Feature Category: Article

We caught up with Sam See to talk about his hit Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Off With Your Head.

Introduce yourself please.

I’m a comedian originally from Singapore who’s moved to London, trying to make it in the big city, with a dream to be on Live At The Apollo. I’m sure there’s nothing that’s ever going to stop that!

Before I got into stand-up, I studied video game programming and development as a governmental scholar for my country. I gave that all up to pursue comedy and look at me now! Constantly worried about getting my handphone snatched by a cyclist.

What is Off With Your Head? How would you pitch it to someone who has never heard of panel shows?

It is an interactive medieval game show, where guest rulers come on to try and run a 12^th century kingdom. The audience will decide their fates, whether they will live or die, and will play various members of our kingdom. It’s a show where everyone gets involved, but only if they want to, and no two reigns are the same. Literally, we’ve designed it to be impossible. It’s a raucous show where anything can happen, literally last night at point of typing one ruler was decapitated by a masked singer dressed as a fox.

The show was designed by myself and game designer Stephen Case, and we’ve worked very hard on not just making it a fun show, but also the mechanics to make it an actual game that players can get absorbed into on stage.

And how would you pitch it to someone who loves DropOut or Radio 4?

For Dropout fans, it’s the spontaneous chaos you expect from Make Some Noise, the gaming wonder from Game Changer, and the storytelling of Dimension 20, but specifically from Never Stop Blowing Up.

For Radio 4 fans, it’s a medieval madness, where the kingdom is truly run by the peasants, and wit is out the window as silliness reigns as king.

Why is Regicide so much fun?

I, a foreigner in these United Kingdom who wants to keep his visa, thinks there is absolutely nothing hilarious about regicide, especially not of any current reigning monarchs who may or may not have a name that rhymes with Ka-Chows.

Is Improv taking over comedy?

I think improv is like Haileys Comet. It’s not always here, but when it is it shines brightly and impress even the coldest of hearts. With the need for new content on an almost daily basis, improv is thriving in this current media climate, but when the algorithm game changes, as it always does, I feel it will wane. But I have no fear, as the comet must make its way around again someday.

Long story short: Nope, ain’t nobody gonna give a TV deal to student improv teams.

What are the origins of this show? Why this format?

Stephen and I came up with the idea at the Fringe, as we were thinking of a fun and nerdy project that we could both work on. At the time, we were both into the video game Reigns and tried finding a way to translate that game into a live show as a concept. We tested it out on Zoom calls and Twitch streams, changing it from a choose your own adventure style live show into an open world adventure style, where the players can choose any path they want to go on, with me as host trying to make sense of it all to the audience.

We were also heavily influenced by The Dark Room, and knowing that we never want to be a pale imitation of that, we really focused in the players having as much agency as possible. The show is now designed to give players as much room to create as possible, for example changing one of the show’s scenarios from having a giant sea serpent attack the land, to allowing them to create said monster in any form or shape they choose.

With all of that, we start in 2023 as a WIP on Monday nights, launching it as a full show in 2024, and three years later the show has had amazing runs in the Edinburgh Fringe, selling out at the UK Games Expo, and getting invited to the Liverpool Gaymes Fair. We do want to bring it to more places, so hit us up, nerds with financial backings!

What is your favourite part of the show?

This is a hard question, because I genuinely love every aspect of it. From designing the mechanics to designing the artwork, from briefing the players to killing them on stage, there’s a lot to enjoy on the production side.

If I had to narrow it down, production-wise its finding new players to experience our game show, and performance-wise it is finding a way to kill each ruler based on the problem they’re solving in the kingdom. Sometimes its as easy as dying of a bodily wound. Sometimes, it’s as weird as being sued by the Warner Music Group, and you don’t know till the words come of your mouth.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

It is the only comedy festival in the world where you can have a run for 20+ days and have a steady flow of audiences coming in. This is especially for a format show, which does have people occasionally looking down on in other countries as ‘not real comedy’. The Fringe allows for all fans of all genres, and I can find them much more easily there, and most importantly that they can find me.

What was your inspiration for the show?

Reigns, The Dark Room, Game of Thrones, Blackadder, and of course Panto.

Where else can we see you?

During this Fringe, I run the 1pm Asian Comedy Showcase, where we have the best Asian comedians, as well as one Token White comedian. I also have my WIP on Mondays, 2:45pm, and I promise you, it has ONLY ONE TRAIN JOKE.

Kings or Queens?

Neither, by the time they’re done playing our show.

Comic Books or Stand Up Comics?

Comic Books. People can still read and by excited by comics even as far back as the Golden Age. Stand-up from even 3 years ago doesn’t hold up now. I loe stand-up, but it just doesn’t have the longevity that other artforms have.

Truth or Beauty?

Truth. I rather the ugly reality over the pristine lie. I spent 90% of my life in Singapore, a country so beautiful that you knew it was a lie, so now I yearn for some sweet, delicious, repugnant truth.

