| by CURVE Staff

Which lez/bi lovelies are performing at this year’s Ed Fringe Fest?

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Just some of our favourite queer folk performing in Edinburgh °Å¸ÂÂ´³ §³ ¢³ ³³ £³ ´³ ¿

 

Looking for all those lovely queer folk at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival..? We got you, babes.

 

 

Alongside our Ed Fringe Takeover in the brand spankin' August issue, we thought we'd give you all a little online, on-the-go Edinburgh-shaped love so you can plan your festival around just some of our favourite lez/bi comedy lovelies…

 

 

01-26.08

DUKE POP

Bedlam Theatre, Bristo Place

Sophie Duker is a social justice warrior princess with a dark secret and attention-seeking hair. Lulu Popplewell is a child actor, turned recovering drug addict, turned comedian who wants to peddle her sweet shame to whoever is buying. This is Fringe, and they are Duke Pop.

tinyurl.com/DIVADUKEPOP

 

01-26.08

SUZI RUFFELL: NOCTURNAL

Pleasance Below, Pleasance Courtyard

Suzi Ruffell is worried about everything – from someone breaking into her flat, to human rights, and her cat’s quality of life – and it’s stopping her from sleeping. Perhaps we’re all just as baffled as each other and just need to get it all off our chest? Well, if so, there can be no better spokeswoman for these confused, troubled and sleepless times. Let’s do an all-nighter!

tinyurl.com/DIVANOCTURNAL

 

01-26.08

VULVARINE

Assembly George Square Studios

Bryony Buckle is astoundingly average. Her days are filled with mind-numbing office work, thinking about lunch and lusting after Orson Bloom from IT. But following a dose of hormone therapy and a well-timed bolt of lightning, Bryony gains superhero abilities and a brand new persona: Vulvarine, saviour of womankind. Where is all the tampon tax going? Who is The Mansplainer, and what is his evil plan? Grab your tights, your spanx and your most supportive sports bra. It’s hero time.

tinyurl.com/DIVAVULVA

 

 

01-26.08

HEIDI REGAN: HEIDI VS SHARKS

Pleasance Below, Pleasance Courtyard

Enlisting the medium of bad shark films, film aficionado Heidi will explore her relationship with an increasingly confusing world – from the NHS and world economics, to what makes Shark Attack III the Godfather III of bad shark films. Trigger warning: there will be sharks (in a few video clips, not in the audience).

tinyurl.com/DIVASHARKS

​

 

 

02-26.08

JEN BRISTER: MEANINGless

​​Monkey Barrel Comedy Club​

Jen Brister is a mum. But not that mum – she’s the other one. Confused? Three years ago, Jen’s partner (a woman – they’re not solicitors) gave birth to twin boys. Like every new parent, Jen has absolutely no clue what she’s doing. Add “gay” and “non-biological” to the mix and what do you get? Not a weird box of detergent, but a panicked beige lesbian desperately googling, “Will my babies love me?” at 3am.

tinyurl.com/DIVAMEANING

 

02-25.08

FUN TO BE AROUND

Just The Tonic, Grassmarket Centre

Beneath a surface of normalcy, Canadian comedian Clay Nikiforuk’s early 20s were spent living a bizarre double life as she battled psychosis, the mental health system and stigma. After 10 years of silence, she’s converted her unfunny tale into a nerdy, quirky and enraged storytelling adventure that seriously questions our contemporary “mental health crisis”. An oxymoron if there ever was one.

tinyurl.com/DIVAFUNTOBE

 

 

02-26.08

LE GATEAU CHOCOLAT

Assembly George Square Gardens

Walking the tightrope between his public and private personas, Le Gateau Chocolat explores relationships with our icons – the people, the moments, the books, the relationships that have come to shape us, or the ideal we aspire to.

tinyurl.com/DIVAGATEAU

 

03-26.08

UNWINNABLE

The Stand Comedy Club 2

Bethany Black returns, and this time it’s personal. Ok, it was always personal, but this time even more so. Recently, Bethany was diagnosed with autism and agoraphobia. In this hour-long tour de force, she explores a personal journey with mental illness, the freedom of diagnoses, and the prejudices one woman faces in coming to terms with her ailments in a world where she must always be at the top of her game.

