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!
The Pigeon Factory
Location: Underbelly, Cowgate – Jelly Belly (Venue 61)
Dates: Aug 5th-16th, 18th-30th
Time: 12:55
Price: £13 Concessions £12
Ticket Link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-pigeon-factory
Hello! Tell us all about your show!
Hello! My show is called The Pigeon Factory, and is a one-man dark comedy about an unhinged shut-in named Walden, who lives with a family of pigeons. He’s their father-knows-best 1950s dad, but also their tyrannical manager, and he runs them like an assembly line to lay eggs that he can feast upon for sustenance.
At his side is his wife Marianne, who is a dressmaker’s mannequin with a pigeon’s head sewn on. This is Walden’s perfect little world, and he likes to fantasize about his pigeons living a glamorous Hollywood lifestyle, rubbing noses with the stars and marrying into the Kennedy family. But wouldn’t you know, a few cracks begin to show in Walden’s glittery façade, and the great trauma he’s running from starts to manifest in the ugliest of ways.
It explores themes of isolation, family, and how capitalism warps our self-worth. It’s also utterly bonkers, filled to the brim with ridiculous jokes and manic hallucinations. A friend described it as “Jean Paul Sartre if he grew up watching The Simpsons.” I’ll take that.
What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?
I see that Ontroerend Goed are bringing a show to Fringe this year, Handle With Care. Just the audience in a room with a box in the centre. That’s all I know, and I think that’s all I need to.
I saw their show Smile Off Your Face at Fringe in 2022, and it was one of the weirdest, most unique sensory experiences I’ve ever had. I left feeling like I’d been baptized or something. If you want to see theatre being pushed to the furthest edges of the definition, then these guys are ones to check out. I know I will be!
If this is your first time – what are you looking forward to?
I’m really looking forward to the routine of it, as odd as that sounds. This will be the longest run of any show I’ve ever done, on at the same time every day, and I’m really chuffed about theatre being my day job for the month.
Talk us through your daily routine for a day at the Fringe
Waking up is definitely important. I’ll endeavor to do that. But once that mountain is conquered, I intend to treat the whole thing like a (fun and kooky) day job. Commute to work, play around onstage, hopefully give people a meaningful experience, and then just hang out and see shows. What more could one want?
The nature of my show involves me having to paint eggs and mix a jar of custard before every performance, but you’ll have to see it to find out what the disgusting purpose of that is.
Ok, where is your favourite place to eat at the Fringe?
Probably onstage, which relates to my previous answer. Slurping is involved. It’s not a pretty picture.
Other than that, anywhere Vietnamese. Good heavens, do they know their way around good cuisine.
Best thing about performing at the fringe?
Feeling like I’m part of something big! I’ve wanted to perform at Fringe for as long as I’ve known what it is, and I’m really just so grateful to have been funded to do that. Getting to be one of thousands of delusional weirdos crammed into Edinburgh for a month, hustling to realize their mad ideas, trying to make something meaningful for people. It’s what’s it’s all about, really.
Do you bring anything special from home to make it feel more special whilst you are away?
I recently invested in one of those portable gaming emulators from China. It looks like a Nintendo DS, but can play basically anything. I value greatly my ability to replay the same 20 year-old games over and over, chasing a childhood thrill that will never fully be recaptured.
What are your best hacks to save money whilst at the Fringe?
I sheepishly admit to being funded by Culture Ireland for this, so I’ll be living off the most decently modest per diems that the Irish taxpayer can buy. So, I guess my hack is to become Irish, grind away fruitlessly for years, and then eventually get funding? I’ll still be shopping at Aldi though, so you should probably start there.
If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?
Instagram is our last social media holdout these days. My company page is @ohscarewildeproductions and my personal account is @raidio_teilifis_aaron
The two are increasingly intertwined.
We also have a website, www.ohscarewildeproductions.com, if you’re looking for a bit more detail about our company history. We’ve been in this game for a while now.
And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show?
Pigeons. Get. Wrecked.
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