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!

Philipp Kostelecky: Daddy’s Home

Location:   The Stand Comedy Club 2- Stand 2 (Venue 5)

Dates: Aug 2nd-13th, 15th-27th

Time: 16:00

Price: £10 Concessions £8

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/philipp-kostelecky-daddy-s-home

Hello! Tell us about yourself?

My name is Philipp Kostelecky and I’m a comedian living in London. I originally come from Austria, America, and Slovenia. My mom is from America and Slovenia, and my father was from Austria, just to explain that I don’t have 3 parents or something. I started doing comedy in 2018 after having done improv and radio at University and I now perform across the UK and Europe. My style of comedy is largely observational jokes with a bit of storing telling and a nice amount of bodily animation and silly impressions to things exciting and refreshing.

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

It’s kind of silly, but I started jokingly referring to myself as “Daddy” in social situations with friends for fun and then I wrote a joke about the word “Daddy” somehow that transformed into “Daddy’s Home” and I liked it. It also works as the show is also a little bit about family and my father (or lack thereof – a classic at the Fringe I’m aware) so there’s a connection there if you wish to look for it. I just think it’s funny for me to refer to myself as “Daddy” given the fact that I have no children or even a partner (that I know of) to have children with – it’s just a bit silly really. I find it funny for me to be out for dinner with friends and to rub my belly and “ooofff Daddy’s Hungry”. However, they are not always as amused, but that’s okay, Daddy doesn’t mind.

Tell us all about your show!

Sure thing! It’s a freewheeling stand-up show, more in the traditional American style, that goes from topic to topic but doesn’t really try to have some hammy message or anything or directly tell you how to live your life. It’s stupid, it’s smart, it’s silly, it’s dark, and there are buckets of voices, jokes, and physicality to keep you entertained. If I had to say what the show is “about”, it’s a show loosely themed around family, love, and pancakes, and how all of those combine together to make a person who they are. That being said it’s also about sex, hugs, and working in an office so it’s never boarding on too intellectual.

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

Ian Smith, Alison Spittle, Krystal Evans, and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd.

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.

Yes, I have indeed! I think the best piece of advice that I’ve heard and would also give, is just to be positive about it all, it’s such an amazing experience and an amazing opportunity to take part in it. I think people get so bogged down in reviews, awards, and all that, which is of course important to an extent, but for me the point of this all is to have fun, and that’s what it should be – FUN!

I also think everyone’s main focus should be just to try your best to fill the room, and put on a really good show, give it your all, and if you’re lucky the rest will come naturally, and if it doesn’t at least you’ll have become a better performer so it’s not all too bad.

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

My favourite kid I ever taught when I was a swimming teacher was this little 4-year-old Italian boy. One time he sneezed and nobody said anything so he just went “what? No bless yous for Giacomo?”

So technically a two-liner but it’s based on a true story and it’s fun, silly, and very wholesome. I did the joke for about 2 years on the circuit and when I finally decided to tweet it, it got over half a million likes which is quite cool!

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

My favourite show I saw was Marc Maron’s tour show this year in London. His energy on stage was something I’d never encountered before, he was absolutely magnetic and the material was such rich in life and feeling, while also being absolutely hilarious.

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

So I’ll probably still be working my day job at the Fringe (remotely), although I haven’t actually told my work that I’ll be coming to the festival. So depending on how that goes, I may be working from 9am-3pm every day and then going off to do my show, or I’ll have a good amount of free time in the mornings to scroll through LinkedIn. But if I had to write out my dream day without a day job at the fringe it would look like the below:

6 AM – Wake up. Text a few friends so they all think that I get up at 6 am every morning like a productive person. It’s all about keeping up appearances.

6.03 AM – Go back to bed.

9 AM – Actually wake up. Eat breakfast, shower, poop (note: make sure not to do this at the same time).

9.43 AM – Listen back to the show from the day before and make notes.

10.57 AM – Scroll through messages of support and positive reviews from the day before.

10.57 AM – All done reading now head out on the town.

11.30 AM – In town, I see that there’s been a murder on the Royal Mile. I push through the crowd to find out it’s my best friend Jimmy McDougal. “But who could have done this?” I say to myself as the black-and-white filter comes across the screen.

