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!

Horizon Showcase: Birthmarked

Location:   Assembly Rooms – Ballroom (Venue 20)

Dates: Aug 3rd-13th, 15th-19th, 21st – 27th

Time: 19:15

Price: £16 Concessions £15

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/horizon-showcase-birthmarked

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

My name is Brook Tate and I am a theatre maker and painter based in Bristol. I started painting when I was about 17, and I bought my first guitar around that time too. I also came out to my family when I was 17, and I got baptised into the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses when I was 17… gosh I’m just realising that all those things happened when I was 17. What a year. Hahaha. I had plans of becoming a missionary trekking into the heart of the amazon rainforest to convert people into Jehovah’s Witnesses, but I’ve trekking into theatre land and trying to expose the religion’s harmful practises through song and dance and dressing up as a zebra. How times have changed.

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

The show is called Birthmarked mainly because I have a birthmark on my forehead. It also links to the practise of ‘marking’ people within the religion as individuals have sinned and are not considered ‘good association’. It was the title of an album I planned to record, but that album ended up becoming a full-on musical. I couldn’t help it, it’s in my gay-jeans. 

Tell us all about your show!

So basically, I said to my band ‘let’s dress up as Jehovah’s Witnesses and I’ll kind of explain the meaning behind my songs while chatting to a giant whale.’ So basically, that’s what we did and it kind of snowballed from there. I’d written a bunch of songs after I was disfellowshipped (excommunicated/shunned) from the religion I grew up in – The Jehovah’s Witnesses – but I never explained what they actually meant. Talking publicly about the religion puts you at risk of being seen as a very very dangerous person in the eyes of those still in the religion. But, with my band, I felt brave enough to start doing that, especially after I discovered how harmful and damaging some of the practises within the religion are.

Shunning, or ‘disfellowshipping’ as it is called within the religion of Jehovah’s Witnesses, is incredibly powerful, and I have lost contact with many family members and people I love, so this show is also an attempt to paint myself in a different light than what the religion would have them believe about me. So, inside the belly of a whale, called Gayle, I explain what goes on within the community and how I was dealt with within it, and with some high heels and some body paint, I transform into a ‘beast’, but instead of being the disgusting and dangerous beast that I once believed I would become, I turn into a pretty damn beautiful zebra, called Debra. 

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

I’m super excited about seeing Angel Monster, The Art of Falling, Afrique en Cirque and A Faerie Tale by Niall Moorjani! They all look pretty beautiful!

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. 

Nope… this is my first time at Fringe. I’m a little nervous, but I keep being told pace yourself. So…I guess my advice is…pace yourself. And to trust your performance. 

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

The Wedding by Gecko Theatre company blew my mind. I saw it a few years ago and it just stuck with me. I’ll probably be able to recount most of it when I’m 98. Hahaha! It was just SO clever and delicate and powerful and beautiful. Yep. That inspired me a lot. Seeing a show without a common language between the whole cast was so refreshing and gave me a new perspective on what theatre can be. 

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

O. M. G. Raffe. (It was funny because it was in response to seeing a giraffe. Out of context its crap.)

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

Hmm I think Drac and Jill at a little theatre in Bristol has got to be one of the funniest shows I’ve seen. I was literally hanging on every line, and I just had the best time. Seeing Dracula fly into the air with a strap on was truly an image I can’t forget. The performers were sooooo brill. Yep. I liked that one. 

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

I’m yet to find out…

Best thing about performing at the Fringe?

Also…don’t know yet…but I hope most of it?!

The most challenging thing about performing at the Fringe?

Not knowing what it’s like to perform at Fringe and being asked what it’s like to perform at Fringe… (jokes jokes. No offence to the lovely interviewer!! Hahaha!)

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

Hmmm well I’ve got a steamer for my voice, a set of watercolour paints, and a vibrator (to use for my throat when doing warm ups. It’s very useful. Highly recommend…) 

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

Hmmm I don’t know…having flyers?

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

Oh gosh. Dawn French. And Joanna Lumley. Please thank you ta very much.

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

My Instagram is @brooktate, Twitter is @brooktateart and my website is brooktate.com. I have a few bits and bobs on YouTube too under Brook Tate

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

Tap  Dancing Zebra