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)

Material:  Delivery:  Laughs: 

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.

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

48 Below
Aug 3-27 (19.30)

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Samantha Pressdee is a cherub-cheeked enigma. A sweet lass from the Black Country who finds herself in Edinburgh via a mad stint in London as a feminist & anarchist of some repute. Passionately anti-establishment & honest to her core, she has decided to channel her political identity through the medium of stand-up comedy. Political comedy is usually satirical, concentrating on the sexual misdemeanors of our MPs & the suchlike, but Samantha’s muse is that of benefits Britain, not in the sickeningly voyeuristic reality shows that disgrace our TV screens from time to time, but that of the London squatter scene & her place in that vibrant theatre of life. In a recent interview with The Mumble, Sam elaborated upon her status as an anarcha-feminist comic;

I think confrontation can create comedy, or just enemies. Confrontation with bare breasts is very funny, but also very serious. We are serious comedians. I was actually a comedian before I became an anarcha-feminist, before I was just ‘a feminist’ but I had to separate myself from the ones who hate men and sex positive women. Anarchy is about challenging hierarchy, feminism is about challenging patriarchy. So it makes sense that feminism shouldn’t turn into a matriarchy. We need equal ground!

Samantha sets off as a comedian, full of child-like innocence in her deadpan delivery, but it is not long before we enter her main theme & the comedy is replaced by a self-therapeutic dissertation on her life as an activist. She brings us battles with bailiffs, encounters with Russell Brand & heroin addiction among other set-pieces, her words occasionally backed up by video clips on a big telly. There is also high emotion from the lass as she reaches the end of her show, & on the occasion I saw she could hardly hold back the tears. Her creation is a curious hybrid, where nostalgic reminiscences are laced with intermittent gags & savage attacks upon the patriarchy. Quite the roulette wheel, her material sometimes lands on a funny number, & sometimes not, & as the show progresses the funny numbers came up less & less. But Back to Basics is no ordinary Fringe Show, & for that I applaud her. It is definitely an experience to spend an hour with Samantha, one that transcends the often silly banality of the mainstream Fringe.

Reviewer : Damo

Dragonfly, West Port
Aug 12-14, 16-27 (19.20)

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If you like the feeling of tripping off your t**s but are too tight-fisted to actually buy any drugs then this is the show for you. Paul Vickers (a.k.a. Mr Twonkey) gives us a bizarre, meandering, Wonderland-esque blend of pure madness which will make you feel like you just dropped a shedload of topnotch ‘shrooms and washed them down with a pint of moonshine. His show consists of a (very, very, VERY loose) narrative about the quest of Mr Twonkey, who is looking for the Chicken Church deep in the heart of the jungle. Yes, you heard me. To visualise Mr T think of The Little Prince all grown up and living under a bridge in The Magic Roundabout…and I get the strong feeling Paul Vickers genuinely believes himself to be Mr Twonkey. This year sees the tenth Twonkey show, & we are presented with a new character. In a recent interview with The Mumble, he is introduced as;

Mr. Pines is a new character that I play, he’s my manager but he wants to kill me. I wear a fake nose and sunglasses and people boo me, he’s like a pantomime villain. He’s the one that’s sent me to the Jungle, he’s hoping I get lost and never come back. He has other acts that are more commercially viable so he wants me off the books and out of his hair for good.

The ‘story’ is interspersed with voiceovers, barmy tunes, some well orchestrated interaction with the audience (unlike some comedians, nothing too personal or vicious- he keeps it feelgood throughout) and a collection of puppets which appear to have been made by a gang of disturbed 5 year olds. The entire premise should mimic Twonkey’s props and fall apart after 5 minutes yet somehow this show bumbles along nicely and exudes a strange charm and humanity, consistently eliciting baffled laughter throughout and feelings of warmth and pity for Mr T…there is something just so disshevelled and likeable about him, he looks like someone who once had a career as a professional hobo but has managed to climb maybe halfway up one rung on the social ladder…you just desperately want him to do well, find his Chicken Church and complete his mission (whatever the hell that may be- we are still wondering).

For what it is Le Twonk’s show is a tad too long, and I suspect that, as is often the case, there may be a direct correlation between the mood of the audience and the calibre of the show but it’s not a fatal flaw, merely one that after 30 minutes has you briefly wondering what to see next and what to have for tea tomorrow but you can easily forgive this- as I said you are rooting for him the whole way through so this brief lull is a small price to pay for an otherwise engaging, unusual and bizarre 45 minutes.

The show starts off with a different character who narrates but it would also would benefit greatly from a radical change in direction halfway through, say 3 acts, with the middle act being completely different and perhaps involving some audience members being dragged up and lightly humiliated for the benefit of everyone else but overall it is a decent testament to the spirit of random weirdness and creativity that is characteristic of the Fringe Festival and makes for a refreshing antidote to the ever increasing number of super-produced commercial comedians out there.

Reviewer : Maya Moreno

After a successful first night last Friday, The Mumble will be bringing SEVEN more acts from the Edinburgh Fringe to perform for the good folk of East Lothian. There will be a licensed bar & people may come & go as they please through the night & it is free to get in, but as in the spirit of the Free Fringe in Edinburgh, bucket will be set up near the door to receive donations towards paying the costs of the evening. Doors will open at 19.30, & close at 23.30. Inbetween, the running order is as follows.

