Reviews play a critical part in the Arts world, especially during the Edinburgh Festival. Who is reviewing you, did it read like a five-star, why is nobody turning up, and what can you do with them in September?

In this podcast, I’m joined by Scott Matthewman. He has been working as a theatre critic for nearly twenty years, sometimes as a part-time freelancer and at other times as a fully employed staff writer. We talk about the importance of reviews and reviewers in the Arts, how reviewing has changed over the years, and what can be done to improve the review landscape at Edinburgh and other Fringes around the world.

• Find out more about Scott Matthewman through his About Me page.

Listen to more from the world of the Edinburgh Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

Ewan Spence is joined by theatre producer Fin Ross Russell (The Collie’s Shed) to look back at this year’s Fringe, the preparation required, what happens next, and plans for 2024.

• Find out more about Fin Ross Russell at Island Life Productions.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

What does it mean to bring a legend back into the light? That’s the challenge faced by Two Halves Productions in the delightful tongue-twisty Never Trouble Trouble, Until Trouble Troubles You. 

Writer and performer Paul Beeson joins the podcast to talk about the life of Bobby Walker, and portraying the legend at the Edinburgh Fringe. Joining Heart of Midlothian Football Club in 1896, Walker became one of the first footballing superstars; before fading from the public eye. What responsibilities are there with a biography, how do you find the voice of someone born in the 19th century, and what is it like to perform in a museum full of the memories of the legend?

• You can book tickets for ‘Never Trouble Trouble‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more from Two Halves Productions on its website.
• Mervyn Stutter’s Pick Of The Fringe.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

Cat Shit Crazy, with either an exclamation mark replacing the eye or a censored graphic over the title, caught a lot of attention as the Fringe started, in part due to the aforementioned ‘we can’t have that sort of thing on display at the Fringe’. Sometimes the best publicity comes as a surprise. But the show is about much more than that.

Hollywood-based Cindy D’Andrea’s autobiographical show is much more than that. At one of the darkest moments in her life, her best friend suggested she should get a cat. Moving from I hate cats, to countless feline friends over the last fourteen years, this is a story about a woman, a cat, and unconditional love.

• You can book tickets for ‘Cat Shit Crazy‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more from Cindy on her website.
• Edinburgh Comedy Poster Award.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

What happens when you decide to make your own magic from whatever you can find around you? What happens when you add a dash of robotics to the magic? And then an old tomato soup can from the bin to be your next robot assistant.

That’s the world of Mario The Maker Magician. It’s a family show packed with slapstick humour, handmade robots, and a lot of skill. There’s a mix of science, creativity, showmanship, and laughter that is incredibly hard to balance. Mario makes it look easy.

• You can book tickets for ‘Mario The Maker Magician‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Mario here.
• The Edinburgh Comedy Awards shortlist can be found via Chortle.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

When you do comedy, there’s always a message – the old adage of only punching up is born from many a hard-earned lesson on the stage. You can do that powerfully with force and aggression, but if you prefer a milder comedian, then why not ask Tom Mayhew. 

Tom’s show for 2023 is ‘This Time Next Year, We’ll Be Millionaires!’ and beyond the well-timed nod to something the audience may be more familiar with to catch their attention, Mayhew has much to say on capitalism, on hopes, and dreams, in a whimsically sweet hour that delivers some sharp satire on the United Kingdom when you least expect it.

• You can book tickets for ‘This Time Next Year We’ll Be Millionaires‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Tom online here.
• The ISH Comedy Awards shortlist can be found via Chortle.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

The Fringe is not static. Neither are board games, and the classic Monopoly is a perfect example. It’s not a great game, it’s poorly designed, and it ruins friendships and families. Benjamin Alborough not only has the arguments on the dangers of Monopoly, but is also going to reinvent the game with the help of the audience.

Absolute Monopoly is an interactive yet rather chaotic gameshow; from going through the rules through becoming the board to play the game, to deciding the winner. If there’s going to be one.

• You can book tickets for ‘Absolute Monopoly!‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Benjamin online here.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

Rebecca McGlynn’s musical ‘Asexuality’ asks what it means to be a man in the 21st century and how toxic masculinity affects those of us assigned male at birth. It’s an autobiographical musical comedy about Rebecca’s life before transitioning.

Sitting down with Rebecca in a brief moment of sun, we talk about the power of Sondheim and choosing to do a musical for a show about queer identity; and why life never fits in a nice three-act structure.

This is an autographical piece, and as part of the interview, Rebecca does briefly talk about a historical sexual assault, at around the sixteen-minute of the podcast.

• You can book tickets for ‘Asexuality!‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Rebecca online here.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

One part of the Edinburgh Fringe for every performer is being judged; by the audiences, by the industry, by the reviewers, and pretty much every part of the business. Which makes it all the more interesting that Colleen Lavin has not only built a robot to judge her, but it’s doing it live, every day, in from of an audience.

In ‘’Do The Robots Think I’m Funny’, Colleen asks what it means to be insecure in the modern world, how comedy and improv mix, and the differences between a room in Chicago and a room in Edinburgh. Underneath it all is the nagging question of the moment… will we all be replaced by robots?

• You can book tickets for ‘Do The Robots Think I’m Funny?‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Colleen via her website, colleenlavin.com.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

Featuring cameos from Columbo and The Eiffel Tower, here’s my chat with Sid Singh. His Fringe show for 2023 is “Table for One”, where Sing talks about his dual career as a stand-up comic and human rights advocate – careers that see him taking on the US Government over human rights before dealing with deportation from India while staying in Germany. 

The show, which is supporting and raising money for the Centre for Gender and Refugee Studies, asks how you can fight the good fight while you are far away from home.

• You can book tickets for ‘Table For One‘ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more about Sid via Instagram.
• ISH Comedy Awards Longlist.
• NextUp Comedy Biggest Award Longlist.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.

Emily Walsh brings her show ‘Dad Girl’ from the clubs of New York to the Grassmarket of Edinburgh. Emily does not know if she wants kids, but she would like to be a dad. It’s a show about making decisions in a world where others believe the decision has already been made for you by society.

The Fringe offers something that many comics, including Emily, rarely get. A chance to spend an hour with an audience. That allows more complex topics to be addressed, to go into much greater depth, but also a chance to look at a wider picture. It’s an offer that Emily luxuriates in.

• You can book tickets for ‘Dad Girl’ from the EdFringe.com website. Find out more on Emily at her website emilywalshcomic.com, and listen to the Alone At Lunch podcast here.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or in your favourite podcast app, to never miss an episode.