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!

Raul Kohli: Raul Britannia

Location:   Just the Tonic at Cabaret Voltaire – Just the Liberty Room (Venue 338)

Dates: Aug 1st-11th, 13th-25th

Time: 18:30

Price: £10 Concessions £9

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/raul-kohli-raul-britannia

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

I am an award-winning stand up comedian from Newcastle Upon Tyne, England who is frequently found gigging anywhere around the World. A raging Newcastle United fan, & a proud Brit with an interest in politics, history & cats.

Tell us all about your show!

Raul Britannia is all a celebration of modern multicultural Britain from the personal perspective of a Half Hindu, Half Sikh, Indian-Singaporean Geordie who along the way has befriended Chinese Scousers, White Bradfordians with Indian accents. It ties into some inherited trauma with colonization, partition, as well as racism suffered personally.

Ultimately for all the negative life experience, this is show is a call to arms to acknowledge that we don’t always need to call the place we all call home s***, while acknowledging a lot of the history, present, politics, economics, culture is s***

Still… the people are alright, & Sunday Roasts are class! 

How did you come up with the name for the show you’re taking to the fringe?

Well it was a show all about being an ethnic minority celebrating Britain so I thought of some classic phrases associated with the country: God Save the King, WTF are you looking at, but when I stumbled on Rule Britannia, it just seemed that my  name fit a lot more perfectly there as a pun.

Raul Save the King, or WTF are you Rauling at  just didn’t really have the same appeal. 

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

I am usually doing so many shows & I’m so busy, I don’t often get the chance to see any shows. However if Martha from Baby Reindeer decides to put on a show giving her side of the story, I will be snapping up tickets immediately. 

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? 

This is my 11th Fringe. Make an effort to have fruit & vegetables. It sounds patronizing. But you’re out so much, eating junk food, you can often forget, and the lack of vitamins leads to a lack of an immune system, and then you get ill & have to cancel shows. A lemon & ginger tea with honey at the end of the night will do you a world of good too. Try to go home after shows. Especially good ones.

After a great show, when all eyes are on you, it’s tempting to run away with that subconscious feeling of adrenaline & excitement, but that can quickly turn into 17 beers, 5 shots of tequila, and hitting the hay at 8am, which will then help to screw up your show the next day. & the endorphins of yesterday are quickly replaced by the resentment of today. 

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

I will try to get up at 9am, maybe work out a little, meditate, have breakfast then head to my crowdwork show at 1.45pm, then after that, enjoy a nice heavy lunch before doing Raul Britannia at 6.30pm, before trying to heading home, locking myself in my room & reading so as to stop myself having 17 beers, 5 shots of tequila, hitting the hay at 8am & screwing up my show the next day. 

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

Seeing your friends, going over the highs & lows together, but balancing them with some perspetive too.  Also seeing some shows that pique your interest. Try go for the ones that aren’t necessarily what you do. If you’re a comedian & you go to comedy, especially critically acclaimed comedy, you can often start comparing yourself, either: I’ll never be that good, or what makes them so good? 

But you go watch a play as a comedian, and it’s quite a good way of keeping engaged while also letting yourself go as you’re not overthinking every punchline.

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

You’re part of the biggest arts festival in the World. It’s the third most ticketed event in the World after the Olympics & World Cup. Never forget that. You may not be a Gadd, Ronaldo, Shah, Messi, but if you’re a defender for South Korea that has one good game, that nobody remembers the name of, that’s still a hell of an interesting tale to tell your grandkids one day. 

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

Buy a cheap bike.

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

Vitamin tablets, 

Lemon & Ginger Tea

Cocaine (for balance)

What’s the secret to successful flyering? 

Being funny with the flyering, & not taking rejection personally. 

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

@RaulKohliComic

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

Funny, Powerful & Poignant.