Actor, writer and satirist Will Sebag-Montefiore has brought his debut solo show 'Will of the People’ to the Edinburgh Fringe.  We met up with will to talk about the future of satire, and the differences between performing as a solo act or traveling to Edinburgh as part of a group.  You can see 'Will of the People’ at Underbelly Bristo Square at 14:30 until the 26th of August.  Tickets and more information at edfringe.com

Will Sebag-Montefiore: Will of the People, Interview

In this episode Elaine chats with actor, writer Isabel Renner about her show Wyld Woman- Legend of Shy Girl. The inspiration for the show, graduating in 2020 and the pros and cons of that, growing out of your shyness and bringing your first show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

Wyld Woman: Legend Shy Girl - Assembly Rooms - Drawing Rooms  
Dates: 2nd-25th August
@ 4pm

Tickets available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/wyld-woman-the-legend-of-shy-girl

Wyld Woman: Legend Shy Gild
Shy people, you there? This hilarious and tender tale follows Shy Girl's ambitious attempt to open up (emotionally, spiritually, uh... physically) in hopes of expanding her social life beyond the feeble realm of her imaginary friends and finding real human connection. Following sold-out, highly-beloved runs in NYC, Wyld Woman (written/performed by Isabel Renner, directed by Cameron King) is officially joining the ranks of international legendhood.

Isabel Renner
Isabel Renner is a New York based actor, writer, and aspiring saxophonist. She is a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts, where she received her BFA in Acting. She has appeared on Blue Bloods (CBS), as well as on the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe in London. She is known widely for pulling hilarious pranks on both friends and strangers alike. She is also a graduate of LaGuardia High School in New York City

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Edinburgh Festival Fringe Seres 2024 - Ep 228: Wyld Woman: Legend of Shy Girl

In this episode Elaine chats with actor, Virginia Gay. We talk about Virginia’s Fringe First award winning show Cyrano. We talk talking old stories and bringing them to new audiences without repeating the same  story but bringing a fresh perspective to it and how vital that is for us all. We talk about the wonderful tool that is comedy that let’s us reach our audience in an authentic and truly moving way. We chat the joy of theatre, words, life, queer love and so, so much more. 

Cyrano - Traverse Theatre
Dates: 1st-25th August
@ Various Times

Tickets available here: https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/cyrano-festival-24

Park Theatre London 11th December 2024 -11th January 2025 - 
Tickets: https://parktheatre.co.uk/event/cyrano/

CYRANO
Virginia Gay’s joyous, gender-flipped retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac, packed with music, wit and aching romance, is a love letter to hope; to language and desire; to the irrepressible magic of theatre. A big-hearted, irreverent rom-com, perfect for a feel good Christmas treat. 
Cyrano is the most interesting person in any room – a wordsmith, a charmer. She works twice as hard and runs twice as fast as the pretty boys, because she’s deeply ashamed of something about herself. Enter Roxanne: brilliant and beautiful, with a penchant for poetry and a way with words, just like Cyrano. But Roxanne only has eyes for Yan: hot, manly Yan; all brawn-and-no-brains Yan; who is dumbstruck around Roxanne. Probably shy, right? Until suddenly he starts saying the most amazing things. But it’s not Yan writing these perfect love scenes, it’s Cyrano …

Virginia Gay 
“Virginia Gay graduated WAAPA, then spent four years pretending to be a nurse on All Saints, six months pretending to be cop on Savage River (ABC), and then five years on Winners & Losers, where she pretended to know a lot about high finance. That last one, particularly, was a stretch. She won a Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress for Calamity Jane, starred in the film Judy & Punch which premiered at Sundance, and wrote and directed her first short film Paper Cut, which made Tropfest finals. In 2020 she wrote two new plays: an adaptation of Cyrano for MTC and The Boomkak Panto for Belvoir, which premiered December 2021. She starred in both and also co-directed The Boomkak Panto.”

