The comic and podcaster is set to cast her acerbic eye over everything from your children to her pretentious new alcohol-free life (the latter may now be a slightly revised lifestyle choice since the show’s first draft).

The show explores whether she may have mellowed a bit and the press release offers a hint that this tour could be your last chance to catch Rachel IRL before she disappears to the countryside with only joss sticks and taxidermy for company.

A staple of the Fringe since 2014, Rachel has performed six critically acclaimed solo shows and is also known for her podcasting prowess. Rachel co-hosts the worldwide smash hit podcast All Killa No Filla alongside Kiri Pritchard-McLean, which has over 250,000 regular listeners. Almost a year ago, she released Ghoul Guide, a podcast that explores truth and fiction in the world of spooky stories. If you missed this the first time, it’s something fully worth resurrecting this Halloween.

I caught up with Rachel right before her tour’s debut gig at Manchester Opera House.

How does it feel knowing your tour is opening at Manchester Opera House?

Very exciting. It’s a brilliant venue and it’s thrilling to be starting off there. I used to work round the corner from there so it’s quite surreal.

How does comedy culture in Manchester fare against its music heritage and what reception are you hoping for your show?

Manchester has an incredible comedy culture and heritage. Les Dawson, Jason Manford, Caroline Aherne, Steve Coogan, Justin Moorhouse to name a few. I’m just hoping people come along and have a really great night and a laugh.

Describe the motivations for creating the Showgirl show?

As much as I enjoy gigging in general at clubs up and down the country, there’s something more challenging about working on a new show. I have done three new hours in the past three years and I enjoy the process.

You’re embarking on a huge amount of tour dates. How are you feeling and have you got a tour routine?

I’m excited about it. I travel so much as a comedian anyway that the amount of dates isn’t daunting, I’d probably be away gigging in clubs anyway. I like to get to the place I’m gigging in early so I can have a mooch round and more importantly, see what charity shops there are.

You’ve recently given up alcohol, how have you approached ‘finding the funny’ in this for the show?

I stopped drinking in January and went alcohol free for six months. I’ve had about two nights out since then and I’m just not that into it anymore. I haven’t really got any material about it in the show, you write the blurb in January and perform it in autumn so things change. It’s been a very positive experience cutting back on booze so I’ve struggled to find anything cuttingly funny about it. I don’t really do positivity.

Why do you think your podcast All Killa No Filla alongside Kiri Pritchard-McLean has been so successful?

I think people are fascinated by the subject matter and we handle it in a respectful way. We try and find as much information on the victims as possible as they can be overlooked in true crime. I think the key to its success though is listening to a genuine female friendship with real interactions and conversations.

Who are your biggest comedy influences/where do you draw inspiration?

I find my non comedy friends funnier than anything and my mum is the funniest person alive. She’s so sarcastic and blunt it makes me howl. I’m a huge fan of Frank Skinner too. He’s been so good for decades now and gets funnier.

Do ghosts exist and can crystals protect us?

I’d like to say yes. I really would.

Catch Rachel at a town or city near you from 9th September 2023. Tickets can be booked at https://www.mcintyre-ents.com/live_shows/rachel-fairburn-showgirl/. Price: £13.50-£15.50. Follow Rachel on social media @rachelfairburn

The post Rachel Fairburn opens Showgirl UK tour at Manchester Opera House appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Her latest EP ‘Ash’ is an iconic introduction to this moody yet bright creative lens, an enigmatic world of opposing emotions that just seem to work together in harmony like rainbows and storms.

The former 2022 Ivor Novello ‘Rising Star’ nominee sheds light on her ‘bright and dark’ journey and why she isn’t afraid to use her voice as an instrument to replace a grunge guitar solo.

How did ‘grunge soul’ genre-spanning evolve in your music and has there been any challenges in sharing this new concept within the music industry so far?

At my core I’m such a moody babe. So everything that comes out of me that isn’t my smile is on the moodier and darker side of things. When thinking about the music I wanted to make, that felt like ‘me’, it was a mixture of those two things. My favourite colours are yellow and black- the most opposing things. I wanted to just exist in that. In terms of grunge, I really liked how Nirvana changed music so authentically was so good. Existing as themselves happened to change the sound of music and that’s really inspiring.

I’m one of those really cringy people that says they listen to everything, because I love music, so I don’t understand why you’d only listen to one thing. So, obviously, when I’m going to make music, all of these influences are going to come in. I do think I’ve found it harder being a Black girl from London making this genre-bending music because when they see somebody that looks like me, or somebody that’s from where I’m from, they already expect one thing. Then not only am I not giving them the one thing they expect, but I’m also giving them a variety of things that they don’t expect. This has made it a little bit tricky to find my feet in playlisting and press coverage. 

Luckily with my Ivor Novello rising star nomination last year, part of the music industry is starting to understand what I’m doing. The music industry is very institutional and corporate which is silly as it should be creative. They want to make profit and when something hasn’t been proved in a timeframe, they are slow to jump on board and support it.

The music kind of speaks for itself. I’ve been working with a producer called Gibbi Bettini who has helped me develop my confidence as an artist and songwriter. The fans in my community and my friends and family get my music straight away and get what I’m doing. People are hearing more of my music and with my new EP being called Ash, I can’t really exist as anything else, take it or leave it, and that’s been really good. I’m not trying to be the next Ariana Grande or Beyoncé.

How do you avoid getting drawn into the current trends and TikTok algorithms that come with being an artist in 2023?

The music comes from me so I can’t be anything else. I don’t want to hate what I do, I want to love what I do for the rest of my life. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it, music is subjective and not everybody has to like what I do. I think people are ready to hear real and authentic music where artists enjoy what they’re doing, and not just making trends for TikTok or to appear on a playlist. I just want to make what I like and I feel confident that it will take me to where I need to be and that’s what I want to keep doing.