Find Tickets here. Find out more about Sam here.

Darryl J Carrington is a professional comedian and clown with two shows at 2026’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We caught up with him to find out more. 

Introduce yourself, please.

Hello, my name is Darryl and I’m a comedian and clown that likes to make folks laugh without saying a word. I have a brain that thinks in cartoons and I love making those cartoons come to life on the stage. I’ve had a life of constant intrigue, I’m always curious about how things work and if I’m bad at something then I’m drawn to do it.

How would you pitch your show to someone who never misses Wimbledon?

The show is a lot like a tennis game really, if you take it at face value, it’s entertaining and sometimes surprising. There are characters you’ll get behind more than others you’ll love to hate. Just like Wimbledon, the audience is a massive part of the experience, without them it’s just a knock about in the park.

And how would you pitch it to someone who is more Womble than tennis fan?

Well, like a wobble, I can’t help but notice how useful someone else’s trash could be! The show is full of fun ways to repurpose objects that are usually used in a very specific way. So if you want to see objects come to life, love a bit of community spirit and want to spend an evening having a laugh, then I think you’ll have a nice time at my show.

How does this compare to your other work?

It’s in a similar world. My main focus is humour and making folks laugh by using everyday objects and creating routines to great music that don’t need a single word in them to get a big laugh.

I also use audience participation in this show, but I only bring folks up that want to be onstage. I have consent modules built into every routine so people have the opportunity to say no and it’s respected. Believe me, it’s very obvious onstage who does and doesn’t want to come up to play. I want folks to leave feeling like the star of the show, not the butt of the joke.

Is clowning making a comeback?

In some ways, yes. I think the shift from the clown people imagine in their heads as the scary white-faced traditional clown is changing, and the form of clown is being realised to be a wide range of performance styles just like the genres of music and comedy. The same way circus isn’t animals anymore and it’s more akin to contemporary dance or extreme sports depending on how it’s presented.

But I don’t think clown has ever gone away, tbh. It’s been in our culture forever, and even though they haven’t always worn red noses, people are drawn to clowns. We love folks that wear their heart on their sleeve and aren’t afraid to share that with us.

I think it’s really exciting seeing so many folks performing in this way nowadays. There are some really great shows out there.

What is your favourite part of the show?

I love the finale so much. It’s so dumb, and I still can’t believe it gets the reaction it does! I think coming from a circus background, it’s very natural for me to save the best trick or bit till last, and this is often where the show creation starts. What’s the final image I want folks to walk away remembering?

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

I was drawn to the fringe about 13 years ago and arrived as a circus performer and left being so inspired by so many other art forms. It’s the best arts university course in the world and it’s only one month long! I genuinely believe you learn more in a month at Edinburgh about live performance than you do at any university course.

I love the weather, the architecture, the food, and the people; it’s one of my favourite cities in the world! I love seeing all my friends here and being exposed to so many shows that I wouldn’t normally get to see!

What was your inspiration for the show?

Like most of my work, I just started daydreaming about routines I could make around tennis. My previous show, it wasn’t clear who or what I was. So I wanted to plant myself in a recognisable world and present a series of essentially physical cartoon sketches around the world of tennis. I used to play tennis as a kid, so it felt like a very comfortable place to play for my second show.

Where else can we see you?

I’m doing my family show, Darryl J Carrington presents Out of the Box at Underbelly George Square Gardens, 13:20 the wee coo. And I’m  popping up in a few mixed bill cabaret and comedy shows; find out where and when on my Instagram or website.

Strawberry or Cream?

Cream

Red Noses or Tennis Balls?

Tennis balls

Truth or Beauty?

Truth is beauty.

Find tickets here

 

We caught up with Alex Franklin to find out about their Edinburgh Fringe show, Mothman: A Romance Musical. 

Introduce yourself please.

Hallo! I am Alex, one of the creators of Mothman: A Romance Musical. The other is Nikola McMurtrie, but she’s currently spelunking in a deep and dangerous cave. She’s asked that if she doesn’t make it back we make a poorly animated YouTube video essay explaining what happened to her in her honour.

How would you pitch Mothman: A Romance Musical to someone who doesn’t know anything about the Cryptid?

By the time people have heard the word Mothman, they know the majority of what there is to know about Mothman – half moth, half man, all stone-cold hunk. Rumours of the little guy appeared in the 70s in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and he’s been lurking ever since. And if you don’t like the sound of that, come for the romance! Or the musical! Or the A!

And how would you pitch it to someone who is afraid of the dark?

If you can get through the endless darkness you experience while blinking, you can get through the spooky bits of this show! Imagine those blinks, but there’s a moth guy waiting nearby, and maybe someone dying.

What’s the most remarkable part of audience interaction have you had with this show?
There used to be a whole arc where we had Kamala Harris turn up 45 mins in (played by the O SO FUNNY Emily Bampton), but we had to cut it as frankly it was hard to justify plot wise. We had a few work-in-progress shows with her, but then Emily fell ill last minute, so we just got someone from the audience to fill the roll, and they all took their roles very seriously. One of them did some incredible mime work. It all put us to shame really.

