BCG Daily Friday 10th August 2018

W1A actor sent suicide note to ex

Alex Beckett, 35, was found hanged at a friend's house in South Norwood, London, where he had been staying after splitting up with his girlfriend. Mr Beckett played Barney Lumsden in W1A and had been appearing in The Way of the World at the Donmar Warehouse in London when he died.

An inquest at Croydon coroner's court was told that Mr Beckett's former partner received a suicide note via iCloud on the day he died and called the police. When officers arrived at the house, they were unable to revive him.

Rowan Atkinson backs Boris Johnson in burka row

Rowan Atkinson, one of Britain's best-known comedians, has said that Boris Johnson's comments about the burka were funny and urged him not to apologise.

The man behind Blackadder and Mr. Bean defended the former foreign secretary's right to poke fun at religion.

William Andrews: Edinburgh Fringe 2018 interview

William Andrews interview.

Interview: Hugh Coles

Hugh Coles teases upcoming British comedy film The Festival.

Chris Difford takes to the Edinburgh Fringe

"It reminds me of being on the Queen Mary," Chris Difford is telling me. 2I did some afternoon shows on that. All they wanted to do was have people eat in the evening because that's where they made their money."

Lauren Pattison chooses her comedy favourites

'I walked out of Luisa's show feeling like I could take on the world'

Egg: Richard Pictures interview

Egg are Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini, back at the Fringe with Richard Pictures, a new character-led sketch show promising to explore "toxic masculinity and female friendship" with plenty of "high energy silliness and unexpected twists".

Three to see on 10 Aug

Three recommended shows to see on Friday 10 Aug...

Lucy Porter muses about the importance of legacy

That's the theme of Lucy Porter's Edinburgh Festival show and you have to admit it's a belter.

Why I love it when theatre goes wrong

The other night, at the Trafalgar Studios in London, midway through a performance of Killer Joe, Orlando Bloom stopped the show - twice - to berate a member of the audience for using an iPad. According to one eyewitness, the Lord of the Rings star let fly with some pretty fruity language and the temperature in the theatre - already hot, thanks to the weather - rose still further. I wish I'd been there. I love a drama at the drama.

Scotsman Fringe First winners: week one

The Scotsman Fringe Firsts recognise outstanding new writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - here are our first seven winners of 2018.

Kwame Asante: Edinburgh Fringe 2018 interview

Kwame Asante interview.

Fringe Spotlight 2018: Musical comedy duo Flo & Joan

Musical comedy duo Flo & Joan reveal their love for The Singing Kettle.

BWW Q&A- The Worst Little Warehouse In London

BWW caught up with Robbie Smith to chat about bringing The Worst Little Warehouse In London to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Arthur Smith on the Edinburgh festivals

"Nothing in the world is worse than a puffed-up comedian"

Edinburgh festival diary: Auld Sneekie: Riot breaks out

By the time you read this, Maria Alyokhina, one of the founders of Pussy Riot, should be in Edinburgh, in defiance of a travel ban imposed by the Kremlin.

Alex Edelman recalls his most memorable gigs

'Every night there was a guard outside holding an M-16 rifle'

What track do you come on to and why?

'I sing my own walk-on music as I can't remember my iTunes password'

Boris burqa row - Rowan Atkinson is not the enemy

My own family were exiled from Iran because my father made a joke in a newspaper column, but in very different circumstances. And there are times when a burqa joke is genuinely funny - but not in the case of Boris's.

Interview: Darren Harriott

Darren Harriott talks teenage years, masculinity and Nicholas Cage.

Faith, Christianity and how it shapes my comedy

"I wouldn't say I do 'Christian Comedy' but I'm always a Christian when I do my comedy"

Olivia Rhee: the Edinburgh interviews 2018

Olivia Rhee interview.

Paul Merton on past Fringes

I broke my leg playing football on the Meadows which led to a stay in hospital, where I got Hepatitis A and a pulmonary embolism.

When it comes to sequin-clad power pop, count me in

My first Wild Card Wednesday certainly lived up to its name, with what must be one of the most hilarious and uplifting responses to the #MeToo movement.

Edinburgh Fringe: Catch a rising star

Previews of Fringe newcomers.

The Festival review

This just might be the first film to portray the true, miserable horror of attending music festivals.

The realities of taking a show to the festival

If you're an artist, there's not really anything else worth talking about in August but Edinburgh Fringe. The lives of all creatives will have been completely taken over by it, whether you're there or not.