Ten international Fringe acts

It’s a funny old world… and here are ten comedians from its various corners bringing their funnies to Edinburgh:

India: Anvab Pal

Calcutta-born Pal was a playwright (who also wrote a Bollywood comedy film) before taking to stand-up when the Comedy Store opened in Mumbai in 2010. He was also one of the Indian comedians to take part in Just A Minute when the long-running Radio 4 show visited the subcontinent in 2012.

He makes his Edinburgh debut with Empire, a show about Britain’s colonial legacy, but said in an interview earlier this year: ‘It’s true that the British were invaders, but I just thought there has got to be more nuance, there’s got to be more deception on both sides. I was struck by how similar wealthy Indians’ homes were at the turn of the century, based on copying British homes because they were contractors and serving as middlemen for British people.’ Pleasance Courtyard, 19:00

See also: Joe Bains: Curried Mustard at Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 13:30.

Russia: Olga Koch

There’s a novichok-flavoured relevance to St Petersburg-born Olga Koch’s Edinburgh show this year, given that it’s based on a real-life Russian spy drama.

Her father Alfred was deputy prime minister, appointed by Boris Yeltsin to privatise state-run industries, and once ran a subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom. But he was a staunch critic of Vladimir Putin and was mysteriously stopped at Moscow airport in June 2014.

In interviews, Koch has been tight-lipped about what happened next, lest she spoil the surprise. You’ll just have to see the show… Pleasance Courtyard, 19:15

See also: The Russian Comedy Experience , La Vida, 18:15; and Oleg Denisov: Doublethink, Just the Tonic at The Tron, 23:40.

Venezuela: Ivan Aristeguieta

Effervescent Aristeguieta had been a full-time comedian in Venezuela for two years before escaping the poverty-stricken nation to immigrate to Australia, where he burst on to the comedy scene with an acclaimed debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival four years ago. Now he makes his Edinburgh debut with a show that won him best comedy at the 2017 Adelaide Fringe. Pleasance Courtyard, 19:15

See also: Andrea Spisto: Miss Venezuela, Just The Tonic at The Mash House, 22:10

Germany: Vince Ebert

Overachieving Ebert’s a comedian, physicist and former Bavarian beach volleyball champion (true). At the Fringe he’s presenting a comedy science show about skeptical thinking which professes to answer such questions as: ‘Do strippers in the southern hemisphere turn around the pole in the opposite direction?’ Underbelly Bristo Square, 13:30

See also: Henning Wehn, Just the Tonic at The Caves, 18:00

Cote d’Ivoire: Trev Tokabi

Brought up in both London and Abidjan, where he spent his teenage years int the military academy. Such experiences form the basis of his Edinburgh debut, Cool Story Bro. City Cafe at 12:25am

Iceland: Cold As Icelandic

Icelandic comic Ari Eldjárn had a good Edinburgh last year, and went on to have a successful run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as well as making an appearance on Mock The Week. Hoping to follow in his compatriot’s footsteps is Helgi Steinar, who has been performing stand-up for 15 years, not only in English and Icelandic, but also Mandarin, too. Described as an outsider with a ‘drunken cynicism’, his Edinburgh show promises an international outlook. Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14:10

South Africa: Schalk Bezuidenhout

Born in an Afrikaans part of Johannesburg, Schalk Bezuidenhout went into comedy in 2011 and has opened for Trevor Noah. Now global promoter Mick Perrin, best known for his work organising Eddie Izzard and Dylan Moran’s international tours, is bringing him to Edinburgh. Heroes @ Boteco, 16:00, August 12-26

Norway: Viggo Venn

The goofy Norwegian clown is back with a ‘better’ version of his silly 2017 solo debut, Pepito. Underbelly, Cowgate, 17:10. But what sounds more intriguing is the show he’s presenting with his American double-act partner Zach Zucker: an absurdist funk opera set after the first space war of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, entitled Where Does the Love Go? Los Angeles-based ‘intergalactic dance gods’, Thumpasaurus provide the music. Underbelly, Cowgate, 21:20

France: Clara Bijl

Described as an ‘internationally-unknown stand-up’, Bijl was raised in the French Alps and lived in Germany before she attended college in South Carolina. Her show is about how she single-handed saves America… although she might want to take another look at just how that’s going. Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 23:00, August 3 to 18

Romania: Victor Pãtrãscan

We don’t know much about Pãtrãscan… he did a show in Edinburgh last year, but it was largely overlooked, and he describes himself as both ‘bold, brash and a total smartass’ and ‘funny, introspective and sometimes dark’. What an enigma! Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 19;45

Published: 23 Jul 2018