Normally though if the audience get rowdy I give them some treats and a nice pat on the head and they calm down 🙂

Should we ever go into the light?

Yeah please do! Tell me what’s up there! What’s God like? Are the people up there all really young or all really old?

Is this clowning?

I would never allow the cast to do that on stage. Apart from the clown. The clown is allowed to.

What is your favourite part of the show?

The bit where I get to kick Hudson. I enjoy it. I enjoy his suffering.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

Better than joining a gang!

What was your inspiration for the show?

Nikola got given a book of fanfic minotaur porn for her birthday and we were reading it in a hotel, and then things just sort of spiralled.

Where else can we see you?

We’ll be taking it on tour after the fringe, and are already booked in to do 10th Sept at Underbelly Boulevard, London! Also come on round to my house! The more the merrier!

ALSO I’m doing a solo show called ‘Alex Franklin: Kiss Me x’ at Underbelly Cowgate, 2:25pm, which is about kissing and romance and being trans and kissing. You better be there! You BETTER!

And finally our cast member Hudson is doing his solo show called ‘Hudson Hughes: At Your Service’ – it is very good! He has also built robots for it!

Bigfoot or Nessie?
Fuck Bigfoot. Marry Nessie. Kill the Abominable Snowman.

Doctor Who or Doctor No?
Fuck Doctor Who. Marry Doctor No. Kill the Abominable Snowman.

Truth or Beauty?
Booty 😉

Chloé Charody is a composer. Sonja Schebeck is a violinist and artistic director. Both work for The Freestyle Orchestra. The have brought Tale Of The Firebird – Concerto For Violin, Fire & Acrobatic Orchestra to the Edinburgh Fringe. We caught up with them to find out more,

Introduce yourself please.

Sonja Schebeck: Hi! I’m a concert violinist and circus artist, and I love creating productions where both those worlds can co-exist. I’ve been fortunate to have had an extremely diverse career, from touring internationally as duo-partner to Nigel Kennedy alongside orchestral engagements including Sydney Symphony and Wiener Symphoniker whilst also working as a stage performer with major ballet and contemporary circus companies. Having dreamt of such a project since childhood, in 2016 I founded The Freestyle Orchestra specifically to further explore and expand the concept of the interplay and intersectionalities between the physical and musical artist. We’ve since created projects for festivals such as the Venice Biennale, VIVID Sydney, Orchester Am Berg at 1900m on the Austrian Alps and the Wiener Festwochen opening.

Chloé and I met as students at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2007, connecting through a mutual interdisciplinary approach to concert presentation, a desire to create variety in ways that audiences can experience these genres, and indeed new ways that diverse organisations can present them – and we’ve been working together on a myriad of projects ever since!

Chloé Charody: Hello! I’m Chloé Charody – classical composer, show creator, refugee supporter and a fierce human rights activist.

I’ve always loved creating work that doesn’t fit neatly into one box. Whether it’s opera, ballet, chamber music, orchestral works or large-scale theatrical productions, I’m interested in bringing different art forms together to tell stories that feel immediate and human. Looking back, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see my work performed all over the world. Some real highlights have been The Carnival, my first circus opera, which ran for two seasons on London’s West End; My Australia, commissioned by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, ballets Magdalene and The Phoenix for Dutch National Ballet, opera Morning Blossoms which toured to some of the biggest concert halls across Europe with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra; and Tale of The Firebird and LIMBO, which have travelled internationally. I’m also super excited about seeing my circus opera Mrs Giggly’s Magic School as well as Limbo and my 3rd string quartet playing later this year at the Sydney Opera House.

What’s always mattered most to me though, is creating work that connects with people. I’ve been lucky enough to have pieces performed everywhere from the Sydney Opera House, QPAC and Musiektheater Amsterdam to concert halls across Europe, as well as street theatre festivals, fringe festivals and all sorts of unconventional spaces. I love that those different settings bring in different audiences, especially young people. Across all of my work, there’s a common thread of telling stories that shine a light on refugees, displaced communities and other vulnerable people, and hopefully creating moments where audiences feel both entertained and challenged.

Ultimately, when people step into my artistic space, I see my job as helping that audience to expand their capacity to listen to the stories I’m telling, to feel them  and most importantly, to care about them.

How would you pitch to a fan of classical music? And how would you pitch it to someone who has never seen acrobats and music in one show?

Chloé Charody: Honestly, we’d probably pitch it the same. For us, the music is not an accompaniment to the circus or vice versa – they are of equal weight and completely intertwined.

Come prepared to experience something you probably haven’t seen before. TALE OF THE FIREBIRD brings together live classical music, contemporary circus, fire, physical theatre and storytelling in a way that is both visually spectacular and emotionally engaging. At its heart, it’s a story about resilience, transformation and hope, things that feel incredibly relevant in the world we live in today. Whether you’re a classical music lover, a circus fan, or someone who doesn’t think either of those worlds is for you, there’s something in the show that can connect with you.

