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!

Amy Matthews: Commute With The Foxes

Location:   Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron) – The Tron (Venue 51)

Dates: Aug 1st-6th, 8th-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-25th

Time: 15:00

Price: £8

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/amy-matthews-commute-with-the-foxes

Hello! Tell us about yourself?

I had an unironically nice time in Birmingham’s pen museum. I have a fantasy alternate life where I’m a painter and decorator by day and an undertaker by night. When I was 10 I played Rodney Trotter in my school nativity. That’s probably all you need to know. My wonderful director, Elf Lyons, described my onstage persona the other day as being like a combination of Miranda Priestly and Phillip Larkin, and it may be the coolest compliment I’ve ever had.

Tell us all about your show!

It’s about the transformative nature of context. We live in an increasingly individualised world; our algorithms tailor our content, we lack communal or intergenerational hubs, and we are more inelastic in our polarised points of views than ever. The Arts has always held up a mirror to society and asked it to examine itself. The issue now is that it is a hall of mirrors, with everyone on very separate individualised routes that only show ourselves, until we hit a wall. This show is an attempt to have fun smashing the mirror up and then reassembling the shards as a disco ball to all dance under. 

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

People who travel every day to a 9 to 5 job often see the same commuters every day. They may not share any more than an acknowledgement on a train platform, or less than that even. But they are strangers who share the same bookends to their working day. As a comedian, the only beings I ever reliably see in every city I work in, no matter how late I’m travelling home after a gig, are foxes. I see them as my mysterious commuter constants in my constantly shifting work day. As a show about context transforming meaning, it felt fitting that a lone fox down a backstreet of some unfamiliar urban area has transformed, for me, into the equivalent of the same suited chap who gets on at London Bridge station every day with his copy of the FT. 

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

Kemah Bob. I saw them do some new stuff for the upcoming show at a gig the other week and I was howling. The premise of their show is also a wild ride of a story and I can’t wait to see it. I also always love Adam Flood’s work, and can’t wait to see what his bonkers techno-pop comedy is going to deliver. 

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 done the Fringe before. This is my [insert number] show. I would advise to get out of the city centre as regularly as possible. Once a day if you can. There’s a big ol’ world out there and it feels very small during August. 

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

Have a pastry from Mor bakery and a flat white. Do my show. Decide whether I want to see some shows, socialise, or go home and watch a film. And make sure that I never do any of those three options too much in one week.

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

If you’re an act, remember that you’re also a punter. Go and see as much as possible. Our peers are talented and exciting and it’s a gift to have so much amazing work in such a concentrated place. 

Ok, where is your favourite place to eat at the Fringe?

Top three would have to be Mosque Kitchen, Ting Thai Caravan and El Cartel.

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

Having so many other comedians in the same place. For balance, that’s also the worst bit.

 Top tips for travelling around the Fringe and getting to shows on time?

Double the google maps time because foot traffic is insane. Also if you can see the queue moving into the show, probably don’t then go and get a pint and shout at an 18-year-old volunteer at the door that you’re ‘just a minute late’. It doesn’t wash with Ryan Air, it shouldn’t wash at the Pleasance either. 

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

Vitamins, a daily show outfit and a to do list that involves at least one non-comedy thing on it.

What’s the secret to successful flyering?

Find good flyerers. I adore mine – they’re so cool and so good at their job, but that is like gold dust. They are a rare and brilliant find. 

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

@AmyFMatthews

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

Silliness is important.