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!

Joz Norris: You Wait. Time Passes.

Location:   10 Dome at Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)

Dates:  Jul 30th -12th, 14th-24th

Time: 19:10

Price: £10

Ticket Link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/joz-norris-you-wait-time-passes

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

Hello yourself! Sorry for reusing the word “yourself” so soon after you used it, that’ll probably read as a bit clunky now. Oh well. I’m Joz, and in Fringe terms, I suppose I’m what would now generously be referred to as “a veteran.” I remember this place when it was just a couple of wicker cages filled with chickens, and a single Medieval jester plying his trade up and down the Mile. He’d go “Sirrah, what is the deal with aeroplane food?” and then he’d hit you with a bladder on a stick. He was the original Fringe veteran, and I’m honoured to now own that bladder, and this year I will hit you with it for a small fee.

Tell us all about your show!

Well the thing is, although I’ve been coming to the Fringe for many years and have made many shows – who can forget my One-Man Kes (No Bird), or its followup, my One-Man One Man Two Guvnors? But all that time I was working on a top-secret project, knowing that one year I would be able to unveil it at the festival. Every year, it wasn’t quite ready. I knew it had to be perfect. This year, it’s finally finished. I’m taking the wraps off my life’s work. It’s cost me a lot, but it’s very special. You’re not gonna want to miss it.

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

Oh my Gawd, so many. If you’re looking for fellow veterans, you can’t go wrong with John Kearns and Adam Riches’ spectacular p***-take of Michael Ball & Alfie Boe, which is playing the Pleasance Grand for three nights. If you’re looking for newcomers, you can’t go wrong with Ada & Bron’s The Origin of Love, which is a strange, sweet, ridiculous, theatrical delight delving into the history of romance. And if you’re looking for shows which I know whole-heartedly I can put my seal of approval on them because I’ve directed them, you should check out the Mayor and his Daughter, Tara Boland, Andy Barr, Lulu Popplewell and Edy Hurst. I’ll give a chocolate bar to anyone who completes the set and sees all five as well as my show.

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. 

The only thing you need to care about is the amount of fun and joy you can have performing your show every day, and the amount of fun the audience can experience watching it. Care about that and about taking care of yourself. Care about nothing else. The reviewers and the critics and the industry stuff and the parties and the judges are all things you can’t control, so don’t worry about it. But you can just have fun doing a good show every day. That’s all your job needs to be.

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

The only non-negotiable in my daily routine is a morning visit to the secret underground spa I sign up to for the month. I swim up and down in the pool for a bit (one year I forgot my swimming shorts but was so worried about the profit margins of my run that I just swam in my pants every day and hoped nobody would ever come in and find me. Nobody ever did). Then I enter the sauna for a bit, barking “Ha! Ha! Ha!” into the burning air.

Then I go into the steam room and do cat-cow for a while to ease my aching back. I purr when in cat pose and moo when in cow pose. If there is anyone else in the steam room who is made to feel uncomfortable by this, then I explain to them that I am a Fringe artiste. I return to the changing rooms and, reunited with my phone, frantically google my own name to see if any new reviews have come out. I see that my show begins in 5 minutes and sprint to the venue to perform it. Due to my exertions, I have a heart attack and die halfway through the show. I awake in my bed. “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher is playing on my radio alarm clock. The Fringe’s purgatorial cycle begins again.

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

Ting Tai Caravan one day, Civerinos the next. Alternate for a month until you die from eating the same thing for 25 days.

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

Obviously there’s endless hoops to jump through to actually get there, but then for one month, you get to be entirely in control of your own creativity, which is a rare opportunity. There’s nobody to impress, nobody to win over. You just have a space every day where you get to create the kind of thing you want to see, and share it with an audience. It’s the loveliest thing to feel every day for a month.

What is the hardest part about performing at the Fringe?

I feel like it’s rare outside of the arts for people work non-stop for 25 days in a row in an environment specifically engineered to trash their mental health. I’m sure it does exist in other industries, but in my experience, it’s pretty unheard of to have to be on your A-game so consistently and for so long while surrounded by so many things that make you unwell, especially when the comedy community disproportionately consists of people whose mental wellbeing is a bit wonky in the first place.

Do you bring anything special from home to make it feel more special whilst you are away?

I wish I had a cute answer to this, but I already find getting a month’s worth of belongings and a show’s worth of tech and props to Edinburgh so stressful that the thought of bringing anything special on top of that is making me sweat. I like to think about all my special things waiting for me back at home, so that I never make the mistake of thinking that the Fringe is my actual life. It’s a little holiday from your life. Just like Mole going back to his little hole in the ground in The Wind in the Willows, there’s nothing like going back to your life after a month away to make you fall in love with it again.

What are your best hacks to save money whilst at the Fringe?

Hahahahahahahaha. Yes, I have a few of these in this drawer here, just next to my hacks on how to minimise heat rash whilst being in a fire. Nah, seriously, it is just expensive. You will eat out most days, so find something you can eat on the go that you genuinely like and doesn’t cost the earth. And try not to drink too much, it’s crazy expensive and makes you feel rubbish.

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

A potion from the Edinburgh apothecary to protect your voice.

A portable phone battery charger thingy.

A fart noise-making machine, to undercut someone else’s ego if you see them getting a bit carried away with themself. Just squeeze it every time they moan about a bad review, or brag about a good one, in order to remind them of what really matters in life.

what’s the secret to successful flyering? 

Actually talk to people. Make connections. The only reason people go and see shows is because someone made them care about it. How do you make someone care about a show? By connecting with them. Don’t overthink it, let it be as simple as that. Ask them questions.

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

I’m on Instagram and Bluesky if you like pictures and short posts, or I’m on Substack if you like more long-form stories or essays – http://www.joznorris.substack.com Substack’s probably the best place if you really like my stuff because I’m more of a long-form guy than a pictures and short-form guy at heart, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

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

My. Life’s. Work.

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