We’ve created it to be uncompromising yet accessible, exciting and full of wonder, while also exploring some deeply human themes. Most of all, we hope audiences leave feeling inspired by the Firebird’s journey and reminded of their own capacity to resist oppression, resist evil, rise above and fight for the freedom of all creatures, people and cultures.

 

Sonja Schebeck: I’d simply add that, if you don’t know Chloé Charody’s music already, I hope you’ll take the opportunity to discover it. Full of imagination, colour, emotion with a technical brilliance, it’s the kind of music that stays with you long after you’ve heard it.

 

Why the tale of the Firebird?

Chloé Charody: What I love about the Phoenix/Firebird myth is that it’s a story that exists across cultures and generations. It’s not actually about a magical bird, it’s about transformation, what happens after everything falls apart and how, somewhere deep inside us, there is a courage that enables us to rebuild and move on.

As a composer and show creator, I’ve always wanted to use my platform to tell stories about resisting oppression and about people finding the strength to rebuild after adversity. This is probably why the mythological story of the Phoenix resonated with me. Through my work in human rights and social justice, I’ve made friends with many people and communities who have faced the cruelest of injustices, yet somehow continue to find hope, and for the lucky ones that have the opportunity, the strength to rebuild their lives and move on.

When creating TALE OF THE FIREBIRD, I wanted to explore those ideas through a spectacle that audiences could feel rather than simply observe. Fire became a powerful symbol, not just of destruction, but of creativity, passion and renewal. The Firebird’s journey mirrors something I think is deeply human: the ability to rise again, often stronger than before.

How powerful is hope?

Chloé Charody: At a time when so many people are facing uncertainty, I think stories of resilience and hope are more important than ever. The piece celebrates the extraordinary capacity we all have to adapt, survive and create new beginnings, even when the odds seem stacked against us. That’s ultimately what inspired the narrative direction, and as the world continues to plummet further into darkness, it’s a message that could not feel more relevant to humanity today.

What was the greatest challenge getting this production made?

Sonja Schebeck: I’d say probably the fact that since our artist profile is fairly specific, not all of the 12 performers on stage are based in the same country – so it can be like managing a huge jigsaw puzzle sometimes! At the same time, this is also one of the most rewarding aspects – artists from all around the world, from different disciplines, cultures and backgrounds coming together to create something that none of us could have achieved on our own.

 

What is the hardest part of the show?

Sonja Schebeck: I think it depends on who you ask – each artist has different and specific challenges throughout. Across the board though I’d say that when you consider playing an instrument already requires concentrating on upwards of 5 different things at a time – during a show we often have to bundle these into one singular aspect so we can concentrate on 5 different physical or theatrical elements as well. We do love a challenge!

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

Sonja Schebeck: There’s nothing quite like the vibe in Edinburgh during Fringe – with so many diverse and incredible artists, not to mention audiences are absolutely wonderful – warm, curious and open minded. It’s this unique atmosphere where it feels like everyone is riding the same adrenaline rush – artists, audiences, venue staff, everyone! The city itself becomes a venue, a huge celebration of creativity and you can see a mind-blowing range of art-forms all in one place.

We were also very fortunate to have completed a development residency at Assembly Roxy in early 2025, so bringing this new production to Fringe with the wonderful team at Assembly Festival seemed like a natural step – as well as being a wonderful chance for us to showcase this ambitious new production on the international stage.

What was your inspiration for the show?

Chloé Charody: I started conceiving this piece around the same time that Sonja was building The Freestyle Orchestra in Vienna, and seeing the development of their new skillset and their commitment to achieving the impossible, I was chomping at the bit to create a piece for them!

Most composers are used to writing for musicians who stay more or less in one place while they perform. With The Freestyle Orchestra, I was writing for world-class classical musicians who could play while hanging upside down, balance on apparatus as well as each other, tumble across the stage or interact with fire. Suddenly, the possibilities became much bigger and their developing acrobatic skills allowed me to think about the phrasing of the music and the overall development of the compositional arc of a traditional violin concerto in a completely different way.

Working closely with the performers, particularly Sonja, helped me understand what was physically possible and where the most exciting creative opportunities lay. We’d spend hours experimenting in the rehearsal room, discovering moments where music and movement could amplify each other in unexpected ways. Sometimes I’d rewrite sections of the score after seeing a new acrobatic idea, and other times The Freestyle Orchestra’s performers – both individually and collectively – would develop movement inspired by musical passages.

As someone who is passionate about breaking down barriers and creating new ways for people to engage with classical music, collaborating with an orchestra made up of exceptional musicians who challenge the traditional image of what an orchestra can be, made sense.

 

Where else can we see you?

