2015 Edinburgh Fringe
External press features
Edinburgh Fringe chief steps down
Kath M. Mainland is standing down as chief executive of the Edinburgh Fringe after seven years.
Chortle, 9th November 2015Fringe under pressure to pay all staff the living wage
BECTU is calling for all staff employed at venues during the Edinburgh Fringe to be paid the living wage.
Thom Dibdin, The Stage, 29th September 2015Fringe ticketing company to expand
Red61, the company which has been providing the Edinburgh Festival Fringe's ticketing software since 2009, has posted record turnover and announced it is to expand into new markets.
Thom Dibdin, The Stage, 29th September 2015Comedian explains how his Fringe show was axed
Comedian Stephen Carlin has written on his blog about being axed from Peter Buckley Hill's Free Fringe on Monday August 24, towards the end of this year's Edinburgh Festival. Carlin fell foul of the Free Fringe ethos of not being able to do runs on PBH's Free Fringe if also doing a full run at certain other venues.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 10th September 2015Fosters Comedy Award - where are they now?
Our guide to tracking down the Fosters Comedy Awards nominees and winners post-Fringe.
Kirstyn Smith, The List, 8th September 2015That'll teach me to Google myself...
OK, serves me right for googling my name on Twitter. As the end of the Fringe approached I wrote a piece speculating on who might make the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist. For my sins I did not pick out many women, mentioning that it was "not a strong female field this year".
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 4th September 2015Arthur Smith: The Smiffies
Time for me to announce who has won a 2015 Smiffy, the award every performer would love to receive, if only they knew of its existence.
Arthur Smith, The Stage, 3rd September 2015Final thoughts on Edinburgh Fringe 2015
This year's Fringe has been a good one for TV Bomb. More reviews than ever before, more visitors than ever before, and some great new writers. By means of wrapping up our coverage, I wanted to jot down a few thoughts that occurred to me throughout August as I was wandering the Fringe, seeing shows, chatting with people, editing reviews and writing my own. They're as jumbled and all-over-the-place as the Fringe itself, and not meant as definitive TV Bomb opinion...
Robert James Peacock, TV Bomb, 3rd September 2015Joanna Neary paints us a picture of her August
Writer and performer Joanna Neary (who doubles as one of our lovely illustrators at Standard Issue), has had A Faceful of Issues at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. She's also ended up with a sketchbook full of illustrated diary entries from her month north of the border, which she was happy to share.
Joanna Neary, Standard Issue, 1st September 2015Edinburgh, hoovered on the hoof
Comedian and food fiend Jessica Fostekew puts her mouth where others fear to tread. A celebration of eating: from posh nosh to kebab shops to stuff that's been on the floor. This week, Jess is all about the takeaways.
Jessica Fostekew, Standard Issue, 1st September 2015Five things we'll remember about the Fringe 2015
Here is what we'll remember long after that last pizza crunch supper has been digested.
This Is Cabaret, 1st September 2015The year the free show ceiling was truly smashed
Some of the free venues I went to, though not all, had better facilities, sight-lines and stages than paid shows, so the idea that the venues are rubbish and that all the chic venues have been snapped up for ticketed-only shows is nonsense.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 1st September 2015Patrick Monahan: The Disco Years, Edinburgh Preview
Patrick Monahan has an energy that could wake the dead.
Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 31st August 2015The end approaches
What the..!? It's the 31st?
Emma Bentley, The Public Reviews, 31st August 2015Fresh Fringe 24: House of Blakewell
A chat with House of Blakewell.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 31st August 2015Fringe Q&As: Morgan and West
Morgan and West discuss grumpy humans, moustaches and performing with Paloma Faith.
The Herald, 31st August 2015Brendon Burns stops by the #WOWwagon (Link expired)
Australian comedian Brendon Burns stopped by the #WOWwagon to talk about doing a free Fringe show and his Edinburgh experience this year.
Matthew Dunne-Miles, WOW247, 31st August 2015Exclusive Interviews with Comedy Award nominees
Sara Shulman interviews the winners and nominees of the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2015.
Sara Shulman, Comedy Blogedy, 31st August 2015Sam Simmons - my part in his Foster's victory?
