouse on the doormat… because he’s a cat,’ a line which I believe would only sound funny coming out from the hand grenade that is Team Sausage’s execution of its material, but when it does, the shrapnel tears a hole in all our modern seriousness. There is one moment in the show that defined the Delightful Sausage for me. I was sat at the back of the room, to which area Amy had just sped in order to change into a new costume. As Chris was rollicking through his stuff alone on stage, beside me Amy began laughing out loud. She must have known what was coming, had heard it all a hundred times before, but she was enjoying Chris as if she was hearing him for the first time. You just can’t buy that chemistry, & the duo really do relay it into the room. Well worth a visit!

Reviewer : Damo