Sonja Schebeck: We’ll be at the Salieri Circus award in Verona, Italy from 24-28 September with The Freestyle Orchestra and our smaller scale show LIMBO Sonata for Acrobatic Violinist & Acrobat (also composed and written by Chloé Charody) plays at the Sydney Opera House from 6-8 November.

Honesty or Politics?

Chloé: Both

Sonja: Honesty

Show or Business?

Both: Show
Truth or Beauty?

Chloé: Both

Sonja: Truth

Tale Of The Firebird – Concerto For Violin, Fire & Acrobatic Orchestra can be book via this link

We caught up with Hannah Byczkowski to talk about her debut Edinburgh Fringe show, Killer.

Introduce yourself please. 
My name is Hannah Byczkowski, I am a Comedian, Writer and Podcaster!

How would you pitch your show to someone who really loves True Crime? 
Killer has all the great elements of a good true crime show,, it’s full of twists, there IS a murder and there is a mystery. What more could you possible want?

And how would you pitch it to someone who prefers Blood on The Clocktower to Traitors? 
Please don’t hold it against me that I was on The Traitors….also it the show is much funnier than I was on The Traitors, I don’t even cry once…

What was the oddest thing you’ve done in the run up to this show? 
Writing a show with a running theme of death means that I’ve become even more a hypochondriac than I was before, so I’ve done a lot of googling death which in hindsight, won’t be good for me if I ever decide to murder and the police check my search history.

I’ve also started to meditate (I know, vom, I can’t believe I’m even admitting that) which for me is very odd. I always thought it was a bit woo woo but you know
what? It’s fab.

What is your favourite part of the show? 
My favourite part of the show is where I talk about my near death experience. I love the joke, and I really enjoy telling the story and drawing the audience in. It also comes back later in the show and we all love a call back don’t we?

How does this show connect to Ghost Huns? 
I’ve always thought that with Ghost Huns we marry comedy and the macabre perfectly, they go hand in hand. Ghosts and death are taboo subjects, and having permission to laugh at them brings us all together. I think my show does that too, and do ghosts feature in “Killer”? You’ll have to come and watch to find out…

Why the Edinburgh Fringe? 
The first time I went to the Fringe I was 16 and went with a friend and her parents. It seemed so big to me, so impossible as a concept….you go to a city for a month and perform a show you’ve written and created? Madness. So It’s a full circle moment for me now, when I came here many years ago looking up in awe. Now I get to do it, that’s pretty cool.

What was your inspiration for the show? 
I worked in care for a really long time and was faced with death regularly. I was constantly aware of my own mortality and that was really scary. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t countless funny moments. Death doesn’t have to be serious. It’s coming so we might as well laugh at it.

Where else can we see you?
Oh I’m like a reviewer in Edinburgh, I’ll be everywhere. Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram for details!

The Simpsons or Futurama? 
The Simpsons of course. No one says Futurama do they?

Star Wars or Star Trek? 
I simply cannot abide either (Sorry Trekkers)

Truth or Beauty? 
Beauty! Definitely! People think they want the truth but it often hurts and is unnecessary. Sometimes it’s important to know the truth, but often it isn’t and therefore people should lie, to save feelings and emotions. Stay deluded and hot, I think.

You can book tickets here.

Introduce yourself please. 

Owen O’Neill. Writer, comedian, poet.

How would you pitch it to someone who prefers screwball comedy?

I don’t like the term Screwball comedy. I think if you have to put the word Screwball in front of the word Comedy then you’re trying too hard, same with Romantic Comedy or Bittersweet Comedy….don’t pigeonhole it, let the comedy inform you.

Why did you pick 12 Angry Men to Parody?
I picked 12 Angry men because I have an emotional attachment to this piece of work. Firstly, it’s one of my favourite plays and films starring one of my favourite actors Henry Fonda. It was directed by the great Sidney Lumet when he was only 28 years old. This is the same man who went on to direct Dog Day Afternoon in 1975. I, along with eleven other comedians performed the play at The Edinburgh Fringe in 2003. I was also in the West End production in 2013 with Martin Shaw in the lead and Robert Vaughan playing the old man. I played Juror 12. In my opinion a writer must have a fondness for whatever piece of work they are parodying. It’s almost impossible, for example, to parody Trump as he’s such a complete idiot, why bother?  We also wanted to get the old cast of 2003 together again and do the play in Edinburgh in 2023 for the 20^th anniversary, but the rights weren’t available, so I decided to write a parody. It’s taken 3 years to get it here.

 What was the oddest thing you learned when researching this show?

I didn’t really have to do any research as like I say I knew the piece inside out.

What is your favourite part of the show? 
That’s a tough question, but if I’m pushed, I’d say when three of the juror’s dance around like children and sing an old nursery rhyme to prove their point.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe? 

The Edinburgh Fringe, because all the cast have a connection to it and are also doing their own shows. Plus, it’s the only place to try out something like this. Guy Masterson is one of the bravest producers around. No one else would be mad enough to take this on. God bless him.