Since deciding to go ‘all in’ as a professional recording artist, how easy has it been to find the right collaborators?

I’m lucky as an artist as I haven’t really had to do the shopping around or producers or things like that. My management team approached me and I haven’t gone searching for anything. It’s been great how people and relationships in my music career have been naturally drawn together. I also have a strong work ethic because I’ve been doing this myself professionally and I care about it, which I feel works well with the collaborators I have in music. I take it very seriously as it’s my career – just as a doctor studies for five years to be a surgeon, I’m investing in what I’m doing for myself.

How did you develop your songwriting inspiration from a grunge soul perspective?

Like I said before, my life is like black and yellow, dark and bright however I always thought that I had nothing to write about of substance. I was like ‘yeah I’m living a good life and having fun’ so focused on being a session vocalist and musician, doing things like backing vocals because I loved doing them.

It wasn’t until I decided to enter a music competition that required me to have my own music that pushed me to write something. Alongside this my final project at university had a performance element, and I was able to create something. I started playing guitar in my room and wrote a song called Prince Charming and thought to myself ‘actually, I think this is I think this is quite good, I like it!’ as it was dark and light at the same time. The way it came all together meant that by 2020 I decided ‘this is it, I’m going to release music’. My songwriting focuses on friendships and relationships through the dark and sunny perspective, those moments in everyday life that can exist as brightness and dark. Like when you’re making plans with your friend and then they turn up an hour late and you’re just not feeling it anymore! 

When it comes to using your voice as an instrument, what role does your guitar play in inspiring and supporting this?

I’m inspired by rock, I’m inspired by guitars I play guitar but I consider my voice my main instrument and that’s kind of the instrument I use to connect to people. My guitar is more of a support to my voice to help take it to the next level. When I was in the studio, I’d reached the bridge and didn’t have anything. So at first, I said ‘let’s do a guitar solo’ but then thought about it more and realised I could freestyle and use my voice as the instrument instead of the guitar to create something new. It added an emotional contrast between the delicate and loving parts of the song to create a feeling of implosion. Ultimately, I’m a soul singer and a jazz singer as I love using my voice as my instrument and evoke emotion – this is how I express myself. My singing voice and my talking voice are the same thing.

Ashainë White’s new EP ‘Ash’ is out now. For more information, follow Ashainë on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ashainewhite/ and TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@ashainewhite

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Opening on Thursday, March 2nd, with English violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen, American violist Clifton Harrison, Turkish cellist Jamal Aliyev and Fiachra Garvey for “Comfort in Chaos”. This concert celebrates the mighty piano quartet with pieces that explore our environment from Beethoven, Mahler, Fung, and Brahms.

On Friday, March 3rd, Nicky Spence and Sholto Kynoch present “Songs of The Seasons”. The programme features Benjamin Britten’s Holy Sonnets of John Donne and culminates in a celebration of blues, jazz, and African American tradition in Bond’s rhapsodic Songs of The Seasons.

BBC Musician Magazine Personality of the Year 2022, Opera Singer Nicky is one of Scotland’s proudest sons, and Sholto is a sought-after pianist who specialises in song and chamber music. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Oxford Lieder Festival.

The first of concerts running on Saturday, March 4th, features violinist, collaborator, composer & music director Rakhi Singh. Rakhi is a leading light in the contemporary music scene in the UK. A co-founder of the heralded Manchester Collective, her musical choices are inspired by many different traditions and cultures. Her daytime programme, “Elemental”, spans from the Baroque to the present day, opening with the perfect remedy to clear one’s head in the delicate sound world of Sciarrino’s Caprice No. 2 and closing with solo violin, J.S. Bach’s Chaconne In D Minor.

The Julian Bliss Septet will close the three concerts with their “The Sound of Film–Jazz in Hollywood” programme. Their dazzling virtuosity, extraordinary musicianship and charming humour shine through their swing, Latin, American and jazz music programmes. Starting with the silent film and the early ‘talkies’ in The Great Depression years, the Septet also plays music from wartime movies, musicals and even the classic Disney blockbusters.

Returning to St Mark’s, Kennington Classical Vauxhall is led by Fiachra Garvey, Irish pianist and Artistic Director of the West Wicklow Festival. He said, “this year’s festival is a veritable feast of classical music’s variety and musical diversity. Four concerts with colour and humour, featuring some of the most vibrant and energetic artists keeping classical music fresh, alive and relevant!”

Classical Vauxhall runs from 2nd-4th March 2022. Tickets are priced from £20 (concessions available) Saint Marks Church Kennington Park Road London SE11 4PW. For full schedule and booking information visit www.classicalvauxhall.com

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BBC New Comedy Award Nominees Will Rowland and Eddy Hare find themselves in Oklahoma with great songs and knee-slapping jokes and a unique on-stage dynamic where “the struggle of acting in a Western and appearing macho is already funny”.

Ahead of the show, the pair have released a video of ‘Quicksand’, an incredibly catchy ear-worm of a song that spirals into a visual odyssey that highlights the imagination of the show and gives a taste of what’s in store.

In developing the show’s narrative, Will used social media to gauge online reaction to a series of jokes and landed on some cowboy-themed inspiration. He says: “Before the show came together I went through a period where I decided to write ten jokes a day and ask my girlfriend at the time to pick the best one, which I would tweet. I wrote one that became a line in the show. It was ‘cowboy: there’s a snake in my boot. Snake: there’s a foot in my house. me: perspective is everything in the wild wild west”

The breakdown of Will’s relationship features in the show and becomes an emotional roller-coaster of how a cowboy deals with talking about his feelings to a friend who isn’t as comfortable with self-expression. This paves the way for some dreamy comedy.