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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 - Ep 229: Cyrano

In this episode Elaine the joys that are Kerry Ipema and KK Apple chatting about Sic Chick Flicks...or a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beaches while writing a Notebook on the Titanic). 
We chat being back at the festival, their UK tour and our favourite Chick Flicks. 


Sick Chick FLicks - Underbelly Bristo Square - Cowbarn 
Dates: 31st July-25th August
@9.30pm 

Tickets available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/six-chick-flicks


Six Chick Flicks
(...or a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beaches while writing a Notebook on the Titanic). Back after a sell-out 2023 run, award-winning parody Six Chick Flicks smashes together six beloved movies into one hysterical, fast-paced celebration of chick flicks through the ages. US comedians Kerry Ipema and KK Apple bring to life all the makeovers, meet-cutes, and montages, plus some new surprises for 2024
.
KK Apple
KK is a writer, comedian, and filmmaker in Brooklyn. She’s a former UCB Theatre Harold Night improviser, and her solo show The Rhythm Is Going to Get You played to sold-out crowds in NYC and LA. As a choreographer, her work has been commissioned for live shows, music videos, and TV. Her video projects have been featured in Vulture and Funny or Die, and she worked on the Emmy-winning crowdsourced film project Star Wars Uncut. She’s a 2023 recipient of the NYC Women’s Fund for her short film The Launch, which premiered at the 2023 Seattle International Film Festival.

Kerry Ipema
Kerry Ipema is a New York actor, writer, and director. She's starred in and produced off-Broadway hits, US and international tours, and appeared in independent theatre and film. Recent credits include solo shows One Woman Sex and the City (Edinburgh Fringe, off-Broadway) and Sex Ed (Orlando & Winnipeg Fringe). She is the creator and co-host of Lady Bits, a benefit series for Planned Parenthood, and the podcast Truly, Darkly, Creeply. She has performed with Woodshed Collective, Drama League, Purple Crayon, The Flea, UCB and the PIT.


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Edinburgh Festival 2024 - Ep 230: Six Chick Flicks...Are Back

In this episode Elaine chats with actor, writer and co-founder of Pretty Knickers Productions Mhairi McCall. 
We chat the inspiration for the show, songwriting, self-producing, not having to mould yourself to a ridiculous unattainable standard and some fabulous nail art. 


Mary Queen of Rock! - Assembly Rooms - Ballroom
Dates: 1st-25th August
@9.20pm 

Tickets available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/mary-queen-of-rock


Mary Queen of Rock 
You think you know the story of Mary, Queen of Scots? Think again... The year is 1561. The Scottish Reformation has enforced an outright ban on rock'n'roll. Cue the arrival of Mary Stuart, one of the world's biggest and most iconic musical artists... who happens to be the undisputed Queen of Rock! With the Scottish nobles and her cousin in England against her – can Mary get the country rocking? Or will heads roll?

Pretty Knickers Productions
https://www.instagram.com/prettyknickersproductions/

Mhairi McCall
Mhairi McCall (she/her) is an Edinburgh based performer, poet and playwright. She is a founding member of Pretty Knickers Productions, a female-led theatre company who champion new writing and female stories. She one of the writers and performers in ‘Mary, Queen of Rock!’ a brand-new Scottish musical that imagines Mary, Queen of Scots as a rockstar. Mhairi is passionate about untold female stories/perspectives, queer culture and of course - cats.


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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 - Ep 231: Mary Queen Of Rock

In this episode Elaine chats with actor and writer Emma Howell about her show This will make you happy. 
We talk the inspiration for the show, not feeling like theatre was ever an option for you because of your background, multi-marketing and much more. 