Ken Cerniglia  is a dramaturg, writer, editor, and organizational leader, best known for his work in Hadestown. We caught up with him to find out about his new show, coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Introduce yourself please.

I’m Ken Cerniglia, the book writer of ANTIGONE 1989. I’m a longtime student of democracy and drama who grew up gay in California in the 1980s. I’ve had the privilege of developing a handful of successful Broadway shows over the past 20 years, primarily as a dramaturg. Having the opportunity to write this particular show at this point in my life is a dream come true. kencerniglia.com @dramaturglia

How would you pitch your show to someone who has only recent gotten into Greek Myth?

Do you like prophecies? A world of gods and humans? The ancient Greek dramatists mined their myths to explore political challenges in contemporary society. We’re doing the same, 2500 years later.

And how would you pitch it to someone who prefers soap operas?

ANTIGONE 1989 takes a real high-stakes political situation and steps on the dramatic gas pedal for hightened romance, intrigue, jeopardy, loss, and collective action.

Why California?

For hundreds of years, California has been idealized by outsiders for its promise of fortune and pleasure. But in the 1980s, the gatekeepers of government and culture refused to acknowledge and address the plague that was killing a marginalized and ignored minority population. 

What was the oddest thing you learned when researching this show?

That Tiresias, the famous blind prophet from Greek mythology, was a woman for seven years.

 

What is the hardest part of the show to do?

Bridging the gap between young Gen-X characters in 1989 and young Gen-Z performers in 2026.

Get tickets here.

 

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

What better place to take a new musical that interweaves drama and democracy than the world’s largest theatre festival —in Scotland, a country that champions its citizens’ voice and vote?

 

What was your inspiration for the show?

Our conceiver and director, Elizabeth McKoy, has advocated for and supported young theatre performers for decades. When she pitched me her idea to set ANTIGONE in the 1980s amid the backdrop of the AIDS crisis, I immediately said… YES!

Where else can we see you?

In the end credits of HADESTOWN: The Musical — at a movie theatre near you when it premieres in the UK this fall!

Books or Theatre?

Ugh. These are hard!

Theatre

Gods or Monsters?

Gods
Truth or Beauty?

Truth

 

 

We caught up with Matt Baram and Naomi Sniekus, who are coming to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Big Stuff a show about having too much to unpack, something many STARBURST readers know all too well.

Introduce yourselves

Naomi: Oh hello! I’m Naomi Snieckus.

Matt – I’m Matt Baram. Together we’re the writers, performers and co-creators of Big Stuff, alongside our director and co-creator Kat Sandler. We’re also a real-life married couple…

Naomi – Yes, don’t forget that!

Matt – How could I? How could I EVER?

Naomi  – Okay, so, Big Stuff was born out of a time when we had lost the last of our parents, and we discovered how different our ways of dealing with the stuff that’s left behind. Both physical and emotional.

Matt – By the way – If you’re thinking of creating theatre with your spouse, hire a great therapist first.

Naomi – Yes, we love Helen – also – work with your spouse – it’s tough, but it’s the most fun and rewarding thing you’ll ever do.

Matt – That too.

How would you pitch Big Stuff to someone with way too many books and DVDs?

Naomi – People like holding things, turning pages – feeling the crack of a DVD case – it’s satisfying. It’s right in line with our show! Big Stuff explores whether we really need the physical things we keep, or whether the memories live inside us. It asks why we hang on to objects, and whether they’re gateways to the people we love or just really heavy boxes to move.

Matt:
If your shelves are overflowing, this show won’t tell you how to throw anything out. It might help you understand why you’ve kept it in the first place. Or you’ll leave thinking, “Maybe I don’t need every season of Seinfeld on DVD.” It didn’t get really good until the second season anyway.

How would you pitch it to someone who loves improv comedy?

Naomi – Even though the show is mostly scripted, every performance changes because the audience changes.

Matt – We should explain further because you just described every theatre show. Every performance changes because the audience changes.

Naomi – Our changes a little more. You see, before the show, people write down on a card an object they keep that reminds them of someone they love, and those stories become part of the performance.

Matt – Yes, We have spent years improvising entire shows with our company “The National Theatre of the World”. The funny thing is, improv evaporates the moment it’s over. With Big Stuff we wanted to create something we could return to night after night, while still leaving room for discovery. About 95% stays the same. The other 5% belongs to THAT audience.

Naomi – But you don’t get a credit.

Matt – Right – so don’t look for one in the program!

What’s one thing from a previous project you can’t throw away?

Naomi – OH SO MUCH! Posters, photos, our friend Kurt Firla created this giant 1×2 meter glittery Carnegie Hall Show sign from one of our old improv shows. It’s ridiculous and wonderful – I’ll never get rid of that.

Matt: It’s made of Styrofoam, glitter and nostalgia. It currently lives in our basement, which is exactly the kind of problem our play is about.

Naomi – As soon as we get home – I’m putting it up above our bed.

Matt -Perfect

How is this different from working on TV shows like Umbrella Academy?