The comedy duo met over a decade ago. Eddy says: “We met 11 years ago at university. It wasn’t going to well for me and I was very depressed. I decided to join the university’s sketch society and Will was in the room when I auditioned. It wasn’t until 2016 that we started a double act.”

The pair have been stalwarts for over a decade and it’s no surprise their next show work-in-progress at Vault Festival takes on the theme of brothers-in-arms on the frontline as soldiers exploring the dynamic in a different setting.

Back to Cowboys, and the pair reunited to make an Edinburgh debut after Will considered walking away from comedy altogether, only for Eddy to bring him back from the brink.

Will said: “We did a version of the show before lockdown, but I’d actually got to the point where I wasn’t going to do comedy anymore. It was Eddy who persuaded me to come back. I like performing in a partnership because there is something meaningful to collaboration where someone wants to perform with you.”

“We also have a great team. Jordan Brookes has directed the show and David McIver is doing tech. It’s a big team effort and it helps with confidence.”

Crizards: Cowboys comes to Soho Theatre, London, 26-28th January 2023 at 10:15pm. Tickets from £15. Book here https://sohotheatre.com/shows/crizards/

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MasterChef: The Professionals is back on BBC One for its 15th series where 32 ambitious chefs battled to become the 2022 Champion. Amongst them was Gabriella Margiotta who made it to the semi-finals of the show.

Now working in her family restaurant Cucina di Vincenzo, she reflects on her time on the show and talks all things foodie and festive.

What is the pressure cooker of the Masterchef Professionals kitchen like?

Intense but incredibly rewarding. Having your idols watch and judge your every move is the hardest thing to go through but when that feedback is positive, it’s incredible how you feel.

What’s been your highlight from the series?

The highlight for me has to be my first episode. I was so nervous going onto the show and, after a disastrous skills test, to pull it back the way I did and have all three judges say nothing but great things about my dishes was just something I’ll never forget or get over! 

What do you hope to share with viewers around your passion and love for food?

Bringing families back to the table, simplifying cooking and taking the fear out of the kitchen. It’s about not about being afraid of failing, people message me all the time saying “I tried this but it was awful so never again” – you have to try again, you don’t learn new skills overnight.

If you could name three  Christmas hacks for the big day relating to time, money and flavour, what would they be?

1. Preparation – gravy, Yorkshire puddings, sticky toffee pudding for dessert…. These are all things that can be done a month in advance when stored in the freezer.

2. Disposable foil trays, this takes the mess out of Christmas and means that no ones left at the sink!

3. Make your own canapes! Don’t waste your money and freezer spaces on loads of different canapés and picky bits and make your own. I’ll do a video on this on my social channels, so keep your eyes peeled.

How would you describe your kitchen vibe at home?

Vibrant, loud, flavourful, fun and chaos but a place where everyone wants to be and never wants to leave!

What do you love most about having a family restaurant?

I love how honest it is. When its family working together as hard as it can be you know you all have the same goal, and that’s to serve good honest food in a warm relaxed environment. I love how we bounce of each other, I run things from the kitchen and ensure everything is at the standard we aim for and I have my sister, our front of house, working the floor ensuring everyones having a great time. Throw my mum and dad into the mix and it’s the perfect recipe!

Why do you think Liverpool has such an exciting food scene?

Probably because there is so many independents. It’s hard going to big city’s sometimes and all you see is the big names/chains. I find small independents is where you’re going to find the real talent and big flavours.

What are your plans for Christmas Day?

Christmas Day is at my house! Now that I have my own home I can take the weight off my mum, she’s done it every year for over 20 years! I still get her round xmas eve to help though!! All the family are at ours! We do our secret Santa, play games, argue, eat, drink, argue again and fall asleep watching old home videos!

Any plans for a book in 2023? Or other plans afoot?

I’d love to have my own book and its definitely on the cards, they take some time to develop so hopefully this is something I can start from 2023! Stay tuned!

Follow Gabriella for more recipe hacks and updates on her Instagram account @gabriellas_kitchen

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Self-described as “a filmmaker, comedian, engineer and former international triathlete”, her debut show BC:AD (Before Children, After Diapers) addresses the intersection between life before and after being a mum and then ‘becoming history’.

Applying the endurance of her athletic successes, she has been honing BC:AD’s material and describes it as “an invitation to anyone that finds themselves slightly overdrawn, mostly obscure and definitely needing the sound of another voice to reason with their own challenges”. 

Comedy and endurance; art and science – there are unlimited possibilities for Anu to explore on stage, promising to take us “from the equatorial latitudes of Madras, India to the glacial confines of Munich, Germany” taking the more scenic non-linear route. I caught up with Anu on how her latest scientific experiment – comedy creation and motherhood – combine, and what audiences can expect.

On the appeal of live comedy, Anu says: “I believe in structure and understanding how much you can push your material. It frees me – I can play and explore how I’m going to say it. Having the experience of the Edinburgh Fringe was a really great way to directly communicate with an audience.”

“As a filmmaker, I’m one step removed from the audience and must convey my ideas through actors. However, since the pandemic I was longing to leave the house. Unwittingly, I found myself at clown school and a month on found a few standup gigs. Comedy gave me a quicker feedback look on new material than films or books ever could. So, I worked on myself as a performer with this hour show that I hope brings people together as it did at the fringe now, I’m going on tour.”

