Press clippings

Assembly announces first batch of Edinburgh Fringe Shows

Assembly Festival has announced its first shows for its 2024 season, running Wednesday 31 July to Monday 26 August.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 15th February 2024

Fern Brady & fellow comedians dominate The List magazine's Hot 100

Comedians dominate Scottish culture magazine The List's Hot 100 creative movers and shakers, with Fern Brady in the number 2 position, Marjolein Robertson at 3 and Kieran Hodgson at 9.

British Comedy Guide, 30th November 2023

Love letter to Sir Billy Connolly to be staged at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Theatre maker Gary McNair has been collecting stories of Sir Billy for years. The production, Dear Billy, will tour in May 2024. It will open at His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen before touring to Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow and Eden Court in Inverness with a two-week run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

Ellie Forbes, Scottish Field, 27th November 2023

Dear Billy review: Connolly tribute is part comedy, part hero worship

It's a memoir as delightfully unreliable as any other on show here in a surprisingly thoughtful love letter to Gary McNair's inspiration that becomes a rallying cry for the collective power of the common touch, rude words included.

Neil Cooper, The Herald, 21st May 2023

Dear Billy review - brilliant tribute to the Big Yin

Gary McNair delivers verbatim interviews and misremembered Connolly routines from ordinary people in this love letter.

Mark Fisher, The Guardian, 19th May 2023

Dear Billy: a charming love letter to Billy Connolly

Gary McNair's plucky one-man homage to Connolly winningly sums up what the Scottish people think of their greatest living star.

Mark Brown, The Telegraph, 19th May 2023

Gary McNair interview

As the award-winning writer and performer tours his latest show Dear Billy, a 'love letter' to comedy legend Billy Connolly, he tells Fergus Morgan about moments that have made up his career, learning from his mistakes and his acting ambitions.

Fergus Morgan, The Stage, 12th May 2023

National Theatre of Scotland announces Billy Connolly play Dear Billy

Dear Billy, a play made up of stories about Billy Connolly's life, will tour Scotland next year.

British Comedy Guide, 24th November 2022

Acts announced for online Shedinburgh Festival

Performers include Harry Hill, Mark Thomas, Sikisa, Helen Bauer, Joe Thomas, Rachel Fairburn, The Guilty Feminist and Gary McNair.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 20th July 2021

Shedinburgh mows down the fringe

With the Edinburgh festival shelved by Covid, stand-ups have turned a garden shed into a stage for an online extravaganza. Brian Logan enjoys flashes of brilliance amid a dislocating experience.

Brian Logan, The Guardian, 4th September 2020

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