Matt – Naomi and I do both theatre and film and TV and working on set can be collaborative in a wonderful way, but once the cameras stop rolling, the story belongs to the editor. In theatre, especially at the Fringe, nobody edits us. Every afternoon we get another chance to make the show better.

Naomi: Plus, Improv skills are incredibly useful on set because they keep you open to discovering new moments. But ultimately you’re serving someone else’s vision.

What’s your favourite part of the show?

Naomi – I love the toaster debate. That’s all I’m saying. You’ll have to come see it. You’ll never look at a toaster the same way.

Matt –The discovery of “inactive diarrhoea.” It makes absolutely no sense until you’ve seen the show, but once you have, you’ll never forget it.

Is nostalgia toxic?

Matt –Memory is valuable. The trick is remembering you’re still making new ones.

Naomi – Isn’t anything toxic if you do it too much? Living in the past? Eating hot dogs?

Matt – Now  I want a hot dog.

Naomi – Toxic behaviour.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?

Naomi – We’ve wanted to come to Edinburgh for years. We finally found the show that belongs here.

Matt – It only took our entire lives to save enough money to do it.

What inspired the show?

Naomi – Matt and I wanted to make theatre again. We improvise theatre but we wanted to be involved in a show that can tour and get refined. Around the same time we were staring at a basement full of family belongings after losing our parents. AND we wanted to work with Kat Sandler, I mean, who doesn’t? Those three things collided and became Big Stuff.

Matt – We originally thought we’d use the show to get rid of all our stuff by giving it away every night. Instead, touring required doubles of everything, so we’ve actually accumulated more stuff. The lesson? Don’t write plays.

Where else can audiences see you?

Naomi – You might have seen me in The Handmaid’s Tale, my company/podcast Firecracker Department or Mr. D on Netflix, and we’ll continue touring Big Stuff across Canada before returning to Toronto to create a new show called We Swear for Crow’s Theatre and Luminato.

Matt – I’ve appeared in The Umbrella Academy, Cross and The Apprentice. Between touring and theatre, we’re keeping ourselves very busy.

 

Doctor Who or Doctor No?

Naomi – Doctor Who. In improv you’re not supposed to keep saying “no.”

Matt – It’s always good to see the doctor. Just hopefully not one who keeps saying “No” to prescribing me with fun pain medication.

Bowie or Freddie?

Naomi – Freddie. We Are the Champions has been my personal anthem for years.

Matt –Bowie. He kept reinventing himself. His brand was never a brand. He just kept exploring. I hope that rubs off on us.

Truth or Beauty?

Matt – Truth. Sometimes it’s messy, awkward and even ugly. That’s okay. I’d rather make something truthful and messy than something simply beautiful.

Naomi – And I’d argue that when something is truly honest, it becomes beautiful anyway.

Matt: Which is probably why we’ve stayed married.

TICKETS FOR BIG STUFF CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Introduce yourself please.
Hello! My name is Tom O’Kelly, an Irish actor and writer from Belfast. I am a big fan of red wine and Avatar: The Last Airbender. I am also ¼ of the WIT? Theatre Company. Together, we co-created the show “Remember, Remember!” back in the summer of 2025.

How would you pitch Remember! Remember! to a fan of Horrible Histories?
This show is like all the really absurd and surreal parts of Horrible Histories put together. Think “Stupid Deaths” deluxe version with a heavy influence of “Historical Fashion Fix” (except with loads of f bombs). The little weirdo in you is going to be gleeful.

And how would you pitch it to someone who only knows who Guy Fawkes is from V For Vendetta?
Oh, it’s extremely similar. The only difference is that Hugo Weaving is a rugby bro who loves a Hyrox and Stephen Rea has a foot fetish. Also, they both feature Stephen Fry! What could be better?!

How do you make Gunpowder Plot queer?
The earnest answer is that queer people have always existed. It’s important when looking into historical figures to try and read between the lines to understand the nuances of their personal lives. We certainly aren’t the first to capitalise on James I being widely believed to have been bisexual. However, we may be the first to use this evidence to personify him as a demon twink who goes by Jamie.

How historically accurate is it?
I would say on a scale of wildly-inaccurate-and-fantastical to totally accurate, it’s in a happy medium of super-fantastical-but-rooted-in-the-knowledge-of-what-really-happened. Also, there’s a foot fetish scene.

You play a Dungeon Master? Are you a D&D fan or did you have to do some research?
I sadly have never delved into D&D! It’s a subcategory of nerdiness that I haven’t explored. The dorkiness in our show goes less in the “folk-lorey” and mythical direction and more in the Monty Python school of ridiculousness.

What is the hardest part of the show?
This show, despite being only an hour, is a marathon. We are 4 people playing 11 parts between us, with the longest time off-stage for any one person being about 2 minutes. The sheer volume of material (including surprisingly intricate choreography) means we cannot switch our brains off for a second.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
We met doing sketch comedy in a 60 seat theatre above a pub. Fringe is where we are at home. Call it cliché, but this is our dream! Our show has a certain homemade-ness that is integral to our writing style that is so specifically suited for fringe theatre.