12 PM – After mourning my friends’ death, I join the Scottish Police force as a maverick detective so I can legally work on the case but in my untraditional style of breaking the rules but getting results.

12.30 PM – Investigate the scene of the crime a bit further and pick up some evidence with my bare hands.

12.31 PM – Remove my bare hands, and instead put on some gloves.

1 PM-3.30 PM – Investigate a couple of leads and interrogate them in a way that would probably be illegal if I weren’t a cool maverick detective.

3.31 PM – Find out that Jimmy is alive and was just doing a joke as a street performer and that my joining the police force might have been an overreaction… but that’s exactly what the killer would want us to think. 

4 PM-5 PM – Perform my solo debut hour ‘Daddy’s Home’ at The Stand 2 at 4 pm to a sold-out crowd who love every minute of the show, and tell all their friends to come the next day (terms and conditions apply).

5 PM-10.50 PM – Meet up with other comedians, do spots on other people’s shows, get involved in the festival and just be an all-around cool dude.

10.50 – 11.50 PM – Host my other show ‘Philipp and Phriends: A Late Night Comedy Show’ at the City Cafe (Hollywood) bringing some of the best acts together for a late-night extravaganza.

12 AM – Walk home while looking upon the city wondering how a pretty girl like me ended up in a dirty town like this. Will I ever find Jimmy McDougal’s killer I think to myself?

12.23 AM – Pre-sleep bath followed by the sounds of the rain forests to get me through the night.

REPEAT

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

As an audience member, it’s just to see as many shows as you can, people you know and people you don’t. The beauty of the Fringe is to see acts you’ve never heard of before and to discover someone new (hint hint, nudge nudge).

For a performer, it’s just to really enjoy the great opportunity that it is to enjoy the festival. Don’t get in your own head and just have fun.

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

Getting to see so many amazing shows and being at the heart of it all with so many contemporaries on the scene. I also love the feeling of getting so comfortable on stage over the course of the month.

The most challenging thing about performing at the fringe?

All the praise, it’s so hard just being that well-liked and adored and trying not to have it go to your head. Luckily, I practiced modesty so it’s not an issue for me

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

DADDY’S HOME TICKETS

What’s the secret to successful flyering?

Ohh it’s got to be throwing a random paper in their face when they obviously don’t want to be flyered, like in the bathroom or walking into another show.

In earnest, just have a conversation, be personal and friendly, and only try to transform “maybe”s into “yes”s not “no”s into “yes”s. I have also found that rather than telling someone to come and see your show instead ask them, “Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?/Do you have any plans today at 4pm*?”, that way you can actually start a bit of a conversation, and it feels like an easier way into the sell.

*You don’t have any plans? Why that’s great! Why not come along to Daddy’s Home, 4pm at The Stand 2.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

I think it would probably have to be one of my comedy heroes like Marc Maron, Bill Bur, Dave Chapelle, Sebastian Maniscalco, or Michelle Wolf on the day of a great show like a 10/10 show, but when I also know that they’re not there, so it doesn’t throw me off my rhythm. Or maybe I do know that they’re there, but I’m like all cool about, you know what I mean? It’s so they think “Wow, this guy’s really good, he’s not intimidated at all, I hope he wants to be my friend”, and I would be like “Yeah okay, we can be friends I guess… I’m totally chill about this sort of thing”. I think that would be really groovy. I don’t know why any of them would see a random 4pm show at the Fringe Festival but let’s not ruin the fantasy for me.

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

They can follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook @PhilComedy or on Twitter @CheeseCakePCK. @PhilComedy was already taken by someone on Twitter whose account got deactivated but the name is gone forever now it would seem… sad times I know.

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

Funny – Silly – Refreshing