When Sam Simmons won this year's Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award on Saturday I was delighted for him. Simmons had been nominated twice before, which meant that to persuade the judges to vote for him he had to improve on previous shows. And he clearly did it with Spaghetti For Breakfast, a veritable maelstrom of zany thoughts, madcap ideas and zippy observations.
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard, 31st August 2015Final fun at the Fringe
Some venues finished their programmes yesterday, plus a ton of shows have been cancelled so here is our pick of the best comedy shows for the last day.
Punchline UK, 31st August 2015Death, reviewers, pigs, ham-fistedness & drink
Reviews, of course, are both the dream and the nightmare of performers at the Fringe and some of the fly-by-night publications employ (unpaid) youngsters who are barely literate, let alone knowledgable.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 31st August 2015Biggest Edinburgh Fringe ever
There were 50,459 performances of 3,314 shows in 313 venues across Edinburgh. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced that by Monday afternoon, with hundreds of performances still to take place, an estimated 2,298,090 tickets had been issued for shows across Scotland's capital. The number of tickets issued reflects a 5.24% increase in comparison to tickets issued by the same point last year.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 31st August 2015Reviewer review: Stu Black (The Skinny)
Stu Black is quite refreshing. Perhaps I feel like that because we've all had a week in the FringePig office looking at reviewers eager to winkle out misogynists and those guilty of cultural essentialism or national exceptionalism or gender reductivism. Reviewers who have taken on the job of culture police.
Derwent Cyzinski, FringePig, 30th August 2015Reviewer review: Stephanie Withers (Three Weeks)
Stephanie Withers gives the impression of being scared of running over the word limit. Her reviews release their information in staccato squirts of data. Occasionally she'll pair two sentences with a comma. But mostly it reads like this. However, her reviews are better than this makes them sound.
Edmund Rumania, FringePig, 30th August 2015Nine things I was asked to do this Fringe...
From deleting bad reviews to paying for their own tickets.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 30th August 2015Interview: Felicity Ward, What if there is No Toilet?
A chat with Felicity Ward.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Joe Hart, Dirty Rotten Apples
A chat with Joe Hart.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Will Seaward
A chat with Will Seaward.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Planet Caramel
A chat with Planet Caramel.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Desiree Burch, Tar Baby
A chat with Desiree Burch.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Rob Mountford and Chris Larner
A chat with Rob Mountford and Chris Larner.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Jamie Wood, O No!
A chat with Jamie Wood.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Interview: Miles Allen, One Man Breaking Bad
A chat with Miles Allen.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Laugh Out London's Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards 2015
With the Edinburgh Festival Fringe sadly drawing to a close it's time for the big awards announcement that everybody has been waiting for; it's the Laugh Out London Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards 2015 (or LOLlies as they are affectionately known).
Laugh Out London, 30th August 2015Interview: Lucy Pearman and Letty Butler, LetLuce
A chat with LetLuce.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 30th August 2015Ten clichés in cabaret shows
Including, "Rap songs on a ukulele."
Adrienne Truscott, Chortle, 29th August 2015Three Weeks Editors' awards presented for 2015
We presented our Three Weeks Editors' Awards at the Surgeons Hall library this morning, celebrating the ten things that we feel made the Edinburgh Fringe extra special this year. The full list of winners is below, or click here to read more about each winning performer or show, and why we decided to give them one of our awards this year.
Chris Cooke, ThreeWeeks, 29th August 2015Interview: Andrew Flintoff reflects on his career
Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff has battled booze, bulimia and depression in his time, and his show at this year's 
Edinburgh Fringe covers the lot with gruff charm and good comic timing. In real life, though, the beer monster of old has become a much more sober character.
Aidan Smith, The Scotsman, 29th August 2015The Fringe is like running a marathon for us comics
Well it's nearly over. The Edinburgh Festival is like running a Marathon for us comics. We're pleased to have done it, but we're really happy it's finishing and a bit fed up we didn't get interviewed on the telly at Tower Bridge.
Hal Cruttenden, The Herald, 29th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Harriet Kemsley
Harriet Kemsley on making her Fringe debut.
The Herald, 29th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Chris Kent
Chris Kent on taking inspiration for his show from his wedding.