I really Do Think This Will Change Your Life - Pleasence Dome 
Dates 1st-26th August
@12.20pm

Tickets Here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on - q=I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life

I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life 
Belles was the it girl, hip girl, oh-so-very-fit girl. When she was 17. Now, she’s 24 and spends her days bossed about by her Mum and girls she 100% used to bully. So, when a life-changing opportunity slides into her DMs, she carpes the diem, makes her millions and proves the worth of women worldwide one post at a time. Except she doesn’t. Because…come on. A finalist for The Stage Innovation Award, this is a hair-pulling, fake-nail scratching, cat-fight against get-rich-quick schemes and what it means to be a Girl Boss


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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024- Ep232: I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life

In this episode Elaine chats with writer and performer Nina Rose Carling about her show Seeking Representation. We chat the inspiration for the show, working for famous celebrities, the fringe experience and much more. 

Nina Rose Carlin : Seeking Representation - theSpace @Surgeons Hall 
Dates 12th- 24th August
@11.35am 

Tickets Here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/nina-rose-carlin-seeking-representation

Nina Rose Carlin: Seeking Representation
Lights. Camera. Delusion! Comedian Nina Rose Carlin turns her years of experience in the entertainment industry (derogatory) into a rollicking cabaret with stand-up, clown and musical comedy. Get an inside scoop of pop culture and Hollywood through her witty and absurdist lens, inspired by her time hosting red carpets, personal assisting A-List celebs and seeking stardom herself.



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Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets 
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Resources
Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland  - Rape Crisis UK
ArtsMinds  -  BAPAM
Freelancers Make Theatre Work
Stonewall UK -   Trevor Project -  Mermaids UK 
Switchboard LGBT+   -   GATE 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE
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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 - Ep 233: Nina Rose Carlin: Seeking Representation

In this episode Elaine chats with Australian performance artist and dancer Leah Shelton about her show Batshit. We chat the inspiration for the show, her grandmother’s story and the narrative of the “Cray” woman. 

Batshit - Traverse Theatre 
Dates: 1st -25th August
@ Various Times 

Get Tickets Here:	 https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event/batshit-festival-24

BATSHIT
Women have long been locked up, medicated, pathologized and silenced by a simple label - ‘crazy’. BATSHIT is a wildly theatrical, unexpectedly funny, and deeply intimate story of female madness. Created by psycho-siren Leah Shelton (AU) and directed by Olivier award-winning performance artist Ursula Martinez (UK), this is a requiem for Leah’s grandmother Gwen, who was incarcerated for seeking independence in 1960s Australia. BATSHIT draws on personal stories, pop psychology and Prozac-laden humour to explore the myths, fantasies and fears that keep us compliant, and the systems that let us down. Dedicated to all the women labelled hysterical, psycho, hormonal and deluded by a society that seeks to control and discredit their experiences.
LEAH SHELTON
Psycho-siren Leah Shelton creates stylized, guttural, renegade feminist work soaked in cult references and dark humour. Her work has taken her from the glamour of Las Vegas to the back streets of Kings Cross, from rigorous training in Japan to live art festivals in New York. As a solo artist, Leah has played on and off West End in London. She has graced the cabaret stages of La Clique, Club Briefs, Little Death Club, Vegas Nocturne and Jonny Woo’s infamous UnRoyal Variety Show. Her first solo work, ‘Terror Australis’, received numerous awards and toured Australia and France. Leah’s second solo work, ‘Bitch On Heat’, directed by UK Performance Art luminary Ursula Martinez, has toured to major festivals in Australia and Soho Theatre London to critical acclaim and standing ovations.With Lisa Fa’alafi, Leah is Co-Director of artist collective Polytoxic, creating hyper-visual works underpinned by diversity and collaboration. Polytoxic have presented work at PS122’s COIL Festival NYC, Harbourfront Centre Canada, WanSmolbag Vanuatu, Sydney Opera House, Darwin Festival, Brisbane Festival, APAM, Bleach*, Enlighten, ArtsHouse Melbourne, Ten Days on the Island, Brisbane Powerhouse and QPAC.Originally dance-trained, Leah has a diverse performance background including over ten years training in the Suzuki Actor Training Method with Frank Theatre (Brisbane, AU), Suzuki Company of Toga (Toga / Shizuoka, Japan) and SITI Company (New York, USA). 
https://www.leahshelton.live/batshit
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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 - Ep 234: Batshit

In this episode Elaine chats with actor and singer Michaela Burger about her show The State Of Grace. We chat the inspiration for the show, care when you are telling the stories of those who have been brave enough to share their stories, sex work and the outdated narratives around this and much more.  

