DarkChat - Reviewing the Edinburgh Fringe since 2008
Interviews
A selection of interviews conducted in the run up to the 2014 Fringe.
Pre-Fringe Interviews
Interviews conducted during the mayhem of the 2014 Fringe.
The Edinburgh Fringe is a mass of both experienced and new performers.
We caught up with first-timer Martin Pilgrim to ask him about preparing his first full show for Edinburgh 2014.
For our second interview of 2014 we talk to a performer who studied in DarkChat's home city of Cardiff but hails from Toronto (where my Auntie lives - so you know, small world and all that...)
So after you've read our interview with Chelsea P. Manders here clear some space in your 2014 itineraries for her show. We have!
Next we speak to James Seagar of Les Enfants Terrible. They are one of our favourites and are previous DarkChat award winners.
This year they take new show 'Marvelous Imaginary Menagerie' and revisit the excellent 'Ernest and the Pale Moon'.
Find out more here.
Before DARKCHAT came into being the Coxes went to Edinburgh on their own, I know what were they thinking? Back in 2003 they thoroughly enjoyed Guy Masterson's adaptation of " Twelve Angry Men" featuring Owen O'Neill.
Eleven years later we catch his hysterical stand-up at the Glee Club in Cardiff and we learn from the man himself he will be performing his own poetry at this year's festival. What a guy!
To read about his 29 year affair with the festival (he must have arrived in short trousers) read on!!
More familiar to Scottish readers as Capital FM's Breakfast host Des Clarke has been performing comedy since 1990 and has been pretty good at it ever since.
This year's 'The Trouble with Being Des' will be his 7th solo show. Find out more about the show and about Clarke's history with the Fringe here.
Last year comedian/ poet Rob Auton won 2 prestigious awards, The DARKCHAT award for Best Free Show and Dave's Best Joke at the 2013 Edinburgh festival.
To find out if these awards have changed his life check our new interview with him here.
Australian John Robertson has been performing all over the world for over a decade and has been coming to the Fringe since 2009 and DarkChat first saw him in 2010.
In 2014 he's part of 3 shows, tells us what he's looking forward to in Edinburgh and what we can look forward to from him. Read on here.
Nassim Soleimanpour has an astonishing story. Nassim is an Iranian playwright who until 2013 had never seen his own show written in 2010 as he could not get a passport following his refusal to do national service.
Here he tells us all about it and about his new play Blind Hamlet.
We have been big fans of The Beta Males since we saw "The Train Job" (nominated for Best Show of 2011) and have since enjoyed "The Beta Males Midnight Movie", "The Space Race", "Superopolis" and are planning to cover all three of their shows this year.
They kindly interrupted their busy schedule for this astonishing interview. We suggest you sit down in a comfy chair make sure you are not holding any food or drink when you start reading or you may just cover yourself in unwanted objects. You have been warned:
In 2012 DARKCHAT happened upon Last Chance Saloon's "Dracula, Sex,Sucking & Stardom" and loved it. We missed them last year but hurrah they are back with "Frankenstein-Unbolted".
We, honestly can't wait. Read their lovely interview & book to see their show. You won't be disappointed.
We have been firm favourites of "Wit-Tank" since we found them in 2010 and they won the coveted DARKCHAT award for Best Comedy of 2011. We loved "The School" in 2013 and they are back this year with "Old School Secrets".
We managed to grab an interview with Naz, well it was the least he could do after accusing me of having "Laser Eyes" at a recent comedy gig in Portcawl. (Oh, yes us DARKCHAT reviewers will travel anywhere for fun).
DARKCHAT like all kinds of comedy, stand-up. sketch shows, comedy plays & Improv groups.
Last year Racing Minds won (jointly) the DARKCHAT award for Best Free Show with "Wireless Podcast". This year they are back this year with their paid show "Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised". They kindly gave us this interview:
At DARKCHAT we love Richard Herring. We love him so much that he's been nominated multiple times in our Annual Fringe awards. We love that he keeps coming back to Edinburgh and that he's happy to tell us about it.
We especially love that he has two shows this year, here he tells us about stand-up show 'Lord of the Dance Settee' and also his new play, penned especially for this years Fringe 'I KIlled Rasputin'.
Our first mid-Fringe interview is perhaps most aptly from a perfomer who appeared in the very 1st show we saw, (see our review for the excellent "The Curing Room" here).
Between shows we spoke to Will Bowden one of the stars of the piece:
Next up we talk to New Zealander Barrie Duncan about his alter-ego Juan Vesuvius, the star of Calypso Nights.
Here he tells us about Juan's creation, past and how they are both enjoying this FRinge and what the future holds.