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!
Sand
Location: Main Hall at Summerhall (Venue 26)
Dates: Aug 6th-11th, 13th-17th
Time: 13:30
Price: £18 Concessions £15.50
Ticket Link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/sand
Hello! Tell us all about your show!
Sand is a circus theatre show about living with dementia using coastal erosion as the physical metaphor. On paper, it sounds like a tough one, but there is a lot of joy and play in the piece as well. It is personal, playful, skilled, and visually beautiful.
What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?
The best thing about the fringe is discovering the gold nuggets that we never knew existed or never knew we needed in our lives.
Have you done the fringe before?
Before formally setting up Kook Ensemble, we brought Stuff to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016 — a one-person show starring Sean Kempton. Michaela built the machine around it, while our 8-year-old daughter ran flyers like a seasoned street team — basically the Edinburgh ecosystem in miniature.
Stuff clearly connected with audiences. Contemporary coverage described it as Sean’s first Fringe solo show, highlighting its mix of clown, mime, dance and emotional storytelling. Looking back, so much of the later Kook DNA was already there: physical theatre, emotional honesty, comedy sitting alongside fragility, and storytelling driven through movement rather than text. Later work from Kook — including Sand and Filibuster — feels like an expansion of those same instincts into full ensemble circus theatre.
And an 8-year-old chief flyerer probably has tougher audience instincts than most producers.
What are the key pieces of advice you have been given or would give to new groups or people performing at the fringe?
It is a marathon, not a sprint. There will be days when you feel like king of the world, and others when you’ll wonder why you ever thought doing the Fringe was a good idea. Don’t listen too much to the noise around you — the comparisons, the hype, the panic. Celebrate other people’s wins and try not to let reviews or audience numbers eat you up.
If you’ve got a small house, lean into it. A packed tiny room can create a magical intimacy that bigger venues can’t touch. Some of the most powerful Fringe experiences happen with twenty people squeezed together sharing something special.
Most importantly, remember why you came in the first place. The Fringe is about connection, risk, discovery and resilience. Pace yourself, look after each other, and don’t forget to eat.
If this is your first time – what are you looking forward to?
For Kook Ensemble, it’s our first show at the festival, which makes it especially exciting. We can’t wait to finally share the show with Fringe audiences, because we know the impact it can have when people experience it together in the room.
We’ve got a brilliant cast, and a big part of the excitement is watching them throw themselves into everything the festival offers — the performances, the atmosphere, the chaos, the late-night conversations and the unexpected moments that make the Fringe so special.
Talk us through your daily routine for a day at the Fringe
On a good day at the Fringe, it starts with coffee and cake from one of Edinburgh’s many brilliant cafés, checking ticket sales, and a mini flyering session — usually somewhere around St George’s Square. Our show is at 1pm, so after that it’s straight into prep mode.
A lot of our props have to be rebuilt every day: sand juggling balls that crumble, breakable objects, all the little details that make the show work. Pre-show warm-up involves what is probably the longest ab session anyone would willingly sign up for — if you’re around Summerhall, come join us, the more the merrier.
Then comes the slightly stressful wait for the previous show to finish, followed by condensing what would normally be a seven-hour get-in into about fifteen minutes. We run the show, strike everything afterwards, breathe for a moment, and hopefully get time to chat with the audience.
After a late lunch — ideally sitting in the sun somewhere in the park — there’s usually another quick burst of flyering before we spend the evening trying to see as many other shows as possible. Somewhere in there, we sleep, then wake up and do it all again the next day.
Ok, where is your favourite place to eat at the Fringe?
No time — we mostly survive by eating our leftover flyers.
Back in 2016, though, our daughter became completely obsessed with the many crêpe stands around the Fringe. It was both adorable and slightly horrifying watching her tackle giant Nutella crêpes with no front teeth. A true Fringe meal.
Best thing about performing at the fringe?
The audiences and the other performers. Everyone is going through the same madness together, and there’s a real sense of solidarity that comes from surviving the collective fight side by side.
Do you bring anything special from home to make it feel more special whilst you are away?
Good coffee, comfortable socks, and anything that helps turn temporary accommodation into something that vaguely feels like home after a long day at the festival. OH and our pillows, definitely our pillows
What are your best hacks to save money whilst at the Fringe?
Cook when you can, share accommodation, swap flyers with other shows, and remember that free events and hanging out in the park can be just as magical as spending loads of money every day. Also: always carry snacks.
If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?
You can find more about Kook Ensemble on Instagram (@kook_ensemble and through our website for show updates, touring news and behind-the-scenes chaos.
And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show?
Beautiful. Ridiculous. Human.
Welcome to The Phoenix Remix 
Leave a comment