The State of Grace 
Dates: 1st -24th August
@7.05pm 

Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/state-of-grace

The State of Grace 
Grace was a high-class sex worker, who rose to meteoric fame on social media. She was an activist and modern-day maverick, until suddenly, she died... Award-winning artist Michaela Burger (A Migrant's Son, Exposing Edith) explores her legacy in this one-woman show. Through Grace's writing – unpublished hip hop lyrics, monologues and musings – Burger explores her multifaceted life. Her outrageously funny wit and charm, fearlessness and 'f*ck it' outlook on life will seduce you into marching with this social justice warrior who was determined to decriminalise the sex industry.



Michaela Burger 
Described by Kate Ceberano as “an asset to the performing arts community”, Michaela Burger is the recipient of the Frank Ford award, Adelaide Fringe award, American Australian Association Scholarship (performing arts) and has been nominated for two Helpmann Academy Awards. Burger has performed with one of Broadway’s most sophisticated writers, Jason Robert Brown, and has shared the stage with Australia’s own Tina Arena, Paul Capsis, Alan John, Meow Meow, Nancye Hayes, Mitchell Butel, Johanna Allen, Cameron Goodall, Tyran Park, Robyn Archer, John Thorn and Daniel Koek. Her recent credits include Aftertaste (ABC TV & Closer Productions), Twelfth Night (Adelaide Botanic Gardens/Shakespeare South), Apocalypse Meow (Brooklyn Academy Of Music, New York & Malthouse Theatre), Rumpelstiltskin (Southbank Theatre London/Windmill & State Theatre of South Australia), Simply Brill (Adelaide Cabaret Festival/Amplified Assembly), Driftwood (Umbrella Productions/Chapel off Chapel), Can You Hear Colour? (Adelaide Festival & Patch Theatre), Cranky Bear (Patch Theatre) and  Passion (State Opera Studios).Other performing credits include, Merry Widow (State Opera of South Australia), , Brel-The Immortal Troubadour (Adelaide Cabaret Festival), Rouge (Highwire Entertainment), Otello (State Opera of South Australia), Réquiem (State Opera of South Australia), Marriage of Figaro (Co-opera of South Australia), Tosca (Co-opera of South Australia), (Warner Brothers) and as the host of Humphrey B Bear (Banksia Productions, Chanel 9).In addition to winning the 2015 International Cabaret Contest, Burger is the co-writer and star of the world-renowned stage show Exposing Edith, about the life and songs of Edith Piaf and more recently a performer and creative on the team of Simply Brill. Her award-winning show, A Migrant’s Son - which explores Greek migration to Australia - has received critical acclaim and features original music written by Burger.

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Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 - Ep 236: The State Of Grace

This week I’m chatting to two talented theatre-makers fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe with their show ‘An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo’. Recipients of the Broadway Baby Bobby Award, and multiple 5 star reviews, Ned Blackburn and Lizzie Hawke share their experience at the Fringe, their favourite shows this year, and why they received a letter from America. All the while there will be a tune or two to tap your foot to. Picture a Beyonce, Britney Spears, Sabrina Carpenter type shebang.

Arts and Culture Show w/ Dulcie Whadcock - 02/09/24 - Voices Radio

Nonsense talker at 107.8 Black Diamond FM in Edinburgh

Persistent and Nasty is a script-reading, debate and art as activism initiative for women and gender minorities in the stage and screen industries. We are committed to an intersectional approach and aim to use the space we’ve created to provide a platform for the spectrum of marginalised voices in our culture.

Through a series of script readings, live debates and a regular podcast series, we aim to amplify the unrepresented voices in theatre and film.

Our goal is to create a project that is safe and supportive, but that is also an act of protest. Persistent and Nasty is about changing the cultural narrative through the stories we tell.

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