...the best of the back end of the festival programme!

We start our traditional series of round-ups of just some of the shows heading to the Edinburgh Fringe with these offerings in the theatre section of the programme that comedy fans might want to know about…

1. The Last Laugh 

Three legendary comedians – Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse –  sit in a dressing room, discussing the secret of life, death, comedy and what it means to be funny. Bob Golding reprises his role as Morecambe, having previously  played the comedy great in an acclaimed one-man show, with  Damian Williams as Cooper and Simon Cartwright as Monkhouse, The Last Laugh has been written and directed by former TV presenter Paul Hendy.

Assembly George Square, 13.20, August 1-25

2. Adam Riches: Jimmy 

After nine shows – one of which won him the main comedy award –Adam Riches switches to the theatre section for this show about Jimmy Connors, revolving around his spectacular against-the-odds comeback at the 1991 US Open, long after his heyday. The comic has told Chortle this is ‘the hardest show I’ve ever put together’ in terms of the physicality required.

Summerhall, 9.30pm, August 1-26

3. Dear Billy

Three-time Fringe First winner Gary McNair led a team of people who spent years speaking to people all over Scotland about Billy Connolly. Some knew him in childhood, some from the shipyards of the Clydeside, some from his comedy career – and some hadn’t met him at all. McNair has taken all those anecdotes and turned them into this celebration of the Big Yin and what he means to Scottish culture.  Produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, it premiered at the Traverse in May 2023 and is now revived at the Assembly Rooms

Assembly Rooms. 4.50pm, August  13-25

4. Carousel 

Last year, Ivo Graham, in his own words, ‘dipped a greedy toe into the theatre/therapy section, poring over the usuals (relationships, responsibilities, regrets) without any promise of logic or laughter’.

Now he has decided wants to take it further with this, his first fully-fledged theatre show, named after the most nostalgic scene of the most nostalgic TV show (Mad Men). Carousel is described as ‘the most highly evolved navel gazing you’ll see at the Fringe… a  searing monologue addressed not to the audience but to himself.’ And it makes use of the comedian’s obsession with music as a mirror for his mental state, drawing on his what he’s learned about selecting the perfect track during his sideline as  DJ. (Incidentally he also hosts Comedians’ DJ Battles at Assembly George Square on Friday nights at the Fringe)

Assembly George Square, 14.20pm, July 31 to August 25 (not August 7, 8, 13, 14 or 15)

5. Son of a Bitch 

After a handful of solo character shows, comedian Anna Morris – who played Sophie Duchess of Edinburgh in The Windsors – presents her debut play, described as ‘a darkly comic and brutally honest monologue about maternal ambivalence’ all about what happens after an air-rage video of a mother calling her toddler a cunt goes viral…

Summerhall, 6.10pm, August 1-26 

6. Can’t Stop Carrying On

With new plans afoot to reboot the Carry On franchise as a series of pantomimes and a film, this play seems very timely. Originally staged at Edinburgh last year, it revolves around the producer of the original comedies, Peter Rogers, trying to resurrect the saucy seaside humour, despite having long falling from the zeitgeist and into irrelevancy.

TheSpace @ Symposium Hall. Various times, August 17-24

7. Verbal Diary

This musical comedy was co- written by ‘rock ’n' roll's greatest failure’  John Otway – who has sustained a brilliant and enduring cult career off the back of a No 27 hit in 1977. And this piece hasn’t hasn’t seen the light of day since the 1984 Edinburgh Fringe. It revolves around Gordon, a hapless photographer for a local newspaper (remember them?) who makes a New Year's resolution to keep a daily diary, oblivious to the fact his new flatmates will secretly reading his every written thought

Greenside @ George Street, 6.25pm, August 2-17

8. Loose Lips by Lucy Frederick

The comedian has roped in stand-up pals  Stephanie Laing and Robyn Perkins to co-star alongside her in this new play, all about the joy and danger of office gossip. 

Laughing Horse at 32 Below, 5.30pm, August 1-25

9.  Ben Target: Lorenzo

The comedian’s heartfelt show about giving up stand-up to become a carer for a lovably eccentric uncle was one of the theatrical hits of last year’s festival, scooping a prestigious Fringe First award and a slew of four and five-star reviews, with Fest calling it ‘a joyous celebration of what it means to love deeply’. Now it returns to the festival for a lap of honour…

Pleasance Dome, 1.20pm, August 16-25

10. 300 Paintings 

In this show, Sydney comedian turned artists Sam Kissajukian examines 300 paintings he created during a five-month long manic bipolar episode during Covid.  Developed over the past couple of years, and raising big issues about art and mental health, this show drew wide acclaimed at the Perth and Adelaide Fringes down under earlier this year, with Glam Adelaide describing it as ‘a one-man stand-up comedy routine like nothing you’ve experienced’.

Published: 15 Jul 2024