One of London’s busiest venues with a year-round festival programme of new theatre, comedy and cabaret – ‘a perpetual Edinburgh Fringe-on-Thames’ (Guardian) – Soho Theatre returns to the world’s largest arts festival in 2019 to present a programme of 13 shows. From the devastatingly powerful to the downright silly, this year’s programme from around the world includes four festival debutantes and three world premieres.
Soho Theatre’s Edinburgh based Touring Producer, Sarah Dodd said: ‘Alongside our acclaimed Soho programme, we increasingly take work outside of London – in the last year co-producing Fleabag in New York, discovering new voices in Melbourne and India, and touring Jessie Cave and Jinkx Monsoon around the UK. But come August nothing can beat Edinburgh. It feels like the centre of the world. This year, we couldn’t be more excited about the quality, range and potential of the 13 shows we’re bringing, as well as looking forward to searching out the very best new voices to bring back to Soho.’
Multi-award winner Lucy McCormick returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for her first show since 2016’s smash-hit Triple Threat. The premiere of Post Popular is a crawl through the annals of history in this enthusiastically humiliating exploration of power and purpose. Told via Lucy’s trademark concoction of large-scale dance routines, power ballads and absurdist art alongside friends-with-benefits Samir and Ted, directed by Ursula Martinez. Presented by Soho Theatre, Johnson & Mackay and United Agents.
A devastatingly powerful new play by award-winning writer Ryan Calais Cameron confronts the daily tensions experienced by Black British men navigating life, while always feeling like it’s on the line. Uncovering the man and the humanity behind the tragic real-life story of Christopher Alder, Typical challenges traditional conceptions of Black manhood and highlights the crisis of identity consuming Britain today. From the makers of the award-winning 2018 Fringe hit Queens of Sheba, Nouveau Riche with Soho Theatre and HOME Manchester.
Multi-award winners Sh!t Theatre return with their first show in two years Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum with Expats – yet another excuse for getting drunk onstage, exploring what it means to be European and the migrant crisis. From our small island in the sea to Malta, another small island in the sea, Sh!t Theatre found mystery and murder in the fight to be European. Presented by Soho Theatre in association with Show and Tell.
Melbourne International Comedy Festival Best Show 2016 award winner and Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show 2016 nominee Zoë Coombs Marr returns to the Edinburgh Festival with the UK debut of the Helpmann Award nominated, Bossy Bottom. Zoë has been on hiatus. Sort of. For the past six years, she’s been a terrible male comedian called Dave, winning stacks of awards and tons of great reviews. Now, she’s scraped off the neckbeard and is back at the Fringe… as herself. Presented by Soho Theatre in association with Token Events.
After two years away, Edinburgh Comedy Award and double BAFTA nominated professional idiot Spencer Jones returns with his latest odyssey, The Things We Leave Behind. Spencer brings his first crackers hour of physical tomfoolery since his Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated The Audition in 2017. While his late night experimental fun party offering Spencer Jones 50-minute dance experiment is, well, exactly that. Presented by Soho Theatre and United Agents.
American Jena Friedman celebrates free speech while she still has it in Miscarriage of Justice. This unapologetic political hour of comedy is Jena’s first Fringe show since her explosive 2015 debut American C*nt. Presented by Soho Theatre in association with United Talent Agency.
From the producers of the smash hit, award-winning shows NATE and LAID, and developed with influential festival favourite and Comedy Award winner Dr Brown at the Lyric Hyperion in Los Angeles, American comedian Courtney Pauroso makes her Edinburgh Festival Fringe and UK debut with Gutterplum. A character clown show (mostly), burlesque show (eventually) and feminist allegory (probably), all rolled into one.
India has one of the most exciting and fast-growing comedy scenes in the world, and Soho Theatre has established itself as the leading presenter of emerging and established Indian comedians in the UK. This year Soho Theatre, in association with Comedy Wagon, introduces rising star Sumit Anand in his Edinburgh Fringe debut with a show that’s Nothing About Godzilla after his successful debuts in London at Soho Theatre (2018) and Melbourne International Comedy Festival (2019).
The first Indian comedian to receive a Netflix special, Vir Das returns to the festival for the first time since 2016 with new show Loved, which he is currently touring worldwide. Speaking of Netflix, following her Comedians of the World special, Aditi Mittal returns to the festival (following her 2017 debut) with her new show Mother of Invention. Joining an illustrious line of shows by straight, white men about their Daddy issues, Aditi’s is a show by a straight, brown woman about her Mummy issues.
Two Soho Young Company (SYC) alumni premiere their first full length shows. Kai Samra presents his hotly tipped debut hour Underclass, inviting audiences to join him as he hilariously dissects life as a young, working class, British Asian in the 21st Century – from police stop-and-searches to a complete lack of options at fancy dress parties. Newcomer Janine Harouni (presented by Soho Theatre in association with Curtis Brown), one third of sketch group Muriel, makes her solo debut with Stand Up with Janine Harouni (Please Remain Seated) – a show about standing up for what you believe in, even if you have to do it really nicely.
Finally, Jessie Cave returns with her acclaimed Sunrise, a last hurrah for her acute blend of confessional comedy and DIY Performance Art, over-sharing as she does best about heartbreak, motherhood and keeping up with the Instagram Illuminati. Presented by Jessie Cave with Soho Theatre in association with Curtis Brown.
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