Finding the space to explore comedy content has been accelerated by creating lives. Anu adds: “If I hadn’t had children, I wouldn’t have started writing. Children remind you of what human nature is about. Children don’t care about the things that most adults get caught up in the day-to-day, and it has been my children that have helped me reconnect with my instincts.”

After the Edinburgh Fringe got back on its feet this year, Anu took to the stage for a month in one of the ‘big four’ venues (Underbelly, Bristo Square). She feels, in part, the pursuit of live comedy came after two years of being disconnected from filmmaking, people, places and things, all of which inspire the art of her storytelling.

“During the pandemic, I felt extremely desperate – I did not bake any cookies or anything like that – I was extremely out of sorts because I feel like as a writer my life is very much based on observation of people and places.  Then when you shut off you know a writer’s ability to even walk, I feel like that really hampers our ability to produce anything, so I felt very suffocated. Maybe part of this part of doing Edinburgh or this little tour afterwards is also a way for me to re-engage with the world and see where that takes me.”

“Comedy is an art and a science and being able to play around with material at the fringe was a great opportunity to hone the show and prepare it for the tour. It’s a truly immersive show to perform and I feel like I’ve got it well-timed as a piece of work to bring the audience along with me. It’s a great excuse to get out of the house and enjoy some live comedy again.”

“BC:AD’s premise has a  universality that I’m very keen to explore. I’m going on tour because I’m very curious about the audience and how the show resonates in this way. Although I did have to take six weeks off after the Edinburgh run. It’s amazing how quickly you can feel incredibly lonely among 4000 performers. It forces you to understand sources of stress and anxiety to reduce the impact on the show, which meant I stopped using social media within a matter of days after joining the festival. I was also naïve to think that there were only four venues!  When it came to the audience I was expecting, I was surprised by those that came to see me.” 

“I thought that the audience for my show was primarily mothers you know or women who have had children and noticed to sort of gravitational shift in their lives but as the month progressed, what surprised me was a cross-section of audiences that I saw, and they were not limited to mothers or South Asians.”

“There was a whole variety of people; there were men that were relating to the show because of the loss of physical faculties as parents; there were women relating to the show who wanted to be mothers or who have been mothers and then have had detours and a lot of people came by all people who had no kids at all. I was just very pleasantly surprised by the number of people and the number of types of people that showed up in that little hour.”

“My kids visited me in the middle week, my husband did too – I feel like that festival atmosphere was not appropriate for them beyond the time that they visited now because it got too hectic. In fact, when I got home, I started to enjoy the everyday tasks, focusing on my internal self and reflection as grounding experiences after the fringe festival madness and ahead of booking the tour dates.”

“I’ve met a lot of women whose careers have taken them away from home, particularly as a filmmaker. Having met several comedians, it’s a common theme for parents to have considerations around children and I’m sure it’s something I’ll find out more about. However, many locations for the tour have a personal connection to an era of my life and hasbeen part of my family units whether that’s with my parents, my husband or our family with our children, so it feels like a natural progression to explore.” 

“I’m only now awakening but the possibilities in an artistic life. I think before I came to Edinburgh I was something of a very bashful filmmaker who knew my range and reach as an engineer or in terms of grasping things.  I’m only at the start of my comedy journey and I know I need to spend many more hours exploring the development of the work and testing the half-truths about the process that I’ve learned so far.”

BC: AD will be touring on the following dates and locations: 5th November – Bangalore, India; 6th November – Chennai, India; 18th Nov – Heidelberg; 23rd Nov – Glasgow; 25th Nov – Canal Cafe and theatre, London; 9th December – Prague/CZ; 14th-15^th; Jan – NYC Festival; 29th Jan – Rotherham, Yorkshire; March – Junction Cambridge. For more information visit https://linktr.ee/comedy.Av

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The Liverpool based festival, from UK literary charity The Reader, has announced this year’s line-up of online and in-person talks, shared reading groups and discussions around the role of books in navigating present day societal challenges.

Headline speakers include BBC1 ‘The Responder’ writer Tony Schumacher, Bootle-born writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Kit de Waal (My Name is Leon), Lissa Evans (Wed Wabbit) Katherine May (Wintering)and Roosevelt Montas (Rescuing Socrates). Writers Ashleigh Nugent, Hannah Azieb Pool, Jacqueline Roy, Judith Bryan, Kadija Sesay and Tomiwa Owolade are also among the latest names added to the Gravity festival line up. 

Highlights include author Tomiwa Owolade, who will be taking part intwo events over the weekend. His non-fiction book This Is Not America (Atlantic Books, 2023), which won the top prize at the RSL Giles St Aubyn Awards, argues that too much of the debate about race in Britain has been viewed through the prism of American experiences and history that don’t reflect the challenges — and achievements — of an increasingly diverse black British population. 

Tomiwa says: “I can’t wait to witness the stimulating readings and discussions on offer. And in our increasingly polarised political and literary climate, I greatly look forward to sharing the work of James Baldwin, a writer of great moral integrity and sophistication.”  

Hannah Chukwu, series editor of Penguin’s Black Britain: Writing Back has curated a festival special featuring top Black British writing:  Whose Stories Matter?  Sierra Leone/British literary activist Kadija Sessay looks at how we decide which books are remembered, taught and celebrated throughout history. (Sat 1 Oct, 1pm online & in person), Mental Health: A Hidden Story authors Jacqueline Roy (The Fat Lady Sings) and Judith Bryan (Bernard and the Cloth Monkey) will discuss how we can use the power of books and reading to change the conversation around mental health for good. (Sat 1 Oct, 3pm online & in person) and The Power of Sharing Your Story – author Hannah Azieb Pool reflects on the unique power of writing your own story, as she shares her extraordinary journey of family, identity, and finding home. (Sat 1 Oct, 4pm online & in person) 

Social entrepreneur, Ashleigh Nugent will be talking about his debut novel LOCKS: My Heritage, My Story and the importance of story in his work with prisons and schools, and those at risk of offending. (Sat 1 Oct, 12noon – online & in person) 

Jane Davis, Founder and Director of The Reader, the charity behind the event, said: “The idea for Gravity, a festival where we could talk seriously, discover good things to read and possibly have a laugh along the way, came during conversation with a colleague when we were both going through difficult times. People don’t talk about this kind of thing in public, we said, so let’s do it! “ 

“We hope to welcome many of you to the Mansion House, or online, to meet these and many other great writers, and to talk with gravity and be surprised by joy.” 

