If Jen Brister has learned anything in the past 18 months, it’s that she’s no good in a crisis. (Unless you count getting into the foetal position in under 30 seconds.)
Has the pandemic changed her for the better or is she the same old pessimistic naysayer she’s always been? I think we all know the answer to that. Let’s just hope she can make it funny.
“Furiously funny”
The Guardian
Comedy Queers is a cult show that’s been selling out at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2018.
If you want to enjoy live comedy without wondering if your identity will be the punchline, this is the show for you!
Hosted by award-winning Liverpool comedian Sian Davies (“Compelling and distinctive” The Scotsman) and featuring outstanding queer comics from across the UK, live at Unity Theatre.
Comedy Queers is a fiercely outrageous safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. We laugh at ourselves and each other, we punch up and we do it with pride.
If you’ve seen enough cis, straight dudes with the same haircut/t-shirt/jokes/toxicity, come and party with the Kings, Queens and Non-Binary Royal Titles of comedy.
For Palestinians, places and journeys have different meanings than others. Cities, towns, villages, borders, transport, passports and identity all carry history and existential issues.
From being writers based in the UK, Dubai or Brazil, to having passports thrown in their faces while asked intimate questions at airports or checkpoints, Ahmed and Farah process this experience differently. As writers, they observe, write and often fill forms for other Palestinians who have never travelled before.
“What is your name?”, is the question often asked while officials stare at the passports for what seems like an endless moment.
Mahmoud El Haddad is an Egyptian actor and dancer, based in Paris since 2018. Inspired by the artist’s own experiences moving from Egypt to France, Self-Entitlement questions how intersectional identity shifts between different cultures, and the problems of categorising people using often prejudiced labels.
Both challenging and comedic, this intimate performance is a UK premiere.
Mahmoud is a founder of Liberacts for Arts, a non-profit organisation based in France that aims to create an artistic bridge between East and West by creating, developing and promoting art projects in all forms.
In these supercharged socio-political times the challenge is more and more becoming separating what’s true and what’s real.
Lucille Hunter proudly proclaimed “It’s easy to see through shit, the hard part is pretending you haven’t.” Join Reginald D. Hunter for an hour of exploring this phenomena in this progressive work in a pre next-variant world.
As seen on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You, and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
★★★★★
“This is comedy of a rare scope”
The Times
“Stand-up comedy’s coolest customer”
The Telegraph
A show about trying to be a good person while staying a badman. Join the star of Live at the Apollo for this “unapologetically funny” (Telegraph) exploration of empathy, morality and political contradiction.
As seen on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You, The Big Narstie Show, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Unapologetic.
Rose Matafeo is working on stuff and you’re more than welcome to witness.
As seen on Taskmaster, Would I Lie to You, Big Fat Quiz of the Year, QI, Have I Got News for You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Conan, The Great British Bake Off and Horndog, her own special for HBO Max.
Shortlisted Liverpool Poetry Prize entrants will read their poems at this event and the winning entry in each category will be announced on the night – with the overall winner receiving a prize of £1,000.
Ticket price includes nibbles and a welcome drink. There will be a bar available on the night too.
The Brain Charity are not issuing paper tickets for this event, but will be operating a guest list system on the door.
All profits support The Brain Charity’s front-line work.
One of the best-reviewed and most in-demand debut shows of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, from the award-winning Julia Masli.
An absurd homage to migration, in which a hungry Eastern European clown voyages to America for a hot dog. Choosh, by the way, means ‘bullshit’ – of all kinds. Julia Masli is an Estonian-born, London-based clown. She trained at the Ecole Philippe Gaulier, and now is a visiting teacher there.
The Varnishing Days is the heart-stopping, glasses-dropping, hard-rocking, wig-shaking, levothyroxine-taking, knee-knocking, boot-licking, justifying, teeth rattling, digressing new show from stand up comedian to the stars John Kearns.
Go silent as I walk on! Acknowledge when something funny happens! Leave discussing dinner plans! Others will be implicated. Points will be circled and missed. Hell, it’s a man trying his best! When I visit your town dogs will start barking, as will clergy. Your microwave will go haywire.
The lights in your vestibule will flicker and the Bank of England will nervously look at interest rates. On the day I write this, the pound has hit an all time low against the dollar. Mark my words. This show will break that record again and again and again.