Everyone has to start somewhere – even at the Edinburgh festival fringe. But what made Smack the Pony actor Fiona Allen take up standup in her 50s? Why is veteran TV entertainer Joe Pasquale making his fringe debut in his 60s in an ensemble comic play? How many taboos will newcomer Sepideh Kaav, a Berlin-based Iranian comic in her early 30s, break by talking about sex? And what will the 78-year-old, seven-time Edinburgh veteran Gyles Brandreth make of debutant Brandy Bex, a 50-year-old NHS nurse performing in drag? We paired six fringe stalwarts with relative newcomers to compare their hopes, fears and survival tactics for this year.
Frank Skinner (five previous fringes) and Cecily Hitchcock (fringe debut)
The veteran Black Country comic, back with a new work-in-progress show, chats with the newcomer, whose 2000s-themed show is set to be silly for silly’s sake
Frank Skinner My worry is that my first Edinburgh was so long ago – 1987 – that any advice I give will be archaic. I did it completely the wrong way. I went up with a play, was blown away by alternative comedy, then booked a venue for the following festival having never done standup. I wasn’t even planning to practise until someone pointed out that I probably should.
Cecily Hitchcock Did it work?
FS My biggest audience was nine people. One day, nobody came at all. That’s how people get their hearts broken at Edinburgh.
CH I wouldn’t mind a couple of people, as long as they liked me. Is there anything I should avoid?
FS I’d say: “Don’t read your reviews,” but everyone likes talking about the bad ones. I got two reviews that year. They both essentially said: “This guy clearly doesn’t know what he’s doing,” but insinuated: “He’s got something.” That was just enough crumbs to keep me going. Apparently, younger comedians are now obliged to have a theme or theatrical element. Someone like me, who just does jokes, is old-fashioned.
CH Since Fleabag everybody feels they need some tragedy. But it’s not frowned upon to be silly. My show is silly for silliness’s sake, although it does have a theme of nostalgia and childhood innocence.
FS Edinburgh used to feel like a folk festival. Anyone could turn up and do weird stuff. It’s much more professional now. The first time a comedian handed me a business card, I thought: “If you’d done that in the 90s, you’d have been torn to pieces.” The one word you couldn’t use on the circuit in those days was “ambition”. Now, people are very upfront about what can be gained from Edinburgh. I mean, this year, I’m doing work-in-progress, using Edinburgh in a way that it’s previously used me. I’d be happy just doing work-in-progress for the rest of my life – 80 people in a room, just tinkering, trying new stuff. Even one line working is like receiving nectar from the gods.
CH How do you avoid going mad, surrounded by other comics for a month?
FS I used to have lots of “dressing-room friends”, and stay out until 4am, even if I was drinking Vimto. But years of solo shows turn you into a lonelier, more desolate outsider. Having friends on the circuit helps. Thinking “We’re all in this together” is a good stabiliser.
CH The last time I went, everyone wanted to see the man who eats a kilogram of cheese. Do you still feel you’re getting better?
FS I think I’m funnier than I’ve ever been. But I’m biased. Obviously.
Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe is at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 August. Frank Skinner: Work in Progress runs to 16 August; Crowd Work With Frank Skinner, 17 to 26 August; both at Assembly George Square Studios.
Stephen K Amos (23 previous fringes) and Joe Pasquale (fringe debut)
The Edinburgh stalwart and the television, panto and variety veteran are appearing together in 11½ Angry Men, an ensemble spoof of the courtroom drama 12 Angry Men
Stephen K Amos Has Edinburgh never been on your radar before?
Joe Pasquale It’s always been on my radar. I’ve just never been asked. There’s always been this barrier between middle-of-the-road and alternative comedy.
SKA My first Edinburgh was in a package lineup in 1997. Back then, it was all about being discovered. Now the joy is the creativity: you’re surrounded by comedians of all ages.
JP Before Covid, I’d almost had enough of being on the road, stuck in traffic, eating crap. When the world disappeared for two years, I was just a bloke in his pants with nothing to do. Now I love younger comics’ energy and ambition. How do youngsters cope nowadays? How can they afford it?
