American comedy duo BriTANicK on the best and worst of Edinburgh

BriTANicK – aka American comedians Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe performing their new show Dummy at Pleasance Courtyard at 8pm.  Here they share what they can't get enough of at the festival, their most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…

Edinburgh binge

1. The main thing we binge is the absence of sleep. Back in Los Angeles we’re in bed by 10pm, but at Fringe we are regularly watching the sunrise. No idea what’s in the Edinburgh water but there’s a decent chance it’s actually Red Bull.
2. Stamptown. This chaotic clown variety show is closer to a cult than a comedy show but it’s still our favourite thing to watch, perform in, and recommend to others.
3. The Abattoir. After shows, there’s nothing we love more than drinking wine and acting fancy at this industry only bar, pretending like we’re at an upscale resort and not a pop-up shack in the middle of a dirty field.
4. Anything on after midnight at Monkey Barrel. This is where the real Fringe lives. The sublime, the insane, the bad, the perfect. Give us a dungeon and no air conditioning in the middle of the night and we’ll have the time of our lives. It’s also where we will most likely burn to death because there’s no way that place is not violating multiple fire codes.

Edinburgh cringe

Two years ago, an audience member came up to Nick after the show and said ‘I love how you deliberately make your voice really annoying at times.’ Nick was not deliberately doing ANYTHING with his voice, and he has not stopped thinking about this ever since.

Every year we do a few slots in the Best Of Fest shows. Inevitably one of them will go TERRIBLY. Last year we performed at 1am for a half-asleep, fully-silent audience. The year before that we performed in a prime-time slot for an energetic audience that just did not like us at all. We eagerly anticipate whatever fresh hell awaits us this year.

Edinburgh whinge

Remember in that earlier paragraph when we talked about loving the lack of air conditioning? We lied. Please, Jesus, make sure every venue has air conditioning. No matter how much water we drink, we are constantly at risk of dehydration from how much we sweat while watching shows.

Would love at least one food stand that serves something healthy. Last year, I think we went the full month without eating a single vegetable.

We’re both extremely conflict avoidant, so whenever we walk through George Square we take 150 fliers to shows we don’t want to see. And we know you’re throwing ours into the garbage too. How about we cut out the middleman and begin each festival with a ceremonial burning of all the fliers. 

Published: 25 Jul 2024