Other programme highlights include: 

Reading With Care an online event that looks at the role of Shared Reading – where small groups of people are brought together to experience literature in the moment – in the world of mental health. Panelists include Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council Matt Ashton and psychoanalyst, Professor of Literary Theory and author of several books, including The Private Life: Why We Remain in the Dark, Josh Cohen. (Fri 30 Sep, 1pm – online) 

A series of intimate Shared Reading workshops running across the weekend where we’ll be reading and reflecting on themes including dealing with the unspoken, understanding troubles in love, being afraid and listening well. All sessions are free, no previous reading experience needed. 

To bring the weekend to a close, Festival goers, in person and online, are invited to join the Poetry Party (Sun 2 Oct, 3.30pm – online & in person) grand finale where they can read a poem aloud that has had a special meaning for them.

Tickets to in-person events range from free to £10, with all online events free of charge to attend.Book online now at www.thereader.org.uk/get-involved/gravity-festival

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A seasoned character clown, Sami thrives in creating hilarious and ridiculous characters that engage the audience in the universality of being as silly as possible.

His debut show, ‘Bedu’, which centres around a Palestinian refugee who finds his dead body steals his passport and comes to the UK on a cruise ship offers on empowering route to discussions of his own identity. On ‘why now’, Sami says:

“The reason I’m addressing my own identity now as a character clown is that if I don’t a void is created that could be filled with the wrong assumptions. If I don’t explore this myself, it’s only a matter of sooner rather than later that my exploring my identity will come up, and my comedy must be a vehicle to explore this.”

On developing the show, Sami says:

“Clowning is the only thing I’m good at, it has limitless possibilities to make people laugh.”

“I initially developed a character that was already semi in development as a silent clown. But he then became a character fully fledged speaking character, who is who has my name, who is a Palestinian refugee who has come to the UK. It was a funny journey developing that character as your average theatre go-ers are white middle British people.”

“The biggest challenge was giving them permission, finding ways through the writing to give them permission to laugh. This was one of the goals for my debut show and I’m very, very happy with what I’ve made.”

“I found that by making a clown that was an immigrant cleaner, it was a challenge to give people in this country permission to laugh without having to expand on it. I basically had to give a character that was originally a silent clown a voice.” 

“I started thinking about my identity and my heritage and my father’s identity and how he’s part of a Bedouin tribe in Palestine, which has a very complicated story with statehood and authority in that the states are actively trying to settle Bedouins to create citizens out of them, which in many ways, against their way of life.” 

“I realised that I wanted to explore this – it’s such a rich stream of things to draw from and sort of pertinent issues.” 

Sami presents a lot of different ideas at the same time through his performance, through creating a surreal collection of characters from a sauna attendant to a flamenco guitarist that he hopes will both challenge and give permission to UK audiences to laugh.

“The real engine of the show is character clowning.” 

“With clowning, you aren’t restricted to standing on a stage with a mic. You can walk into the audience and get them to feed you. There are limitless possibilities to make people laugh people laugh. Making people laugh isn’t just sitting down with a pen and paper and writing jokes.” 

“I began creating a new version of the show post pandemic. It’s a silly character show, but it’s being presented by this Palestinian refugee who has my name, and it’s a story about heat how he basically found me dead and stole my passport and came to the UK on a stolen passport.” 

But having said all that, it’s an hour of chaotic character clowning, full of audience engagement – it’s not the type of theatre where there’s the gentle nods of heads. It’s more chuck tomatoes in my mouth and tell me what silly dance you want me to do.”

Confronting the reaction of the comedy industry to the Black Lives Matter movement and demands for racial equity in society since 2020, Sami is passionate about proactively sharing what it feels like, as a person of colour and character comic, to be approached based on your ethnicity and identity to be included in comedy gig line-ups. He says:

“We are in a time now where people need to know who you are to understand where your voice is coming from with judgement as to whether your voice is legitimate. So, I found myself having to suddenly talk about my own identity as a character comic, and the whole nature of character comedy is not being yourself.” 

“So, it was quite difficult, and a lot of international comics have this issue. I think what compounds the issue for me is I speak with a broad sort of southern English accent, which really doesn’t align with who I am. I didn’t grow up in this country.” 

“I was born in Kuwait, I have lived around the world, mostly in the UAE where we lost all our assets in the Gulf War and were basically made refugees, but even though I was born in Kuwait, I was very lucky to be born with British citizenship had I not been wandering decisions ever would have been a very different, different situation.” 

“My background is a very complicated and my show deals with that, as well as the fact that you can learn how to change how you present.” 

A personal journey, Sami’s debut hour has allowed him to explore the context of his work, who he performs to, and the response he gets. He says:

“A lot of the show and the way it was written, is a conversation between me my identity and the place I’m in and the identity of your majority ‘comedy going’ audiences.” 

