Elf Lyons recalls her oddest Free Fringe donation

For comedians bringing free shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, what they collect in the bucket afterwards can have as much to do with an audience member's economic circumstances as the quality of their hour.

Elf Lyons has recalled performing her debut, Underground Success, to a crowd of eight at the Voodoo Rooms in 2014.

One of them was Broadway Baby reviewer Will Jackson, who deemed the show a five star smash, noting 'every single joke scores and makes its mark without a single dud’.

But that wasn't the end of his appreciation.

'He and the lady he came with, they really liked the show so much, but they didn't have any money so they gave me all their body piercings' she told Jon Holmes on Radio 4 Extra's The Comedy Club Interviews.

'She took off all her body piercings!' Lyons marvelled, explaining that the woman apologised, saying: '"I'm so sorry, I'm a student, I don't have any money" … she was so wonderful.

'I've polished them and I've kept them in a drawer.'  

Published: 17 Jul 2017