It is festival season and that means that in the next month there is so many great comedy festivals to look forward to! This month we are looking at some of the great shows that you can see at the Edinburgh Fringe. So take note because we are going to give you all the information you need for just a handful of some of the great shows happening this year! We have also been able to interview some of the acts that are heading up to the Fringe as well.

Lara Ricote: GRL/LATNX/DEF

Location:  Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive) – Hive 2 (Venue 313)

Dates: Aug 3rd-16th, 18th-28th

Time: 15:20

Price: £8

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/lara-ricote-grl-latnx-def

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

Hi! I’m Lara Ricote, I’m a Mexican-American-Venezuelan comic living in Amsterdam. I’ve been doing stand up for almost 4 years, including two pandemic years which I don’t think should count but people are still counting them. I’m also big into improv and I love comedy with my whole heart, and I want to do it til the end of time. This year I’m going to be going to Edinburgh for my first time this year and I’m taking my first ever hour, which I’m so very excited for!

How did you come up with the name of your show that your taking to the fringe?

Last year I was freaking out about the fact that I only write through the lens of being three things: a girl, a latin american person, and a person who is hard of hearing. It was upsetting to me that I couldn’t stray from that in my work and that everything was about that, but then I realized that I could just lean into it, so I named it those three things: GRL/LATNX/DEF. Everyone’s always looking for what your unique selling point is as a comic, and mine’s pretty clear in terms of my identities. I wrote them in what has been described to me as a gen z way to write them, which I think is funny. This show feels like an introductory show, it’s about me and I think it’s a good starting point for you to know who you’re coming to see, and gives me a lot of lee-way in terms of playing with stereotypes and the specifics of being these three things. And I think that makes it a good name.

Tell us all about your show!

My show is a comedy show about me, and what it means to me to be a girl who’s latin and hard of hearing. It’s about how I see the world right now, and it’s silly in its endeavor, and it keeps that silly touch while talking about upbringing, my relationship with myself, with my family, my understanding of race relations being a latina in europe, etc., etc. It’s an exploration of what I’ve been recently thinking about and what it means to have all those intersectional identities and still just be a 25 year old trying to make sense of life on this warming planet. 

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?

So many! I’m so excited for all of them. Mainly, I can’t wait to see Patti Harrison and Josie Long. I also really want to see Stewart Lee and Jordan Brookes, and Britney the sketch show. and I have to do more research and see who’s there.

What have been some of your favourite shows to date and why?

I know it’s been said a lot but I loved the one woman show by Liz Kingsman, it was truly incredible. I also loved Julio Torres’ My Favorite Shapes, it was different than anything I had seen and it made me laugh a lot, and I’m also a big fan of little things. NATE by Natalie Palamides made me laugh so much, and I thought Taylor Tomlinson’s Look at You was a perfect stand up show.

Favourite one liner you have done in a show and why?

I just got a copper T put in my uterus, an IUD. We know the one that stops you from getting pregnant. Except there’s a 1% chance you still get pregnant, but it’s only when god wants it SO badly that he sends you a child anyways and it comes out with a copper T engraved in their forehead– then you have a really good christian baby.

I don’t know if that qualifies as a one-liner but I like that joke because I think it exemplifies the silliness I try to put into all my stuff. It’s the kind of stupid logic that you can follow but you shouldn’t cause it doesn’t make sense, and it makes me laugh.

What have been some of the most unique and different comedy shows you have seen this year and why?

I haven’t gotten the opportunity to see a lot of things live that were too different (living in Amsterdam will do this), but I think the two shows that made me laugh the most this year were Brittany the sketch show (at Mach Fest), and Maria Bamford’s hour. I had never seen anything like Brittany live, and I laughed so very much throughout it, their dynamic was amazing and they’re both SO funny. Maria Bamford’s hour was unique as everything she does is. I saw her perform Maria Bamford twice this year, and I just love her so much (I also got to open for her!!!! which was my dream come true). This hour I saw was about how she loves being part of a community so much, she’ll join any. Her act outs and voices are a marvel, she follows all the fun she proposes and she gives us incredibly sweet outlooks on a life she so often suffers. I’m in awe of everything she does.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

I think Josie Long but I’m not ready for it yet.

If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?

on instagram! @lararicote

And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show?

Because I’m trying (and I love you).