“If I had written this show in another country, let’s say in an Arab country, it would look very different in that. There would be things that I wouldn’t need to do. So, the structure and the rest of the show itself is a reflection of the country we’re in. And this isn’t anything negative. I’m just acknowledging the origin of it and where it stands in the context of this country’s audiences. A lot of a lot of comics not being brought up in the UK are in a tricky position.”

Sami says this exploration of his mixed heritage has led to an empowering realisation: that it is OK to embrace both of his identities.

“Doing this show has given me an opportunity to talk about it. It’s been equal measures of scary and empowering. Genuinely, the process of making this show and dealing with issues around my own identity has been a very personal journey for me.”

“It has been about finding out how to give people that permission to laugh and really, really being honest with myself about who I am.” 

“I’ve never used comedy like this, for me. Comedy has always been an expression of silliness.” 

“My gold standard in my work is how can I create something that is purely in the moment that will never happen again, that has people doubled over with laughter while simultaneously saying ‘I can’t believe this person is doing this’.”

Sami Abu-Wardeh’s show ‘Bedu’ will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe at the Underbelly, Cowgate until 28th August (8:10pm – 60 mins). Tickets are £8 and available here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sami-abu-wardeh-bedu. Catch Sami at the Soho Theatre in London 28th November – 3rd December at 9pm. Book tickets here https://sohotheatre.com/shows/sami-abu-wardeh-bedu-2/

The post Sami Abu-Wardeh talks character clowning – and this time, it’s personal appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

In the last four years, they have performed internationally and across the UK in festivals and on the live circuit. They have sold out three consecutive Edinburgh Fringe runs as well as a sold out extended run at Soho Theatre in 2019.

Marina Bye studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama whilst Maddy Bye studied at the same time at the Parisian Clown School Ecole Philippe Gaulier. Together, they make something ridiculous and are carving their name onto the comedy firmament. I caught up with them about the inspiration behind this year’s show.

How was lockdown for Siblings?

It was all a bit of a blur. There were moments of humour and horror all mixed into every minute of it, which we imagine would have been similar to most peoples experiences. Some interesting things happened, Maddy was dumped and our cat died  so that was a barrel of laughs to be stuck together indoors for! (they eye roll whilst Maddy goes a bit red)

Covid also cancelled live comedy which makes sense for the time but it meant the adrenaline and the pressure died a little bit which is what we kind of thrive off. The government did tell us to ‘retrain’ so we did spit fire some ideas…. Maddy considered working at a zoo and Marina thought it best to stare at a wall for 2 years. 

Looking back, there were some real comedy moments in there though. The rise and fall of zoom gigs will always remain a funny memory, one time a thousand hackers broke into a very innocent, calm comedy gig we were in. We both collapsed to the floor in hysterics and struggled to keep it together while carnage unfolded on the screen. 

Some real gems came out of the internet at that time. House Party….remember that? Luckily all the comedians we know were such a brilliant support network, everyone had a bit of a strange time not knowing what was going to happen to live comedy. It’s very surreal that we are now all one week away from performing again at the Edinburgh Fringe! 

Tell me about the inspiration behind the show?

We started writing our new show back in 2019 which is when we thought we would be heading to the Fringe. It changed a lot over the last 2 years and we have really been able to hone in on what ‘Siblings’ really is and what we want from our shows. We have ended up making the new show a bit different to our usual style this year which we are VERY excited to present to everyone.

We realized that a lot of the characters we were creating could all be set inside a magical, weird, timeless, horrifying school. Once the world was established, the characters just started building more and more. Lots of them are inspired by our childhoods and what we experienced when we were younger. 

We also took inspiration from people we thought everyone could relate to or remember in some way. Then they started extending to characters you see in iconic films, like the American coach who always does inspirational speeches, or big breasted headmistresses who scare the living daylights out of you, the list goes on. It’s the first time we’ve made something set inside a sort of fake / sort of real world which we hope everyone will be able to recognise and laugh at. 

We’ve still kept the madness of our usual style with clowning, songs, semi organized choreography and some mid to high range level acting. That’s all there, don’t worry…just in case you were…

Do you think being siblings with a lower case c have a competitive comedy advantage?

We definitely think being Siblings helps with our comedy in some way. It’s how it all began really. When we were children we used to play characters together constantly to pass the time, in the back seat of cars, underneath tables at restaurants. Nobody was safe.. 

We can bounce off each other so easily and yes we can get competitive & fall out but we always end up wanting each other to win on stage. Nothing is funnier to me (Maddy) than when Marina is absolutely nailing it. Also when we fail or flop. it’s just as funny, if not even more funny. Performing with your sister is really unlike anything else because winning AND losing is funny to us. It’s wild how in sync we can get too, how we can give the time to the other one on stage.

We can even talk at the same time and if you don’t believe this please do approach us and ask. It’s true, see it to believe it.

Do you think sketch comedy is having a renaissance?

It’s always a tricky one with sketch because it goes up then down then up then down. To us, sketch, especially character sketch, can be such a powerful form of comedy. Nothing makes us laugh more and recently there have been some brilliant sketch shows and character shows making a resurgence on screen. Hope that is also the case on stage fingers crossed!

It’s also just such a fun way to escape into different worlds, which is what we are really hoping for in our show this year. To give people an escape from the outside world and just laugh for an hour without having to think about the last couple of years. 

We also are weird because we don’t think we necessarily fall into the straight up ‘sketch’ group. We are a sketch show but it’s mainly character work with a mix of both of our training. Marina went to Drama School for 3 years at the same time Maddy went to clown school in Paris for 2 years so there’s a pretty wild combination of those styles going on. We also have delved this year into a bit more of the musical comedy zone. There’s not really a word for this show’s genre. Maybe CLETCHSONGSICALOWN comedy? Does that work? 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given about the new show or what advice are you following?