SKA They can’t. Everything’s gone through the roof. Edinburgh felt corporate-y even when I started. It feels even more corporate-y now.
JP I’m worried that I’m supposed to tap-dance. I phoned the director and said: “You do know I can’t tap-dance?” He said: “What do you mean you can’t tap-dance? You’ve been doing variety for 40 years!” I said: “I’ve never tap-danced in my life.” He said: “Well, you’ve got four months to learn.”
SKA Don’t read reviews. If you believe the good ones, you’ve got to believe the bad ones. Did I have a good time? Did the audience? That’s enough for me.
JP None of us are trying to get rediscovered, not at our age. I’m there for the experience of being on stage with you and the lads.
11½ Angry Men is at Pleasance EICC Pentland theatre to 22 August.
Ania Magliano (seven previous fringes) and Ele McKenzie (fringe debut)
The Edinburgh comedy award nominee and SNL UK host discusses pre-gig routines with the actor-comedian presenting her debut standup hour
Ele McKenzie My primary concern is that I won’t sell any tickets, and no one will come. The idea of being reviewed terrifies me.
Ania Magliano You’ve got to have someone to throw under the bus as a scapegoat. That’s what directors and producers are for. Being misunderstood by the public shivers my timbers. Having said that, I still have a Google Alert set for my own name, which completely goes against my Zen Buddhist state.
EM It must be incredibly reassuring knowing your dates are sold out.
AM Ticket sales are a useful anchor. The fringe is so abstract, scary and unknown. Deep down, we’re all terrified of being exposed through our art. And it is art. It’s tough on your body because you burn through so much energy, but you’re fuelled by adrenaline.
EM What do you eat?
AM Last year, I stayed in a flat with an air fryer. I got into having a nice big egg frittata every morning and a banana before going on stage. The fringe is like managing depression: you need to remember basic self-care. A long shower can buy you an extra week of energy if you time it right.
EM What time are you on?
AM 1.25pm.
EM I’m envious that you can get up and get on with it. I’m on at 8.10pm, thinking: “How will I spend my days?” I usually have a pint or two before a gig, as an unhealthy pre-show ritual.
AM I used to be precious about my pre-show routine because I wanted control. I’d meditate for five minutes in the toilet, to get in the zone. The bottom line is trusting yourself to do a good show, whatever gets thrown at you.
EM I’m fully expecting to make plans – “I’m going to do this, I’m going to do that.” Then it’ll go to shit almost immediately.
AM It’s surreal performing comedy 28 days in a row. Whatever you need to do to get through it is fine, even if that means having a chocolate brownie before every show. Hashtag: be kind to yourself.
Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home is at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 August; Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz is at Monkey Barrel, to 22 August.
Fiona Allen (one previous fringe) and Sepideh Kaav (fringe debut)
The Smack the Pony actor, who began standup in her 50s, talks about late starts and homesickness with the Berlin-based Iranian comic
Fiona Allen I’ve only done one solo show – three years ago. I was acting, having babies, but hadn’t done standup. It was very much “mum on the run”. This time, it has more of a theme, set over a single day, where I wake up dreading having to go to a party that evening.
Sepideh Kaav: That’s my struggle – do I need a theme? I already have one, as an Iranian woman in her early 30s. But there will be expectations.
FA People’s expectations can be whatever they like. There are thousands of shows at Edinburgh. It sounds trite, but you should just do you.
SK I am so scared of living away from home for a month. Do you get homesick?
FA I’m a total homebird. I miss my dog. Bring your home comforts, your favourite PJs. A month sounds like for ever, but you’ll suddenly be halfway through.
SK I mostly gig in Berlin, where I live. English is my second language, and words carry less emotional weight when they aren’t in your mother tongue. We don’t have a comfortable, everyday way of talking about sex, so discussing it in Farsi is very difficult. Speaking English makes everything easier. Few Iranian women do standup, and my comedy is quite dark. Even if I go to Edinburgh and fail, it might inspire somebody to think: “I can do better.”
FA I was 54 and thought: “I hope somebody else is sitting there at my age, going: ‘Well, she’s done it. Now I’m going to do it.’” Edinburgh is like a club full of open-armed, like-minded people, so you’re going to have a lovely time.
