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!

Wild Things

Location:   Greenside @ Riddles Court – Willlow Studio (Venue 16)

Dates: Aug 14th-19th

Time: 13:55

Price: £10 Concessions £8

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/wild-things

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

Hi! My name is Emma and I am the Producer for Wild Things, the improvised comedy about conservation. Wild Things is a longform improv show where the audience creates the animal and the performers try to fend off extinction! 

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

The show is all about wild animals that are completely invented by the audience so it was a good fit. It also captures the unpredictable nature of improvised performance. 

Tell us all about your show! 

Wild Things is a longform improv show where the audience creates the animal and the performers try to fend off extinction! It is informed by conservation science and supported by the British Ecological Society. Wild Things is primarily an entertainment show, but we are doing additional impact evaluation to better understand how the show affects people’s understanding of biodiversity and nature conservation. 

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

We always look forward to seeing Baby Wants Candy. They’re an American musical improv group and they’re so consistently funny and their improvised songs are very impressive! We’re also looking forward to seeing Disoriented on the Murder Express by House of Improv, which you can catch on the Free Fringe. 

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.

All of our performers have done the Fringe before, but this is the first time we’re bringing this particular show up. The main piece of advice I’d give is to take the rough with the smooth – you’ll have some transcendently amazing shows and some intensely cringingly awful shows and both are an essential part of a well-rounded Fringe experience. The latter is also a much more interesting story to tell afterwards.

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

There was the time I was playing a mother who was swimming with her son in the ocean and told him that the ocean contained many predators. I paused and then said, “in an animal way”. 

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

I went to see Lucy Hopkins’ show ‘Dark Mother’ at the Soho Theatre and it was hilarious and totally unique. She does clowning and physical comedy, and this show was built all around the use of light, so she appears from the darkness then disappears only to pop up again somewhere else in the theatre. She does a good job of using abstract, surreal humour as well as straightforward slapstick, like pretending to walk into bits of set that she couldn’t see because it was too dark (or maybe she wasn’t pretending). 

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

Get up, eat a cereal bar on the bus to the Royal Mile and get flyering! Our show is 13:55 and we warm up from around an hour before that. Once Wild Things is done, the day is ours and it’s time to hit the shows! I think my record is 5 shows in one day? But I like to cram in as many as possible, then pass out in bed then do it all again the next day. 

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

Get lots of recommendations from friends and then go to the shows you’ve not heard of. This is the best way to find new stuff that’s on the ‘fringe’ of what you already know. 

Best thing about performing at the Fringe? 

The audiences! Audiences at the Fringe are chaotic, unpredictable and up for anything, perfect for an improv show. 

The most challenging thing about performing at the Fringe? 

You will inevitably need to sleep for approximately a thousand years after it’s done, it’s an all-consuming experience. 

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

A raincoat – it’s Scotland, just because it’s raining doesn’t mean you get out of flyering. Journal/scrapbook – Write down all the shows you performed in and saw, because it’s so great to look back and see all you did in previous Fringes.

Tote bag – can carry your water bottle, portable charger & of course all your flyers. (And everyone will always say ‘hey cool tote!’ cos who doesn’t love a good tote bag). 

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

A good phrase you can shout over and over to hook people in e.g. “you create the animal, we’ll fend off extinction!” And a silly hat. 

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member? 

David Attenborough, so he could tell us how accurate our depiction of conservation efforts is. 

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

We’re @ wildthings.improv on instagram, @ wildthingsimpro on twitter and Wild Things: the improvised comedy on facebook. 

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

Comedy, conservation, creatures!