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19:45 : ODETTE

Clown inspired character comedy, ‘Odette!’ tells the story of a ballsy, brash, heavily pregnant Aussie cleaning lady with big dreams of romance and stardom on cheesy American daytime TV soap ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’. It’s playful and fun, moving in parts, and unashamedly OTT. Oh, and there are a few songs thrown in for good measure!

You can read an interview with Odette here

 

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20:20 : Joe Jacobs

Religion. Rap. Pogs. Sexism. Gaviscon. Mental illness. Success. Decline. Commitment and coffee coasters. Join Joe as he tries to make sense of all this and more prior to his best before date. As seen and heard on Channel 4, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 1Xtra. ‘

 

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20:40: Susie Steed

Follow in the footsteps of power on this walking tour of capitalism from British Empire to banking crisis, with jokes. As Britain leaves the EU and Scotland tries to leave Britain, explore the shared history we’d rather forget. Led by ‘one to watch’ (FunnyWomen.com)

 

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21:00 : Chris Cook

This is the first year Chris is bringing two brand new shows to the festival. The first is more of theatrical experience based around Control. Hre’s returning to a theme he explored two years ago with a show that was really challenging for me. He’s excited to be performing another show that is as much about the audience as the performer. It’s less about giving them a show and more about creating a community of people who go on a journey together. The audience get to determine the direction that journey takes. The second show is called Concealed and is a more intimate show. The magic happens right in front of the audiences faces and he gets to tell them a bit more about my life as a juggler, street performer and magician.

You can read an interview with Chris here.

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21:40 : Lew Fitz

‘Engaging comic… smart and freshly funny’ (Scotsman). Cheeky northerner Lew Fitz is crashing the party…

 

 

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22:00 : Matt Duwell 

Matt describes his Fringe how as being, ‘a stand up comedy show about how pessimism can sometimes actually help us to be happy and optimism and memes about unbound potential are not necessarily a good thing. It’s also a show that has some crowd interaction and of course a lot of jokes that are quite glib about the world we live in. I’m very proud of the jokes and in many ways, it’s the result of my entire comedy career so far. ‘

You can read an interview with Matt here…

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22:20 : The Delightful Sausage

This weeks headliners are a brilliant duo from the North of England, whose Cold Hard Cache show is currently taking the Fringe by storm.

You can read an interview with Delightful Sausage here…

 

SEE YOU

NEXT FRIDAY!!!

Laughing Horse @ 48 Below
Aug 3-27 (12.00)

Material:   Delivery:   Laughs:  

Siân Docksey’s Totally Casual & Freewheeling Mystic Comedy Lemon Torpedo is an intelligent and meaningful way to spend your noon hour at this year’s Fringe. Our artist presents a smart metaphor for the difficulty of being an “ab”normal person in western society. The material deals with gender fluidity, sexism, sexuality and privilege. Her show started a tad slow, and at first I could not tell if Siân was actually doing a satire of comedians who try too hard to be funny OR was just plain trying too hard to be funny. But Siân was soon on her comedic feet, finding her groove, which peaked in a soliloquy on her grandmother’s immigration. It seemed to me as if Siân had stolen away from trying to be funny and started speaking directly from her creative spirit.

During her set Siân managed to make fun of both my sun-sign and my nationality. These gentle insults actually felt like a rock hitting the bottom of my stomach, and for a moment I stopped smiling or having fun. An unexpected & momentary awkardness which made me realise such emotions were mere trivialities in life, & I should just laugh off the digs & hold on tight to Siân’s torpedo as it hurtled through the comedy ocean. So I did, & I enjoyed it, & as I stepped out into the Broughton Street sunshine I thought to myself, ‘I aint ever seen anything quite like that!’  I highly recommend going to see Siân Docksey this Fringe. The show is fresh, thought-provoking and I can’t imagine there is anything better happening at noon.

Reviewer : Michael Beeson

 

The Cuckoo’s Nest
Aug 9-13/15-19/21-27 (13.50)

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Vicki from Dartford has slipped into a mild depression & fallen into a sofa-coma munching on digestive biscuits, flicking through the channels & barking at the telly. Modern existence in its most opiate form, but this young lady wants to rouse herself from her life-funk & do something, something cool. So we set off along her biopic, through dodgy jobs, dodgier romances, all suffered in pursuit of her chosen artform, to perform. From throwing up jagerbombs in a Dartford gutter, through supermarket counter politics, past her bumbling attempts to find love, to doing her glittering solo show for a full fringe, following Vicki’s journey is a frolicking odyssey of fun. In a recent interview with The Mumble, Vicki told us;

One Woman Army is a storytelling comedy show. I tell and act out stories from my life and play all the characters within them. A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with severe anxiety and this show started as me thinking about all the things that stress me out so I talk about awful retail jobs I’ve had, bad dating experiences, feeling out of depth in the acting world and the joys of living in Dartford. It’s basically me having a very relatable, witty moan about things. I perform the whole show in my dressing gown and it centres around me watching telly on my sofa and eating snacks.

She buzzes between scenes & characters with flawless accents & auras & faces, & she shows her scars to the audience, & she’s a wee hip-hop ninja, & she’s just, well, she’s just cool. A one woman sitcom, with a love of life in all its forms, I loved her, ‘these days its all about playing the field.. playing the game, but in the end we all end up playing with oursleves,’ a drop of wisdom making sense of the world we live in, as Ms Sargent is also trying to do, but she’s turned it into comedy gold!

Reviewer : Damo