What I Saw at the Fringe: Day 2, August 6
It was another great day at the Edinburgh Fringe! Since it was opening night for John Allis’s show Motivational Sleeper and our compilation show, Broke in Barcelona, I had to spend some time flyering, but I was able to squeeze in a show I was super excited to see before hitting the streets.
Although it was sold out online, I rushed over to The Hive to see Lara Ricote: GRL/LATNX/DEF. Lara won the Funny Women award in 2021 and has since appeared on Comedy Central and Dave. Her hotly anticipated debut hour is an energetic, personal, and hilarious take on her experience as a hard-of-hearing Latinx woman. It’s packed full of both silly and clever lines, but also includes moments of great physical comedy (like an extended mime of asking for the morning after pill in Thailand) and even an original song. It’s flawlessly paced stand up comedy at its finest, and I’m imagining she’ll be selling out the entire run, so grab your tickets now!
After flyering and hosting Broke in Barcelona, I made my way over to see Dan Tiernan: Cherub. Dan is a rising star of the UK circuit, who has been racking up awards and TV appearances over the past few years. His WIP (planning to be a full hour for next year’s Fringe) is a high-energy, raucous show about being a gay man with dyspraxia. He flawlessly worked crowd interactions into his joke-heavy set with incredible skill. Go check out this charming and hilarious act, and prepare for sore cheeks after all the laughs!
It was time to see a more established Fringe favorite, so I went to see Mat Ewins: Danger Money. Known for his absurd, over-the-top, and tech-heavy productions featuring ridiculous videos, this show was no different. He performed most of the show without a microphone, shouting at the audience over rolling laughter, and had superb moments of crowd participation. If you love alt-comedy, silliness, and chaos, you’ll love this show!
Finally, I met up with Barcelona stars Andy Casper and Hector Ayala after their show Brexico, and we went to see The Late Late Irish Show, which was expertly hosted by recent Barcelona visitor Eddie Mullarkey (who is also performing a solo show, An Irish Solution to an Irish Problem). The lineup was also solid throughout, featuring Stephen Ryan (who performed in Barcelona back before the pandemic!), Brian Gallagher, and Aaron McCann. It was a great way to end the night, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a 1AM show while they’re at the Fringe!
Now it’s time for more shows, more spots, more flyering, and more windy weather! If you have any recommendations of what we should see while we’re here, shoot us a message on Instagram!