What was your inspiration for the show?
When co-writing a show with four people, it’s tricky to find a common language and writing style. We knew the winning formula would be a parody. More specifically a term I have enjoyed using is “historical fiction”. After agreeing on that, we were so shocked by all the true and lesser-known facts about the Gunpowder Plot. It was just a vat of untapped potential just begging to be made into a ridiculous parody musical that may or may not feature a foot fetish sequence.

Where else can we see you?
We are actually doing a run of our wonderful show in London once again this November at The Pleasance! Other than that we are on instagram being idiots

@remember_remember_musical

Honesty or Politics?
Honesty- sooooo much more interesting.

Show or Business?
Show always. The minute I start having to worry about numbers and logistics and money is when things stop being fun.

Truth or Beauty?
Truth is beauty. Sorry to be the most wise and profound person inhistory.

You can get tickets for Remember, Remember! here.

Introduce yourself please.
My real name is Lil Wenker. I’m an American clown, and I’ve lived in London for the past three years making and touring solo clown shows. My style is hyper-physical, rowdy, interactive (eee!), and I’m obsessed with playing loads of freaky little men on stage.

How would you pitch Boyking to someone who is a fan of Joffrey from A Game Of Thrones?
The shocking truth!? I’ve never seen Game of Thrones (though I did flyer for a GoT musical at Fringe many years ago and was a very convincing actor). But if you love horrible, conniving, royal boykings, this is the show for YOU! From what I understand, BOYKING is like Joffery if he knew how to tap dance and weren’t censored for TV.

And how would you pitch it to someone always roots for the good guys?
No spoilers, but there are indeed some good guys in the show. I play loads of characters, and I think a lot of the fun is choosing who to root for and how to do so. I want the show to feel super rowdy! I want people to BOO and CHEER! So if you’re rooting for the good guy, you can actually … do it!

Where on earth did the story for this show come from?
Last year, I was making a show called DUNK about a little boy who wanted to dunk a basketball. It was boring. Looking for a new idea, I looked through my journal and found a mysterious note I had made months before: “boyking.” I brought it to my director, Cecily Nash, and we began exploring what that could look like. More and more, it became a great vehicle to express how I’m feeling about the worldwide fight for power we see on a macro and micro level.

Do we still need a monarchy?
Oh gosh, as someone who’s not from the UK, I feel like I’m not the best person to answer this. But I will say — the idea of a king feels extremely strange and antiquated and silly to me. Let me be clear, the US is NOT proving a gold star alternative model. I’ll keep it simple: having an existing monarchy has provided me loads of comedy inspiration.

How silly does the show get?
Cecily Nash (director) and I always start from the silly and build from there. We believe that the only way to engage audiences at all, especially in dark themes, is through stupid and absurd humor. Laughter helps us see truth more clearly, and it provides a form of safety and catharsis. So, yes, it is silly through and through.

What is your favourite part of the show?
I love playing all the different characters! It’s been so fun discovering how to change physicality and flip flop between voices, and it has challenged me so much as a performer. I also love the singing and dancing. I dreamt of being a musical theatre actor as a kid, and I get to live my version of that dream in this show. You can tell me how much those six months of beginner tap dance have paid off.

Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
Oh, man, the Fringe is the single greatest opportunity to perform in a year. I obviously love making people laugh, and at Fringe this is my entire life. In a normal week, I’ll gig a few times a week and perform 1 or 2 longer shows. At Fringe, I get to be on stage for at least an hour a day with some of the most enthusiastic audience members you can ask for! It’s truly a dream for a comedian, and I’m excited to learn even more about the show and my relationship to it over the next month.

What was your inspiration for the show?
I think a lot of us feel quite helpless as those in power seem increasingly evil while suffering less and less consequences. And I think, secretly, we all want a little power. This feeling that “If I were in charge, things would be different” seems to linger just below the surface. People tell each other off on the tube or in the supermarket. It’s tragic and sometimes a bit funny, how each of us are plotting our own secret ascent.

A much simpler answer is I’ve been wanting to make a clown adaptation of Hamlet for ages, and in a VERY strange way that desire guided the creation process.

Where else can we see you?
On Instagram — @not.little.wenker
In Ronny Eucalitto’s Love Hour Live at Monkey Barrel 19 and 20 August
At the gosh darn show!

Monkeys or Monarchs?
I feel like I’ve already taken the piss out of Monarchs, so maybe my next show will be about
monkeys.

Doctor Who or Doctor No?
Don’t tell the visa immigration officers, but I’ve also not seen that 🙁

Truth or Beauty?
I suffered from a great lying problem as a kid. It got me in trouble, officially branded me the second favorite daughter, but it has made me a mischievous and cheeky clown. So I’ll go with beauty. The truth is less fun.

Lil Wenker: BOYKING, 9:45pm at Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 1