The Joy of the New: Fringe Debut Acts

The ingenuity of the creative mind to make people laugh and think at the same time is an absolute marvel. It’s why I run an annual comedy competition for rising comic stars, and it’s why I love seeing the vast array of comedy debuts each year at the Edinburgh Fringe. Something new from someone hungry crackles with excitement, and the current batch are a veritable electricity storm.

BBC New Comedy Awards Finalist Molly McGuinness had to learn how to level up in taking it easy when a life-threatening illness floored her. Like a pro, she mined it for the funny as well as the wisdom, resulting in the debut show that took her as much by surprise as to its content: ‘Slob’. Definitely one to watch.

Marking her path to the Edinburgh Fringe with a trail of award-wins and noms in her wake at festivals in Australia, antipodean clown Jessica Barton arrives with her show ‘Dirty Work’. With no small influence from the quintessential musical nanny, Barton has updated the carpet bag contents with clowning, song, dance, and deep-cleaning to land at a modern empowered and grubby debut.

What’s it like to grow up Northern, working class, diagnosed with the double topper of both autism and ADHD, and with such an anti-constance in your education you end up at 19 different schools? Aaron Wood will tell you with humour and energy in his debut ‘More To Life’. With a massive online presence in the millions, this is a delightful live foray.

Joe Sib has the ultimate answer as to what to do when you’ve collected decades of tales of punk rock and roll – as a performer, label owner, and skater – hanging out with the likes of The Ramones, Metallica, and Social Distortion: Become a stand-up. Gathering together the best bits into a single debut show, ‘California Calling – A Story Of Growing Up Punk Rock’ is high energy storytelling endorsed by a Foo Fighter. Boom.

Tackling the big pictures as well as the personal madcap ones, New York comic Seaton Smith brings his brand of razor-wit to the fore with ‘Trauma Bonding’. Taking an international perspective on Trump and the Middle East, together with his own dating history and childhood accidents, results in an impressive debut from this late-night US TV regular.

Norwegian comic Thor Stenhaug’s ‘One Night Stand’ show takes the casual sex premise and flips it on its head with his own origin story. He is the product of those passing ships in the night. It’s a true-life modern sitcom family story from the comedian that’s provided tour support for the likes of Fern Brady, Larry Dean and Jack Dee.

Grace Helbig, star and creator of award-winning series ‘DailyGrace’, co-host of the ‘This Might Get Weird’ podcast, online creator for 16 years (2.5 million subscribers), and all round class US comedian, is coming to town for the very first time with something to say about the similarities between her breast cancer and social media with ‘Let Me Get This Off My Chest’.

Mining a strong vein of feminist comedy is Jessie Nixon, with her show ‘Don’t Make Me Regret This’, directed by Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Lauren Pattison. What a pedigree! Exploring guilt about her own ambition, frugal Bohemian upbringing, and quiet rage at class barriers, Nixon’s show uses the personal to draw attention to some interesting truths.

Adult Swim favourite Alan Resnick brings his own brand of late -night comedy to the Scottish capital for the first time. ‘One Funny Hour’ mixes clowning with slapstick, shock comedy and more – just as you’d expect from such an explosive geyser of unconventional comedy projects.

Reflecting on a generation that reflects on themselves, then records it for further reflection, Nick Hornedo’s NYC Upright Citizen’s Brigade brings us a thoughtful and modern exploration of romance. ‘Watch This When You Get Home’ opens up Hornedo’s relationship CV for rich harvesting.

The fact that Diona Doherty is bringing her first hour to town may be something of a surprise to many from Northern Ireland, as she’s been performing and writing up a storm over there for ages. ‘Get Your Pink Back!’ sees her in pure stand-up mode, reflecting on traversing her own odyssey to retrieve her mojo post childbirth.

Charting his journey from childhood Islamic zealot to teen divorcee and then professional comic, LA based comedian Ismael Loutfi discovered a lot about himself. ‘Heavenly Baba’ charts his touching tale of growing up in a redneck town trying to convert his school friends while his father decorates the family car with Islamic messages. This is an utterly unique story at the Fringe, and a sweet reveal of artistry and authentic self-discovery.

Amelia Hamilton has been kicking up a musical comedy storm with her rap for a few years now, garnering praise and the good kind of attention, before bringing her fully formed debut ‘Forget Me Not’ to the fore this year. There’s an industry buzz around her well worth investigating, and hooks that’ll stay in your head all day and bring a smile to your face.