“Don’t ever say that on stage again” from our director. Just kidding! No he actually did say that once. 

One of the best bits of advice we got was actually from someone who worked with us a while ago who made us realize that we didn’t need to underline that we are Siblings in our shows because it’s already obvious from how we interact. This is something we can’t ever see ourselves, so we just have to trust it. Once we started focusing less on the story that we are sisters and more on our characters and sketches, the show became so much more than it was before. 

We like to be quite free in our comedy and very much mix what we both separately learnt on our own paths. Even though there is a script and the show is written (we swear it is), it’s ok to go with your impulse and take risks. We always have each other to fall back on and we really like when one of us just goes for it or follows something that’s happening in the room. It’s live comedy so anything can happen at any time. Something we have learnt as live performers is to not ignore those things but to use them. 

Also, the Fringe is hard. It’s important to not become all encompassed in your show. It will always change, audiences will always surprise you and some things may land one night and flop the other so we suggest that if you go to the Fringe, take it with a pinch of salt. Anything can happen, we’ve learnt this from previous years. it’s so easy to let things affect you but the advice we give to ourselves is to just keep going and to keep believing in what you’ve created,

Are you used to living together and what’s your flow/rhythm for the month of Fringe madness?

We actually live together in real life as well so we are definitely used to it at the Fringe. Of course, we will also have 7 other performers living with us in our tight tight student accommodation as well, so it’s good for us Siblings not to be stuck alone together all the time. 

We so desperately want to say we have a flow and a rhythm in the month of the fringe. It’s definitely something you dream about before going… Routine, morning walks in the Scottish hills, watch 10 shows by midday, sailll like soft buttery butter through your show ending with a standing ovation and then off to bed by 9:30pm. Very quickly that wonderful idea can fly out the window. But that’s ok.

I guess it is just taking every day as it comes in the Fringe and no matter what’s thrown at you to just try and go with it and see it all as a bit of fun. We like to watch a lot of shows as well as doing our own and support each other as performers. It’s good to avoid getting mad at yourself for decisions you make. A great way to combat this is seeing friends who are in the same boat as you and eating lots of food. You will 100% find us at the mac n cheese van a lot, that’s our main rhythm…. Mac n cheese. 

What do you hope audiences will take away from the show?

We really wanted to create something this year that will be a silly escape from the last quite horrific few years. We want to hopefully give a show where everyone can laugh for an hour and leave feeling pumped and ready to party into the night. 

Our new show is set at a school for talented Siblings. It is completely ridiculous. We hope people will see different characters that they will recognise from their own lives and will hopefully bring them back into their childhood as grown ups. 

It is quite rude as well…it’s rude as hell. 

What’s the best thing about live comedy?

There really isn’t anything in the world like performing live comedy. It is honestly incredibly nerve wracking, even after 5 years of doing it, Maddy still slowly and silently flops to the floor and sits cross legged (usually somewhere really obscure) before every show and Marina runs to wee whilst the audience are entering the venue. RELIGIOUSLY. 

It’s that moment before the show when you think “WHYYY HAVE I CHOSEN TO DO THIS WITH MY LIIFFEEE” but as soon as you get out there you realize why. It’s a rush like no other and when you do a good show, you know there’s no way in hell you can stop. Connecting with a room full of strangers and laughing with them as well… its sick.. It’s ill. 

Going to watch live comedy as well doesn’t compare to anything else, watching someone tell the story they have chosen to tell whilst making you laugh and or cry and or wheeze is just the best thing in the universe.

Show: Siblings – Siblage Venue: Pleasance Courtyard, The Attic Ticket price: £10 Dates: until 29th August Time: 20:30 (60 mins) Ticket link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/siblings-siblage

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She has been featured on HBO’s Search Party, Prime’s Yearly Departed and the CW’s Would I Lie To You. She has also racked up 3.6 million likes on TikTok for her character driven comedy.

‘A Woman On The Verge’ is her solo debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Billed as a physical an interactive character comedy show that uses clowning and storytelling to explore ego, financial instability, inner chaos on our attempts to appear palatable, Hannah has created an hour of absurdity. 

While covering the pitfalls of having a meltdown, she is keen to redefine the fine line between having a breakdown and a breakthrough, a fascinating place to kick of live comedy after a two-year hiatus. She says:

“I wanted to create characters that bring joy that you gravitate towards too. Woman On The Verge is about teetering on the edge. It’s the space we all occupy and I’m exploring when this can be a good thing. For example, having a breakthrough. The show is about perpetual chaos.”

The show contains an hilarious collection of characters that guide us along the shaky precipice of the verge, where we intermittently see Hannah trying to prepare for her show.

“The overarching premise is me trying to start my show however I’ve, over committed and there is a delay to getting the show started.”

“Sometimes we’re afraid of what we’ll experience when we are on the verge and I’ve tried to create a safe environment to occupy a manic space.”

“The show is immersive, requires audience engagement and its success depends as much on you as on me.”

“How do we look at this space and make it silly? What does it mean to be on the edge? We know the corporate world is full of buzz words like mindfulness and synergy. It’s my reality of being an endless people pleaser.”

“Even during the pandemic I’d over-committed myself to friends on Zoom and felt like I was disappointing people I couldn’t dial into the video calls I had accepted.” 

“It comes back to an inability to check in with yourself. I really want the show to be a seamless experience where I take on different roles and the audience Get a fully immersive experience.” 

“Audiences may even connect with their inner child as there is a theme of make believe and we build something together in real time.”

“No two shows at the same. – it isn’t preaching, and it doesn’t try to alienate people. In fact quite the opposite,  it seeks it seeks to the positive and a sense of optimism.”

