Edinburgh Fringe Preview 2024 – Part Six
The north will rise again...
Rachel Fairburn
Like Ivo Graham who we mentioned yesterday, Rachel Fairburn is another comedian determined to squeeze every last laugh out of her time in Edinburgh. The Mancunian comic will be performing two shows at the Fringe. Her hit stand-up set Showgirl will be on at the Underbelly daily at 5.20pm, frontloaded with her trademark acid wit. It’s a nice chance to see Fairburn in a relatively intimate venue. In 2023 she played the 1,900 seat Manchester Opera House. The last female Mancunian comedian to perform there was Victoria Wood.
And in a departure Fairburn (picture by Drew Forsyth) will also be making her Fringe debut with a full-length character comedy show entitled Side Eye. Prepare to meet a whole cast of personalities including a self-proclaimed grime artist/sex therapist, your slanderous mate, a loose-lipped Dame, a Diva with a restraining order, a feckless man, idle parents and maybe even the devil herself.
Fairburn will be known to many as the co-host of the hit podcast All Killa No Filla alongside Kiri Pritchard-McLean, which recently celebrated 10 years with a 10-date UK tour. On TV, Rachel has appeared on programmes including Live At The Apollo (BBC Two), Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC) BBC Presents: Stand Up For Live Comedy (BBC One), Funny Festival Live (BBC Two), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave) and Russell Howard Hour (Sky Max).
Side Eye, Monkey Barrel, July 31 - August 25, 12.30.
Showgirl, Underbelly, July 31 - August 25, 17.20.
Amy Gledhill
One of the hottest tickets at the Fringe will be Amy Gledhill, who is only doing a limited run of her new show before taking it on a national tour. Gledhill has quickly established herself as a Fringe favourite both as a sketch comedian in the double act The Delightful Sausage with Chris Cantrill and as a solo stand-up and has notched up three Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations.
Her second solo show, Make Me Look Fit On The Poster is about self-confidence, romance and, apparently, bin bags, although you’ll have to see it for yourself to find out where the bin bags come in. Gledhill (picture by Matt Crockett) has a sharp observational eye and an ear for a comedic turn of phrase, finding the funny in the mundane and adding an off the wall twist all of her own. It’s no coincidence that she is a big fan of, yes, that legend again, Victoria Wood.
Monkey Barrel, August 13 - 25, 18.10.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Pritchard-McLean doesn’t really need a recommendation from me, as she is already a familiar face both in Edinburgh and on our screens. As well as hosting Live at the Apollo, fronting the Radio 4 panel show Best Medicine and starting a comedy school, she’s become a foster parent. Didn’t know that about her? Well, until now she hasn’t been able to talk about it onstage, she hasn’t even told the kids in her care that she’s a comedian. Oh and she uses a different name - she’s the Bruce Wayne of comedy but without the mansions.
However, this year she is finally able to tell, well, almost all, lifting the lid on social workers, first aid training and what not to do when a vicar searches for you on YouTube.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean (picture by Drew Forsyth) is co-creator and co-host of cult hit podcast All Killa No Filla, with Rachel Fairburn above and also hosts the fashion podcast Who Are You Wearing and co-hosts a comedy travel podcast, The Pod of Wales, with Esyllt Sears and is one fifth of the sketch group Tarot and a former winner of the Caroline Aherne Bursary.
August 2 - 4, Pleasance, 18.00
Read more Fringe recommendations here.
The Edinburgh Fringe runs from August 2- 26, previewing from the very end of July. For tickets and more details of all the shows here go to edfringe.com.