Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Jon Culshaw, Gyles Brandreth, Dane Baptiste, Kieran Hodgson, Erin Armstrong in LENA, Monét X Change, Ania Magliano, Chelsea Hart, Krystal Evans, Sophie Zucker, Lorna Rose Treen and Crizards

The summer is almost upon us and we at GJPR towers are gearing up for a lovely Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year with a curated roster of 12 shows, which we are proud to announce today.

Jon Culshaw is set to appear in his first solo impressionist show at the Fringe – Imposter Syndrome, at the Gilded Balloon.

On top of his solo show, Jon will be performing as Hughie Green throughout the Festival at the Assembly in new writing play LENA, chronicling the life of Lena Zavaroni. The Play is written by BAFTA and Olivier Award winning Playwright, Tim Whitnall and is directed by Paul Hendry. It also stars Erin Armstrong (Rillington Place, Millie Inbetween, Emmerdale and River City) as Lena; Alan McHugh (Outlander, Limmy’s Show, Taggart, High Road, River City, Scot Squad, Rab C. Nesbitt and Still Game) as Victor Zavaroni; Julie Coombe (STV’s Take the High Road, BBC’s River City) as Hilda Zavaroni and Elen Logan (River City, The Descent, We’ve Gotta Get Out of This Place, A Mug’s Game and Dr Finlay) as Dorothy Solomon.

Gyles Brandreth will be taking to the stage at the Assembly to talk about how he can’t stop talking! (he is also touring from September)

Triple Best Show Comedy Award Nominee Kieran Hodgson (BBC 1’s Two Doors Down, C4’s How Europe Stole My Mum) is returning to the fringe for the first time since 2018 with his new show Big In Scotland – about moving to Scotland. (he is also touring from September)

Trailblazer and Best Newcomer Edinburgh Award Nominee Dane Bapstiste (BBC/C4) is returning to the fringe for the first time since 2017 with his brand new show Bapsquire, which is a reflection of his now spent youth and his approach to midlife that he’s now in.

Following last year’s sell out show (it sold out within three days from the beginning of the festival), Ania Maglianoreturns to the Fringe with her much anticipated second show, about regaining control, her love life, breast reduction surgery and learning to box in Thailand… all stemming from the worst haircut she’s ever had.

Crizards (★★★★ The Guardian, ★★★★ The List, ★★★★ The Skinny) are a musical comedy double act, much like Flight of The Conchords. This will also be their second show following a hugely successful fringe last year. Their new show This Means War follows the misadventures of Private Grandad as he attempts to deliver a crucial message for the British Army. Crizards are Eddy Hare and Will Rowland. They have made it to the final of the Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off in 2017 and were nominated for the BBC New Comedy Awards in 2022. They have appeared on Question Team on Dave and their video for their song Quicksand has been selected for a screening at the BBC Comedy Festival in 2023.

We have drag queen sensation, RuPaul’s Drag Race star Monét X Change performing for the first time this summer, with her brand-new show ‘Life Be Lifein’’ about sex, Siri, and the familiar mundane at top of mind. Operatic bass-baritone and comedienne Monét X Change will share her anecdotal intrusive thoughts and opinions on life and how it continues to perplex her at every turn.

We have four exciting new comedians performing at the fringe this year.

USA based TikTok and Instagram creator, Chelsea Hart will be performing at the Fringe for the first time talking about how they unexpectedly joined a revolution, exploring the contrasts between the ground in Iran and our own increasingly polarised political climate in the west. This is the first time Chelsea will be performing at the fringe, yet they lived in the UK previously and cut their cloth on the UK comedy circuit. Instagram: @chelseahartisme TikTok:@chelseahartisme

Krystal Evans is a USA comedian who lives in Edinburgh. Her show is all about how she woke up one evening as a teenager to find her home burning down around her, She finds the humour in some truly harrowing life experiences and stems from getting through an intense period of post-natal depression that stirred up these memories. She has already made it to final of competitions such as Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year and Scottish Comedian of The Year both in 2019. In March this year an early version of this show received an honourable mention for the Glasgow Comedy Festival Sir Billy Connolly Award. You can see clips of her here https://www.comedykrystal.com

Chortle Award Best Newcomer winner and double Funny Woman Award Winner, Lorna Rose Treen is set to make her Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut this year with her nonsensical escapist character show Skin Pigeon. Lorna went to University in Edinburgh, where she was part of the Improverts. Following University, she became a journalist and followed her passion of true crime and worked on a Netflix Series before landing at the BBC and producing Woman’s Hour on Radio 4. Multi-talented Lorna has an eye flair for designing too, the Arts Council Develop Your Creative Practice awarded Lorna with a grant to develop her own costume making and designing skills with an eye for sustainability. You can see her viral videos here TikTok: @lornaregionaltransport

USA based Sophie Zucker is bringing her one woman comedy musical show about love death and incest. When Sophie’s grandfather dies, she meets and makes out with her attractive Israeli cousin, assuming she’ll never see him again. But when her grandmother dies three weeks after, Sophie must confront these new romantic feelings. In light of much heated online discourse – who is allowed to tell Jewish stories; who’s allowed to represent Jewish characters – the show is both a relevant subject of these debates and a commentary on them. The show has sold out everywhere in New York and LA and she has had high-profile comedians opening for her such as Rachel Bloom, (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). She is the youngest writer on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, she wrote and starred as Abby on Apple TV’s Dickinson, opposite Hailee Steinfeld. She can be seen in the upcoming HBO Max movie Sweethearts, directed by Jordan Weiss. Other favourite TV/Film credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel; the Mindy Kaling feature Late Night, Comedy Central’s The Other Two and Law & Order. You can see clips of her here https://www.sophiezucker.com