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!

Raising Kane

Location:   Assembly George Square Studios – Studio Four (Venue 17)

Dates: Aug 3rd-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-28th

Time: 12:00

Price: £12 Concessions £11

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/raising-kane

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

I’m David Shopland, artistic director (and most other roles!) of Fake Escape Theatre

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

Well, considering the show is about Orson Welles and the making of his most famous work – the name pretty much came up with itself!

Tell us all about your show!

I portray a 30-something Orson Welles, iconic auteur of stage and screen, as he reflects back over his early life and the path that led him to making what many people believe is the greatest movie of all time – Citizen Kane. It’s both a love letter and an unflinching dissection of a very complicated, larger than life character… But there is also a very big unexpected twist at the end, one I hope Orson himself would love! 

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

Oh far too many to mention. First of all I should mention Callum Hughes’s Thirst at Pleasance Bunker 3 because I am producing and co-directing it! As a punter, I’m really looking forward to Out Of The Forest’s The Brief Life and Mysterious Death of King Boris III and I love anything Frankie Thompson does.

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. 

I have; this will be my third production at the fringe after 2016 and 2019 and I think my advice is to remember it’s our industry’s equivalent of a trade fair. Accept you’re not going to the festival to make money but contacts – so make sure you go to as many networking events, social gatherings and artist bars as possible!

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

In 2011 I saw a comedian called Michael Kossew whose comedy was so jet black he makes Sadowicz look like Pete Firman. Incredibly brave and subversive material. In 2017 I saw an incredible welsh sketch outfit called The Death Hilarious – one of the most originally surreal acts I’ve seen in a long time. And then of course there is Stewart Lee, who I think is just completely untouchable.

Talk us through your daily routine for a day at the Fringe

Well as my show is a relatively early slot, I’m up at 8ish to get breakfast and a walk in, before aiming to be on the Mile by 10am to get a solid 90 minutes flyering in. As Raising Kane is presented exclusively in monochrome, I need at least 30 minutes to apply greyscale make-up EVERYWHERE. After all my own commitments are done around 3.30pm, I spend the rest of the day seeing other shows, enjoying socialising with those I know up there, and likely ending the evening in either the Assembly artist’s bar or the Underbelly Abattoir bar.

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

Don’t plan too much. Remember to look after yourself and pace your month accordingly. Let go of any expectations and embrace the unknown

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

Just being part of it. All of it. Being part of what I call ‘Disneyland for Theatre Nerds’. There is no better place on earth. For that month, it really is Brigadoon!

The most challenging thing about performing at the fringe?

Keeping the stamina up. Especially the first week where you’ve got 10 – 12 shows without a break. Remembering you may have done it 25 times in a row, but that audience has only seen it once. So give them as much on the 28th August as you did on the 3rd. Easier said than done.

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

– A good pair of shoes for flyering and walking around the city multiple times a day

– business cards for all the network opportunities

– a spare liver, you know, because of the networking opportunities

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

Super-liminal advertising. Scream the name of your show directly into the faces of every single person who walks past.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

If science can get there in time, it would have to be Orson Welles himself.

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

@FakeEscapeTC on Instagram and Twitter

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

For. The. Twist.