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!

Spin Cycles

Location:   Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two (Venue 33)

Dates: Aug 2nd-28th

Time: 12:20

Price: £12.50 Concessions £11

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/spin-cycles

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

My name is Jamie-Lee Money, I am a South African Writer and performer based in London. I have worked on various film and television projects including SONY Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Netflix, BBC and most recently Kaapland Films. In 2016 I was one of the founding members of ‘Avant Guava’ where we revived, workshopped and toured In Whorefish Bloomers: The Waitresses Lament a feminist cabaret from 80’s South Africa which sold out at the Cape Town Fringe Festival and on our national tour and was nominated for Best of Fringe.

After being in between age brackets and a few life events worth writing down, I created Spin Cycles. I had a bizarre and cathartic experience at a spin class after my Pa died and my mum got cancer and I thought, well this is a play. Everyone grieves, whether it is after death or anticipatory, so I hope audiences come away feeling a little bit seen and a little bit closer to how we heal after death.

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

I went to a spinning class with a friend and during the class I decided to write a play, it’s been on my mind and in my notebook ever since. She helped me brainstorm a few ideas on an evening in our lounge with a bottle of wine and Spin Cycles was born. There were a few other contenders, but nothing made as much sense as a spin cycle on a rampage!

Tell us all about your show!

Performed entirely on and with a spinning bike, Spin Cycles explores the processing and suppression of grief through the strange cult-like world of spin classes. Taking the theatricality of the Britney headsets and over-extroverted instructors, and combining it with the deep inner feelings of grief, it looks at how we cope when we’ve been knocked sideways. 

Spin Cycles gives a cathartic look into why we search for something deeper when the inconceivable happens to us. After an earth-shattering year, a journalist returning from sabbatical is asked to review a spin class. Crossing the line between spin class and theatre, the show explores what it is about cult exercise studios that gives us a feeling of purpose and the sense that everything that was once upside down can be turned the right way up.

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

Abby Vicky-Russell’s Gush, Spend the night with Tiffany Black, Lucy and Friends, iCon by Sian Clarke, Pleasure Little Treasure, OommoO, Sarah Cameron’s Karen, Get Blessed, Clementine, How to Flirt, Plage Stone Party’s Farewell, Tor, My dad wears a dress, Waiting for a train at the bus stop, Dominic McGovern’s Tied for Second, Caroline Mcevoy’s Street Smart, All aboard at Termination Station, île, and too many others to list. 

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 will be my first Edinburgh Fringe, but I have experienced Fringe on a much smaller scale, so any advice and tips would be fab.

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

Salty slap chips. Jellied tongue. You turn me on you tangy toad-in-the-hole, you …– this line was in the climax of our feminist cabaret In Whorefish Bloomers: The Waitresses Lament, it was such a crazy part of the show where the entire stage descends into complete chaos and this vignette was such a wacky and fun part of the show to perform just shouting out names of foods in a sensual and sexual way.

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

One Woman Show, I really enjoyed Liz Kingsman’s incredible show, it was so tongue in cheek and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Fixed by Emily Wilson, I absolutely adored Emily’s rendition of her time on X Factor, it was so hilarious and cringe.

Rhys Nicholson: Rhys, Rhys, Rhys, Rhys is such a dynamic performer and all of their jokes are so relatable and laugh out loud funny.

Schalk Bezuidenhout is my go-to when it comes to South African comedians, he has a way of commenting on the funniest and most relatable scenarios.

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

I’m quite boring as I don’t drink any caffeine so at this point, I’m still trying to figure out how I will manage my day, lol. My show is quite early so I plan on waking up, having a cup of Rooibos, doing a small and petite vocal and physical warm-up and then taking a stroll and or cycle through to The Pleasance. After my show Fringe is my oyster but I’ll definitely need a nap after all my spinning.

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

Watch as many shows as humanly possible, while meeting interesting people and experiencing parts of the city you might otherwise not have stumbled upon

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

The complete and utter madness of it all, takes a year to prepare for and then is gone by in a flash.

The most challenging thing about performing at the fringe?

Keeping up momentum, finding new and exciting things in your show each day, and performing to one person. I love every bum on seat, but only one person in the audience is a challenge.

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

Raincoat, reusable coffee cup, notebook

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

I’m not sure I’ve ever been super successful so if anyone has any hot tips let me know. I think you need to be engaging and sell your show in a fast and fabulous way, audiences are so bombarded, anything too earnest is annoying but anything too wacky might just scare them off, find the middle ground.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

I have a few but probably top top top would be Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and then veeeery close second would be Francesca Moody, big fan of both of them. If Adam Kay wanted to pop in too, I wouldn’t complain.

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

@spincyclesplay on Instagram

@jamieleemoney on Instagram and Twitter

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

Spinning, Grief, Craic