JAKE YAPP PRESENTS:
Andrew Neil – Do Ya Think I’m Brexy?
Gilded Babboon. Dinner theatre. £39 no concs.
Watch Andrew Neil have a good lunch with a bottle or two as he wonders aloud whether the hike in admin fees on his Ryanair flights between his home in France and the Daily Politics studio will cost more than his increased fee in real terms, as the pound plunges against the euro.
“Not since Neil’s spectacular work aboard the Party Boat during the 2010 election has my mouth gaped open in such amazement” Noel Edmonds
Neil’s string of anecdotes are as rich as the foie gras he wolfs down, from the account of union-breaking in Wapping as editor of the Sunday Times to backing a campaign to prove that HIV was not the cause of Aids. Neil reveals his personal position on Europe: living in France and married to a Swedish woman 22 years his junior, expect plenty of jokes about not being ready to pull out any time soon. Buckets provided.
Jake Yapp is at Underbelly, George Square, to Sunday 28 August
NISH KUMAR PRESENTS:
Boris Johnson – Silent Clown
Johnson, acclaimed buffoon, former mayor of London and star of such masterpieces of physical theatre as Being Stuck On A Zip-Wire and Rugby-Tackling A Child arrives with his newest slice of clowning. He has spent the last year being trained by acclaimed teacher Philippe Gaulier, the man who coached such luminaries as Sacha Baron Cohen, Doctor Brown and George W Bush (whose show, Dodging A Shoe, was nominated for an Edinburgh comedy award in 2009). Now BoJo returns from Paris in order to bring a show to the Edinburgh fringe that explores themes as diverse as “having floppy hair” and “why the British empire was really jolly good”. The critics are unanimous in their praise:
“Funnier than most of the lefty nonsense out there” Daily Mail
“I would have loved to praise this show if I hadn’t been banned from the internet by the establishment” Milo Yiannopoulos from his Breitbart.com column
“Boris being silent may end up being a good thing for international diplomacy” Theresa May
Tour support from Andrew Lawrence.
Nish Kumar is at Pleasance Courtyard, to Sunday 28 August
JOSEPH MORPURGO PRESENTS:
Charles Horton, CEO of Southern Rail – The Other Side of the Tracks
ANNOUNCEMENT: UNFORTUNATELY, THIS SHOW HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL THE 2018 FESTIVAL FRINGE.
Due to previously unforeseen circumstances – leaves on the seats, ticket stub glitches, action by the RNULT (Royal National Union of Lighting Technicians) – we regret to announce that The Other Side Of The Tracks will not be appearing as scheduled. We apologise that this light-hearted hour of gags, stories and transport homilies will not be arriving as planned. A replacement service has been put in place for all ticket-holders: Neil Hamilton’s Comedy Foot Rub (running time: three hours); Cirque du Normcore (running time: four hours) and, courtesy of the St Albans School drama club, 4.48 Psychosis: The Musical! (running time TBC). Those inconvenienced can receive a full reimbursement using the simple application process: etch your booking number on to a lentil, tether it to a bittern’s leg, scale Arthur’s Seat and then, during the gloaming, release your charge into the darkling
air. We are once again very sorry for the inconvenience.
Joseph Morpurgo performs with Austentatious at Underbelly, George Square, to Monday 21 August
LIAM WILLIAMS PRESENTS:
Bernard Manning – The Hologram Experience
They brought back Tupac. They brought back Michael Jackson. They’ll probably bring back Prince. They brought back MIA and Janelle Monáe, even though neither of them is dead. They’ve brought back enough musicians. It’s time to bring back a comedian! And which dead gag-man’s necromantic rebooting would feel most fitting for our times? The answer is as clear as the referendum result: Bernard Manning. Bernard’s Back! As a hologram. On the Meadows. In a big-top tent, garbed up like a working men’s Xanadu, with the big man iridescent, flickering away, stage centre, croaking out the classics – the jokes about Pakistanis, the scouser-bashing, even his lesser-known anti-Polish stuff! Leave with your preconceptions confirmed! And if it doesn’t play well in Scotland? Well, any controversy will make for ideal PR fodder ahead of the English tour.
The Hologram Experience was created with help from Al Roberts and Daran Johnson; Travesty by Liam Williams is at Assembly, George Square, to Sunday 28 Aug
DAPHNE PRESENTS:
Emperor Akihito – Japan: Land of the Rising Pun
Japan – The Land Of The Rising Pun is the first solo standup show from Emperor Akihito of Japan, the 125th occupant of the Chrysanthemum Throne. In an hour of quick-fire one-liners (“Sushi?? I barely know she!”) and universally relatable observations, exciting up-and-comer Emperor Tsugu Akihito of the Heisei era, son of Hirohito and direct descendant of Jimmu, legendary first emperor of Japan and founder of the imperial dynasty, turns his trademark whimsical style on his own abdication, charmingly referred to by Akihito as “career kamikaze”. Don’t miss the show that critics are already calling “Utterly inconceivable and wrong” and “You’re fucking kidding me, right? That makes no sense”. The Land Of The Rising Pun is on every day (except the 15th, which His Imperial Majesty has set aside to pay his respects at the shōden of his great ancestor, the sun and universe goddess Ōhirume-no-muchi-no-kami), at the Smelly Belly room on Cowgate, at dawn, sharp.
Daphne are at Pleasance Courtyard, to 28 August
LOLLY ADEFOPE PRESENTS:
Kanye West – Humble
Critically acclaimed fringe newcomer Kanye West bursts on to the scene with a humble tale of his accomplishments. As one of the most successful musicians of the 21st century and one of the best-selling artists of all time – having sold more than 32 million albums and 100 million digital downloads worldwide, not to mention his 21 Grammys (making him one of the most awarded artists of all time and the most Grammy-awarded artist to have debuted in the 21st century) and the three of his albums included on Rolling Stone’s 2012 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time list, as well as his position as one of the 100 Most Influential People In The World (Time magazine). West explores the journey of his humility, and the ways in which it never has and never will stray into arrogance (something obviously unforgivable for a black man in the 21st century).
“The greatest rock star on the planet” Taylor Swift
“★★★★★” Neil Lonsdale, creator of the petition for Kanye West to be removed as Glastonbury 2015 headliner
“He was right about me, I don’t!” George Bush
Lolly Adefope is at Pleasance Courtyard, to Sunday 28 August