One of the flagship motifs of the show is Hannah, crying after a catastrophic end to an intermediate hip-hop dance class, which includes shaky hands. Hannah tells more about how this came about IRL:

“I was crying at home and I caught myself in the mirror and my hands were shaking near my face. I realised then how silly and funny you can look when you are extremely stressed. I began to explore this more and I’ve had feedback from other comedians including Natalie Palamides who told me to ‘go for it’ and to see how far I could take it.”

On returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a fully-fledged solo show and producer, Hannah is looking forward to the return of live comedy. She says:

“There is nothing like the visceral experience of performing to a live audience of going through the show together. I also love watching live comedy as you get to see how thousands of people’s brains ticket festival like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Maybe I’ll see lots of perspectives on climate change – I may think that some resonate, and some don’t -It’s the ultimate art form and a really effective way to share art and ideas.”

“Alternative comedy nights like Stamptown were really formative in helping me to develop my work, allowing me to explore the space between character comedy and stand up”.

Show: Hannah Pilkes: Woman On The Verge Venue: Underbelly Bristo Square (Dexter) Time: 7:15pm (60 mins) Date: Until 29 August (except 15th) Ticket price: £7-£10 Ticket link: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/hannah-pilkes

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We meet a series of characters who are familiar from film and TV across every era in the UK, the USA and around the world and back again. However the only thing predictable about Siblings’ characters is the sheer chaos that ensues. 

It is so ridiculous that it becomes a cathartic experience where the audience are bound together in the psychedelic assembly hall as the class of 2022.

At its core, sisters Maddy and Marina Bye offer up the troubled and complex lives of teachers that we always imagined went on behind the staff room door. 

They release a ‘warts and all’ take down of teacher-led hypocrisy, the type that stifles childhood creativity, a hypocrisy of leadership that is digested and gloriously regenerated into a bursting confetti cannon of comedy with the help of fellow Siblage students.

It has been a joy to see the evolution and refinement of ideas and we are treated to some musical comedy for the first time with a theatrical rendition of “Father’s lost his mind” – a song worthy of any West End stage. 

We are reminded of every schoolteacher’s obsession with ‘peer pressure’ as we are lectured by two big-busted northern women who ask us to ‘settle down’ while informing us they’ve had to ‘leave year five in the Louvre in France’ and they were also supposed to be at ‘drinks at the cock and bollocks’ with Mr Henley.

We also see a drama teacher commandeering the assembly to perform his play about an American coach estranged from his son – he has heard ‘industry is in’ and wants to show his skills – a line that subverts the Edinburgh Fringe Festival itself.

The push and pull between each half of Siblings adds a dimension of unlimited creative potential onstage. The trust between the pair allows for greater risks guaranteeing each show will take on a unique identity backed by the seamless quality of the writing.

The tech elements of the show create an immersive experience. A special mention goes to Ellie, the tech engineer and DJ who supports the show with the unfaltering energy of an adopted sibling or first cousin.

Having watched this show I have reprogrammed my brain to believe that school was retrospectively enjoyable or at least it would have been if I was at school with Siblings. 

As we navigate the ups and downs of a post-pandemic world and return to work, this show reminds us to embrace fun and silliness as a weapon against the mediocre and mundane aspects of life that sometimes feel out of our control (a feeling I also felt at school).

This is not so much a performance as an exclusive invitation into the world of Siblings for a moment in time.

Show: Siblings – Siblage Venue: Pleasance Courtyard, The Attic Ticket price: £10 Dates: until 29th August Time: 20:30 (60 mins) Ticket link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/siblings-siblage

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Helping us make sense of the last two years, he expertly engages the room with stories that are familiar yet unique and very funny. Like a full English breakfast, Josh doesn’t overcomplicate his approach and the show delivers exactly what audiences hope for. His show is almost a therapeutic response to ‘what the hell just happened?’ as we assimilate back into post-pandemic life and live comedy.

This is good quality stand-up which has an authentic simplicity only made possible from his talent for the craft.

Like an extra side of hash browns, we are served more than the sum of this show’s parts.

This is because Josh celebrates the everyman, he’s exactly the type of friend you’d want to have in a group chat, who sees the funny side in every situation. 

Be it losing his job overnight and going to work for the Royal Mail or depriving Captain Tom of his centenary gifts, there is a punchline around every corner. 

Without getting too deep, he teaches us how to be lighter and change our perspectives on our own everyday lives, which is a subtle but invaluable gift.

A new dad, having encountered numerous trials and challenges over lockdown, Josh rightfully credits himself as someone ‘who turns up’, no matter what the circumstances, as a hard worker and a grafter. 

However this show merits more than Josh’s attendance alone, it works ten-fold to glide through stories that always surprise. Despite ‘competing with lunch’ in this afternoon slot, it really is the perfect re-introduction to live comedy and should be the first show on your list to see at the Fringe.

His jokes are incredibly well-observed, from the loose cannon friend that you have to pre-warn that they’re on loudspeaker; to the paranoid package holiday dad who immediately stores all his possessions in the apartment’s safe, (‘these people have nothing’); or Covid-19’s social importance being downgraded from BBC to Channel 5 like the TV show Big Brother. 

An hour of exceptionally good stand-up, he gets to the universal joke in any situation. A born-stand-up.

Show: Josh Pugh – Sausage, Egg, Josh Pugh, Chips and Beans Venue: Monkey Barrel 4 Time: 2.15pm (60 mins) Date: Until 28 August (except 20th) Ticket price: £8 Ticket link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/josh-pugh-sausage-egg-josh-pugh-chips-and-beans

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