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.

The Show That Must Not Be Named

Location:   Just the Tonic at The Caves – Just The Fancy Room (Venue 313 )

Dates: Aug 4th-14th, 16th-28th

Time: 11:30

Price: £8 Concessions £6

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/show-that-must-not-be-named

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

Hi! We are The Show That Must Not Be Named – family-friendly improvised Harry Potter parody, co-produced by Jericho Comedy and Dom O’Keefe (Shaken Not Stirred: The Improvised James Bond Film ‘I would gladly go every day if I could’ David Walliams). This is our first time bringing this show up to Edinburgh, but our cast includes members of Shaken…, The Dragprov Revue, The Maydays, The Oxford Imps, and many more shows that have stormed Edinburgh over the years. 

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

The show started in 2018 when a group of us who had been improvising together with The Oxford Imps, and who all loved the Harry Potter books and films growing up, got together to do some improv inspired by the wizarding world. 

Tell us all about your show!

We are a family friendly (PG rated like the earlier films) improv show. You give us a suggestion for a new character to focus on, a magical location, and a title for a brand-new wizarding adventure, and we conjure up an hour-long story from there. Maybe we will follow the adventures of a new goblin on their first day at Gringotts bank, or we might find out that Voldemort has always secretly wanted to be a ballet dancer, or we might see what happens when a dementor gets hired to work at a KFC in Norwich!

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

There is always so much improv to see! Whether it is Austentatious, Showstopper, Murder She Didn’t Write, The Glass Imaginary, or Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes! 

Have you done the fringe before? What are the key pieces of advice you have been given or would give to new groups or people performing at the fringe. 

This is the first time that we are bringing TSTMNBN up to Edinburgh, but we have almost all been up to Edinburgh in various improv and scripted shows in the past. The big piece of advice I love is that in the middle of your run, on a day/morning/afternoon off you should try to get out of the city for a bit. The Fringe can be so intense and there is so much to worry about with shows, ticket sales, flyering, reviews, and all the other shows you want to see and support, so a couple of hours sat on the beach at North Berwick can do you the world of good for clearing your head in the midst of all the madness!

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

It has to be when the audience get involved in the show and we blur the line between improv and pantomime. We did a show recently at the Story Museum in Oxford which was mostly kids in the audience, and they were all so sweet, pretending to be ghosts and shouting out to try to help the protagonist. 

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

“Don’t worry, Harry, I have a solution!” (pulls prop vile out of pocket)

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

The Actor’s Nightmare doing a serious improvised play that produced gasps and tears from the audience was pretty impressive. In fact, so many fun, wonderful shows at Hoopla in London Bridge, which is just a powerhouse of creative improv shows. 

What is the best way to enjoy yourself at the fringe?

I mean hanging out with other performers and getting to mess around with these lovely, creative people is just a blast. And obviously, seeing shows. There is something really exciting about going along with a mate (or even taking yourself off for a solo date) to see a show you’ve never seen before, especially when you get to brag about seeing that person live when they pop up on TV years later. Also, we love City Chippy and Moratti’s pizza. 

The best thing about performing at the fringe?

The people! Especially after the last few years, getting out and meeting lovely, fringey people is such an exciting prospect. 

The most challenging thing about performing at the fringe?

Pacing yourself. The Edinburgh Fringe is like a sweet shop for arts nerds. Doing the full month is like living inside a sweet shop for thirty days. It is so tempting to chomp down on seeing four shows a day every day on top of your show and flyering and drinking with your new pals and trying to find the zoo because you’ve a rumour heard they have pandas and also your new pal wants you to do a spot on their mixed bill show, and your mum is visiting so you have to be her tour guide for the weekend, and it turns out the zoo is really far out of town and you have to pay extra to see the pandas, and then you go to Spank! and all of a sudden you haven’t slept in a week and you can’t remember your own name. So… maybe just see one show a day and see how you go?

What would be your top three items every performer must take to the fringe?

Decent trainers (Edinburgh is hilly! Mine fell apart one year and I had to gaffer tape the soles back on); A light-weight jacket (you will get all four seasons during August in Edinburgh); A strong back-pack for carrying around your flyers (and your new light-weight jacket and spare gaffer tape)

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

Expect rejection. Most people will be in a rush to get somewhere else and you are an inconvenience in their way. So, make it into a game. Smile, be nice, be respectful. Especially when people are rude. And when people do seem interested in your show, that is so cool! There are over 3000 shows on. If someone takes a flyer and says they will come, you have basically sold ice to an Eskimo. Well done!

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

I mean it would have to be Dame Maggie Smith. 

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

Twitter: @TheShowThatMust

Instagram: @TheShowThatMustNotBeNamed

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

Silly. Funny. Magical.