Sepideh Kaav: 1979 – Persianality Disorder is at Coco BoHo, 18 to 30 August; Fiona Allen: White Lies is at Gilded Balloon Teviot: Dining Room, to 29 August.
Susie McCabe (seven previous fringes) and Gregor Fisher (one previous fringe, 45 years ago)
The Rab C Nesbitt actor was last at the fringe when it was barely recognisable to today. The Scots standup with seven runs behind her shares her wisdom
Gregor Fisher I haven’t done Edinburgh for 45 years. Back then, it was still church halls, not fancy venues that no fucker can afford. I did The Servant of Two Masters – a Scottish version of an Italian play – out of the back of a van. It was theatre for the people, funded by the government back when it cared about the arts.
Susie McCabe I’m just fortunate to play these lovely theatres every night.
GF It’s not because you’re fortunate. It’s because you’re good. If you’re crap, you don’t survive. Don’t hide your light under a bushel, Susie. I was iffy about coming back. My daughter said: “Well, you might have fun, Dad.” I thought I should do it one last time because, you know – tick-tock. I’d forgotten that I have to get there every day, which is a big ask for an old boy like me.
SM The fringe is a bit like gay equality in the 70s. We all wanted it to be slicker and better but, once you’ve got it, you’ve lost a bit of what it was. The gay scene used to have this underground. Then we got equality and everybody’s like: “You don’t need to march any more.” I think the fringe is a bit like that. Having worked for a living, I hear comedians moaning: “This is my third gig of the day.” I think: “You’ve only worked half an hour!”
GF What was your job?
SM I was an electrician.
GF You’re the very person I need. I cannot get an electrician for love nor money.
Susie McCabe: Coming of Rage is at Assembly George Square: Gordon Aikman theatre, to 30 August; An (Early) Evening With Gregor Fisher is at Gilded Balloon Teviot: Debating Hall, 15 to 30 August.
Gyles Brandreth (seven previous fringes) and Brandy Bex (fringe debut)
The veteran broadcaster, former Tory MP and raconteur imparts his wisdom on the NHS major-trauma nurse making her fringe debut as a drag comedy character
Gyles Brandreth I’ve been going to Edinburgh – alarmingly – since the 1950s. In the 90s, I was a Conservative member of parliament, but I lost my seat in 1997. My wife said: “You’ve got a clean slate. What do you most want to do in the world?” I said: “I want to be in a musical.” I had this brilliant idea – 100 musicals in 100 minutes. Then somebody said: “Go to Edinburgh,” and I was lucky enough to hit the jackpot. How long have you been a nurse?
Brandy Bex I qualified in 2009. I had a bit of an existential crisis when I turned 40, so I thought: “I’m going to create a comedy character and take the piss out of the NHS.”
GB Ha! So you’ve been taking the piss, just not in a specimen bottle. Two of my sisters were NHS nurses. One is 86 now. Where do you nurse?
BB Major trauma.
GB That can be your opening line. “By day, I work on major trauma. By night, I cause major trauma.” How are you on nerves? Do you take beta blockers?
BB No. I used to be quite nervous, but now I truly enjoy it.
GB Well done, you! You and I may be the only people in Edinburgh not on drugs, prescription or otherwise.
BB I imagine in a year or two, I probably won’t be in the NHS.
GB The other thing I wondered is: where will you change into your costume? Wherever you change, it will not be private – a telephone booth, a lavatory, a stairwell. I was doing a Rocky Horror Show skit as part of my musical montage, and decided to change in the flat before I set off. Looking out of the window, I saw a guy with binoculars taking pictures of me. It was quite exciting. Ian McKellen came; afterwards we had a coffee. I was back in my jeans and T-shirt. He said: “I bet you’re still wearing your suspenders.” I said: “As it happens, Ian, I am. How did you guess?” He said: “Because I’m still wearing mine!”
Brandy Bex: Progress in Work is at Just the Tonic at Westside Rodeo, 23 to 27 August; Gyles Brandreth: Up Memory Lane! is at Assembly George Square: Gordon Aikman theatre, to 30 August.
