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!

Bellringers

Location:  ROUNDABOUT @ Summerhall – ROUNDABOUT (Venue 26)

Dates: Aug 1st-5th, 7th-12th, 14th-19th, 21st-26th

Time: 13:15

Price: £16.00 Concessions £14.50

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

Hello! Tell us about yourself?

Hello! I’m the director of BELLRINGERS by Daisy Hall. I’m drawn to stories that explore the tension between social facade and human passion. My previous Fringe shows include SAP and Life According to Saki. I run Atticist (one of the companies behind BELLRINGERS at Paines Plough’s Roundabout) with producer and lighting designer David Doyle, as well as working a freelance director.

Tell us all about your show!

BELLRINGERS is the extraordinary debut of a writer who I think is going to become a leading voice in British theatre. It sings with tragic inevitability swaddled in irrational, irrepressible hope – a hope that just might be triumphant after all. It is a play I think we need to see. It’s about being young at the end of the world.

The mushrooms are encroaching, fish are falling from the sky, and in a bell tower Clement and Aspinall are waiting for lightning to strike. Superstition says that the ringing of church bells can dispel a storm. When it feels like the apocalypse is here, anything is worth a shot.

BELLRINGERS was one of five finalists in the most recent Women’s Prize for Playwriting, chosen from over a thousand entries. It’s produced by The Stage Producer of the Year Ellie Keel Productions, alongside Atticist and Hampstead Theatre.

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

That’s nothing to do with me, it’s all down to the writer Daisy Hall!

Daisy says the play was always called Bellringers: she knew it was going to be a play about (and called) Bellringers before she knew anything about the characters or plot, and it has continued to be called Bellringers barring one mad month when she thought about calling it Fulgura Frango. Bellringers doesn’t just refer to Clement and Aspinall — it’s a whole world of bellringers.

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

Duncan Macmillan’s Every Brilliant Thing performed by Jonny Donahoe will be returning home to Roundabout in 2024, ten years after it premiered. I read the play a few years later and I can’t believe I’ll get a chance to see it. It’s a masterpiece. It’s definitely top of my list this year.

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. And if you haven’t, how are you gearing up for it?

I was last at Fringe in 2022 directing Rafaella Marcus’s SAP, which sold out and won numerous awards before embarking on a London transfer and national tour. The prestige of the venue, companies, and co-producers meant that the show had significant buzz about it before August — it was a fantastic play with an exceptional cast, but it was also set up for success. Atticist’s first Fringe show, Life According to Saki in 2016, was by a then-unknown company in a much less prestigious venue — yet it had excellent sales and won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award before transferring Off Broadway. The production was strong but it succeeded because we let reviewers in on the first day of Fringe when most companies chose to preview. A few 5 star reviews from key publications in the first two days gave us crucial exposure and built a momentum that never let up. Let reviewers in early (but be ready for them).

Kindness and solidarity among artists matter more at Fringe than elsewhere. It takes a huge amount of time, effort, and money to get something to the Fringe, so it can feel devastating if you’re not getting audiences in or if you get a review that doesn’t appreciate your production. If it’s going badly, remember you’re not alone; don’t be afraid to reach out to other artists and companies for support. If it’s going well, be sensitive with your own success and use your platform to spread the word about smaller shows. Either way, take a chance on watching some shows that aren’t selling so well alongside the big hits. You might find one of your favourite things, and your word-of-mouth enthusiasm might lead to that show having a sell-out run the following week — or to a handful of seats sold in what would have been an empty room.

Finally, remember just getting something to Edinburgh is a huge achievement in itself, and you never know what it will lead to months or even years later. It’s not only about the immediate successes.

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

As a director, I don’t have a daily routine as such. For the first few days I’m getting the show up and running with tech and notes on previews and early performances. After that I’ll be on call for the actors and production, and I’ll watch every few days, but my Fringe also becomes about seeing as much work as I can and connecting with other artists, companies, producers, and so on.

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

Plan what you want to see and buy tickets early — planning means you’ll ensure you see what you want to see, and won’t blow your budget.

Try to leave the centre for at least a day, especially to see the coast.

Sleep more than you want to.

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

I’ve heard Timberyard is amazing

Best thing about performing at the Fringe?

It’s one of the few places where there’s a genuine market for new writing. Outside Fringe, lots of venues want to support new work but can’t attract an audience for it; at Fringe, audiences are enthusiastically on the look out for new writing and new companies. It’s thrilling, and it’s still a unique opportunity for new and emerging artists to have their work seen by large numbers of people, and by established industry figures.

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

Don’t programme too much in a day, even though it’s tempting. Shows run over or start late, and some venues are hard to find.

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

Good shoes for walking. Layers: clothes for four seasons with something waterproof. A portable battery pack for your phone.

I also know a producer who always takes a printer. They save a fortune, and lots of time, when the reviews come in and they need to add flashes to flyers.

What’s the secret to successful flyering?

Flash your flyers: glue on a strip of paper with your reviews (stars, publication, a key quote.)

Be strategic about when and where you’re flyering. For example, flyer outside your venue or (with permission) at the exit of a similar show.

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

@_jessicalazar

Twitter: @theatticist / @EKPShows / @Hamps_Theatre

Instagram: @theatticist / @ellie_keel_productions / @hampstead_theatre

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

Exceptional new writing.