Looking for some LGBTQI acts to see at Edinburgh Fringe? Check out this list.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is upon us and is the world’s largest arts festival, and currently running until 29 August 2022. This year, there’s an array of LGBTQI content up for grabs, including Patrick McPherson’s Colossal at Underbelly and Catherine Bohart at Monkey Barrel. Brace yourselves – there’s a hell of a lot of queer content on this year! Have your diaries at the ready.
ACTS:
Patrick McPherson: Colossal
VENUE: Belly Button, Underbelly
TIME: 12:45
DATES: 3rd-29th August (not 15th)
Patrick McPherson is returning to the festival a highly anticipated theatrical treat. Colossal is an hour of dynamic theatre, comedy and music that embraces the spectrum of modern romance, from the first date to the last text, from falling headfirst to falling apart. In his one-man comedy play that dives into love stories, morality, and the dance between the two, Patrickweaves sketch comedy, gig theatre and spoken word to tell the comedic and candid story of a man called Dan, his affinity for owls, and his messy recent past.
Patrick McPherson is an upcoming writer-performer and Edinburgh Fringe success story, who has seen a swift rise through the British comedy and fringe theatre ranks, following his back-to-back sold-out shows. As a queer writer, Patrick looks to explore and champion LGBT voices and narratives through his writing.
Catherine Bohart: This Isn’t For You
TIME: 15:20
DATES: 4th – 28th August (Not 16th)
Catherine Bohart is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe 2022 with her third solo hour, following her hugely successful UK and Ireland tour, with her critically acclaimed show This Isn’t For You.
Catherine Bohart loves control, hates change and is a serial planner. So imagine, if you will, how the past two years have been. This Isn’t For You contains all this and more, in a blisteringly funny show that regales audiences with Catherine’s mental health rollercoaster ride through lockdown, glimmers with her gutsy resilience and is speckled with horrendous and completely hilarious life advice. Delivered with unbridled honesty, this oversharer marries cheery nihilism and reluctant self-discovery, into “a show that’s worth holding on to” – The Guardian.
Jessica Fostekew: Wench
VENUE: Monkey Barrel
TIME: 16.45
DATES: 3rd to 28th August 2022 (not 15th)
Following her Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominated Show Hench, Jessica Fostekew is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe with a brand new, and conveniently rhyming stand-up show – Wench.
A new show about sex, luck and time. Our fear of all the messy, grey areas; whether that’s identity politics and society’s obsession with neatly categorizing everybody, or taking ‘messy, grey areas’ in another direction… Jessica’s refreshingly honest takes on sexuality, identity politics and aging are relayed with complete transparency. Unafraid to share her own experiences, sit back and enjoy an hour of utter relatability and complete hilarity in Jessica Fostekew: Wench.
Britney: Friends And Nothing More
VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard, Below
TIME: 17:45
DATES: Aug 3-28 (not 15th)
Award-winning duo and Edinburgh favourites Britney are returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022 for the first time in five years with their brand-new hour Friends And Nothing More.
Fresh from their universally adored BBC Three pilot, BRITNEY, which was a huge success when it debuted at the Fringe festival in 2016, Charly Clive and Ellen Robertson are getting ready to make their long-awaited return to the Fringe this year with a sketch show about love. But which of these two girls will you fancy more?
Heidi Regan Gives Birth Live on Stage Every Night or Your Money Back
VENUE: The Voodoo Rooms
TIME: 17:55
DATES: 6th-28th August (not 20th or 21st)
Heidi Regan will be bringing her highly anticipated show Heidi Regan Gives Birth Live On Stage Every Night Or Your Money Back to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022.
This brand-new hour is Heidi’s most personal yet. Having had very limited experience in committed relationships, Heidi moved in with her girlfriend and began looking into parenthood minutes before a global pandemic kicked off. As things get serious, an increasingly hopeless Heidi tries to support her NHS girlfriend via her usual tactics of telling very bad jokes and making niche pop culture references that never land. It has mixed results. Oozing personality and a unique perspective on life, all while maintaining her extremely silly tone, this hour is one not to be missed!
La Clique
VENUE: Underbelly Meadows Circus Hub
TIME: 19:35
DATES: 5th – 27th August (not 15th or 22nd)
Born at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2004 and subsequently gaining international acclaim touring the globe, this original and trailblazing Spiegeltent-based cabaret show brings you a magnificent collection of extraordinary new artists and unmissable favourites.
A decade on from winning the Best Entertainment Olivier Award and fresh from performances in London and Singapore, La Clique promises to be a night of laughs, gasps, naughtiness and the best in international cabaret.
BLUNDERLAND
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (The Beauty) | 21:55 (60mins)
Previews: Aug 5 (£14.00)
Weekday: Aug 10-11,16-18,23-25 (£16.50/£15.50)
Weekend: Aug 6-9,12-14,19-21,26-27 (£18.50/£17.50)
Genre: Absurdist, Circus
The subversive break-out hit of the international cabaret and circus circuit, we have arrived with a STRONG dose of what we all need at the moment: some outrageous nightlife naughtiness, club-kid antics, and a heady dose of arthouse-weird. Born out of the New York underground queer nightlife scene this show has titillating packed crowds worldwide who are enthralled with its uniquely whimsical and ridiculous performance combinations. Join us for an evening of sensually disastrous drag, burlesque, and circus you won’t forget!!
BRIEFS: BITE CLUB
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (The Lafayette) | 20:45 (70mins)
Preview: Aug 5 (£14.00)
Weekday: Aug 10-11,16-18,23-25 (£18.00/£17.00)
Weekend: Aug 6-9,12-14,19-21,26-27 (£20.00/£19.00)
Genre: Circus, Music
Australia’s award-winning cult-cabaret mischief-makers Briefs Factory, join forces with much celebrated songbird Sahara Beck. An event sautéed in a hedonistic haze of music, circus, drag, burlesque, theatre, and comedy. Described as one of Australia’s most arresting performers, Sahara Beck’s soaring vocals will blast female pride power into the ferociously fierce displays of talent from the BRIEFS boys you know and love. Their slick tomfoolery and heart-stopping hooliganism will be bathed in suave synth, heady hooks, and swelling strings, all set to a glorious pop pulse.
To browse shows and access ticket information, visit the Edinburgh Fringe website here. To keep up with the Fringe, follow the festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
YASS Magazine 