tinyurl.com/DIVAUNWINNABLE

 

 

04-25.08

THE LOL WORD

Three Broomsticks, South Bridge

Like comedy? Like queer women? Then you’ll love this mixed bill of stand-up stars rising through the comedy ranks faster than you can say Ellen DeGeneres. Featuring BBC New Comedy Award nominees, Funny Women finalists and Soho Theatre Young Company members, it’s time to get your LOLs out, people.

tinyurl.com/DIVALOLWORD

​

04-26.08

ZOE LYONS: ENTRY LEVEL HUMAN

Dining Room, Gilded Balloon

Human beings are at an important turning point in history. We are no longer the most intelligent beings on the planet. We have been usurped by our own machines — are we all becoming entry level humans? If we stopped tak- ing selfies for a minute, could we stop the rot? Don’t ask Zoe. She can’t even work her own toaster.

tinyurl.com/DIVAENTRYLEVEL

 

05-25.08

JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS

theSpace On The Mile

Sacked from the Lesbian Rovers for being too bossy, Viv has a mission: to make five-a-side LGBT football team, Barely Athletic, league winners – but can she do it?

tinyurl.com/DIVAGOALPOSTS

 

08-23.08

SMUT SLAM

Sweet Venue, Grassmarket

Featuring some of the finest filth at the Fringe, Cameryn Moore’s Smut Slam Cabaret is back with another round of ethically- sourced sex stories. Part of Cameryn’s global network of dirty storytelling events, SSC is a dizzying parade of fringe performers bringing their real life tawdry tales to the microphone, interspersed with slutty clowns, X-rated musical acts, divine drag artists and the audience’s own anonymous questions and confessions. Definitely worth a look.

tinyurl.com/DIVASMUT

 

 

13.08

BBT BENEFIT

Underbelly, Bristo Square

Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Benefit’s mas- sive line-up of the best of the UK’s comedy circuit includes Scottish national treasure and former DIVA columnist Susan Calman, Nish Kumar, Joel Dommett, David O’Doherty, and soon-to-be Celebrity Masterchef contestant, Zoe Lyons! Hosted by Calman in her only Fringe appearance this year, all ticket income will go directly to The Brain Tumour Charity. Do some good.

tinyurl.com/DIVABBTB

 

13-25.08

TRANS PENNINE

theSpace, North Bridge

Dad is angry. Ben is Amy. Mum is in the margarine tub. Following her death, Dave and his adult children, Ben and Victoria, begrudgingly go to scatter his wife’s ashes in the Yorkshire Dales — a commemoration of a wife and mother none of them liked. Their bitter and fateful journey takes them trans pennine to the caravan site of past family holidays, where secrets are revealed, truths are unearthed and relationships, identities, and prejudices are tested to the full.

tinyurl.com/DIVATRANSPENNINE

 

14-25.08

BARBARA BROWNSKIRT

Front Room, Assembly Rooms

Poet in residence at the 197 bus stop in Penge, this anarchic knee-length show semi-welcomes the audience into Barbara’s bittersweet world of being an (unknow- ingly rubbish) lesbian poet. Bookended by Barbara’s epic poem which, like Gaudi’s great church in Barcelona, remains unfinished, the show is a multimedia spoken word collage of 22 volumes of poetry, projected video and theatre.

tinyurl.com/DIVABROWNSKIRT

 

25-26.08

DUSTY AND SHIRLEY

Gilded Balloon, Rose Theatre

Celebrating two of the most iconic and legendary British pop voices of our time: Dusty Springfield and Shirley Bassey. Janette Mason, MD, has arranged the ultimate songs from their back catalogues to a full stellar band and brass. Featuring David McAlmont and DIVA favourite, the le(s)gend that is Horse McDonald.

tinyurl.com/DIVAHORSE

 

For up-to-date event information visit tickets.edfringe.com

 

 

Only reading DIVA online? You're missing out. For more news, reviews and commentary, check out the latest issue. It's pretty badass, if we do say so ourselves.

 

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