The Herald, 29th August 2015Elvis McGonagall performs spoken word in the #WOWwagon (Link expired)
Comedy poet Elvis McGonagall reads 'The Scottish Lion's Rampant' (inspired by the independence referendum) live in the #WOWwagon.
Alex Watson, WOW247, 29th August 2015Alarm in the Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show
My afternoon was then taken up by getting the increasingly prestigious Malcolm Hardee Comedy Award trophies engraved and boiling eggs for the annual Scottish National Russian Egg Roulette Championships which were to take place at the increasingly prestigious two-hour Malcolm Hardee Comedy Awards Show that night.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 29th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Dean Chekvala
Dean Chekvala on performing in two shows at the Fringe.
The Herald, 29th August 2015Fringe Q&As: David Elms
David Elms on why Edinburgh is the New York to London's LA.
The Herald, 29th August 2015The Nicholas Parsons system
It had only a brief run at the Pleasance this year, closing on Sunday August 16, but the 15th year of Nicholas Parsons' Happy Hour in the courtyard's Cabaret Bar was only curtailed because the 91-year-old star of the airwaves and the West End stage had other matters on his Edinburgh agenda.
Keith Bruce, The Herald, 28th August 2015Sarah Kendall on why her show is her darkest yet
"My show this year is called A Day In October and it's definitely got a much darker underbelly than anything I've done in the past", says Sarah Kendall.
Sarah Kendall, The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Tom Neenan
Tom Neenan on Ozzy Osborne and his rider.
The Herald, 28th August 2015Awards and a very offensive act at the Fringe
At yesterday's Grouchy Club the star of the previous show in the room, gentlemanly Peter Michael Marino, gallantly went to kiss our Jewish comedy princess Arlene Greenhouse's hand. Unfortunately, her hand twitched and hit him in the face. Late last night, he was still nursing a bruised lip.
John Fleming, John Fleming's Blog, 28th August 2015Reviewer review: Alun Evans (Scotsgay)
At first it seems that Alun Evans' reviews are not very good. They seem like very matter-of-fact, unexceptional and literal pieces of prose. And then you remember that this is exactly what reviews are supposed to be like, and that you (and probably everyone else) has been ruined by the review-as-self-expression. The creative writing approach to criticism - love me as I demolish this guy - is now so ubiquitous that we notice its absence far more than we're aware of it thrusting its crotch in our faces.
Billy Coconuts, FringePig, 28th August 2015Reviewer review: Dave Coates (The List)
Dave Coates is one of those reviewers who, like a teacher at a long-established school, wants everyone to try their best. And he wants them to be cheerful about it. Jack Barry, for example, "seems self-aware enough that his mis-steps suggest a performer in the middle of a promising learning process". Coates could have added "Will grow into a fine young man".
Edmund Rumania, FringePig, 28th August 2015'I wish Put A Dick In Her Ear was a real song...'
Baba Brinkman chooses his comedy favourties.
Baba Brinkman, Chortle, 28th August 2015Ten cheap places to eat in Edinburgh
Bat-Fan James Wilson-Taylor watches the pennies.
James Wilson-Taylor, Chortle, 28th August 2015My Edinburgh: Gyles Brandreth
Gyles Brandreth began his career as a children's TV show host before going on to become a Conservative MP, starring as a fictionalised version of himself in That Mitchell and Webb Look and often appears in Countdown's Dictionary Corner.
Charlotte Lytton, The Times, 28th August 2015Industry beats comics in golf showdown
The comedy industry team beat a team of comics in this year's Mackenzie Taylor Memorial Cup, which was played at Edinburgh's Duddingston Golf Club.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 28th August 2015This week's best Edinburgh comedy
Previews of Ivo Graham, Joseph Morpugo and The Pin.
James Kettle, The Guardian, 28th August 2015FringePig: missile warning
Its been a great August for the Mumble this year - but it just wouldn't be the same without vitriolic nobheads FringePig having their annual pop at comedy reviewers.
Mark 'Divine Calvert', Mumble Comedy, 28th August 2015Fringe 2015 - Lights! Camera! Improvise!
The cast of the three night show at The Pleasance have just arrived in Edinburgh in recent days, and The Edinburgh Reporter met with two of them this morning.
Phyllis Stephen, The Edinburgh Reporter, 28th August 2015Hal Cruttenden draws on family life experiences
The comic, who grew up in London, includes stories about his wife and two teenage daughters in his stand-up routine.
John Dingwall, Daily Record, 28th August 2015Interview: Angela Barnes, Come As You Are
A chat with Angela Barnes.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 28th August 2015Interview: Patrick Monahan, The Disco Years
A chat with Patrick Monahan.
Hannah Whitcombe, Fresh Fringe, 28th August 2015Thank-you letters to their fringe venues
As the Edinburgh festival staggers to the finishing line, comedians contemplate their cramped but comforting stage homes for the past month.
The Guardian, 28th August 201510 years of Tories allows decent political comedy
Political comedy used be an orthodox, tub-thumping affair. Today, it's a far subtler art, with Nish Kumar, Sheeps, Stewart Lee and Ahir Shah all reinventing the form.
Brian Logan, The Guardian, 28th August 2015Your weekend schedule from Punchline x
It's the final weekend of the Edinburgh Fringe! Maybe you've had a long week at work, maybe you're through for the weekend. A lot of our top 10 shows sold out long ago, and some (not all!) of the Foster's Award nominees' shows have been snapped up... so what to see? We've put together a cracker of a schedule of shows that you may still get tickets for if you're quick! (Tickets still available when this article was published)
Punchline UK, 28th August 2015Seven questions with... The Jest
The group are renowned for expertly combining humour with elements of horror and disgust and this has seen them get to the final of the New Acts of the Year Award earlier this year.
Becca Moody, Moody Comedy, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho
Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho says her show is like the Iron Lady but with dance...
The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Ivo Graham
Ivo Graham discusses flags and punchlines...
The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Charlie Baker
Charlie Baker discusses Rob Roy and why Scotland has "everything"...
The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Yianni
Yianni discusses playing Countdown against Rachel Riley and Fringe memories...
The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Kevin Day
Kevin Day talks the history of Edinburgh and Scottish humour...
The Herald, 28th August 2015Fringe Q&As: Angela Barnes
Angela Barnes on her show Come As You Are.
The Herald, 28th August 2015Solo Fringe shows to make you forget monologues
This year's festival has been dominated by one-person shows, but the best ones make you forget you're watching a monologue at all, says Mark Fisher.
Mark Fisher, The Scotsman, 28th August 2015What Would Spock Do? interview
Rachel chats to Sam (Artist) and Jon (Writer & Director) about all things Star Trek. Including toupees, Spock Vs Captain Kirk and their all-time favourite Star Trek moments.
Rachel Male, Black Diamond, 28th August 2015I don't like comedy, but I do love it
With the Edinburgh Fringe coming to a close after another record year live comedy could yet survive crumbling economies and global terrorism. Liam J Stratton shares why he has thrown his life away making people laugh.
Liam J Stratton, Chortle, 28th August 2015The craziness of Lance wins top bribe prize
Welcome to the crazy world of Pete Marino's newest creation Lance, a celebrity obsessed showman and chat show host. Against all the odds Lance, who has just completed his 24 day run at the Edinburgh Fringe with his show Late With Lance at The Counting House has picked up his first ever award for The List's prestigious Bribe of the Week.
The Edinburgh Reporter, 28th August 2015Three to see on 29 Aug
Three recommended shows for Friday at the Edinburgh Festival 2015.
ThreeWeeks, 28th August 2015Piff the Magic Dragon on how a tiny dog helped him
It's been a remarkable year for John van der Put. Better known by the moniker Piff the Magic Dragon, van der Put has gone from relative obscurity to a household name in the US.
Jill Castle, The Herald, 28th August 2015Phil Jerrod on the Fringe, freebies and Batman (Link expired)
Comedian Phil Jerrod answers some quickfire Fringe-related questions and takes us to some strange places inside his head - from cork-lining the #WOWwagon to his thoughts on the best Batman.
Alex Watson, WOW247, 28th August 2015My Edinburgh: John Lloyd
John Lloyd is a comedy producer who has collaborated on many of the most era-defining and amusing shows of the past 40 years.
Alex Hardy, The Times, 27th August 2015Who will have the last laugh?
Two storytellers, a puppeteer and a character actor are in contention to win the prestigious prize that launched the careers of many of Britain's most famous comedians.
Mike Wade, The Times, 27th August 2015