When Hannah Platt took her debut comedy hour to edfringe last summer, we included it in our Three To See tips for promising Festival first timers.
And, as it turned out, our confidence in her was very well founded, as she won many fans and a plethora of excellent reviews.
Platt's first full length show is a highly considered work, focusing on her own struggle with body dysmorphia, and I was really keen to find out more about the set and how it came together.
I spoke to her ahead of next week's dates at Soho Theatre.
CLICK HERE to read this Caro Meets interview.
Hannah performs 'Defence Mechanism' at Soho Theatre from 20-22 Mar, see the venue website here for details and to book tickets. Find links to further dates in Edinburgh, Manchester and at the Machynlleth Comedy Festival here.
DOING THE FRINGE: INTRODUCING THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
Over the next few months we'll be publishing a series of articles offering lots of practical advice for staging and promoting shows at the Edinburgh Fringe.
To kick things off, check out our beginner's guide to the wider Edinburgh Festival, providing a speedy overview of Edinburgh's big festival month, and the various festivals, institutions and initiatives it's worth being aware of.
CLICK HERE to read the latest Doing The Fringe article.
SPRINT FESTIVAL>>
Pimlico | Camden People's Theatre | 13 Mar
Woohoo, it really feels like spring is here, doesn't it? I mean, I know we could be plunged back into cold wet greyness any time - perhaps by the time you are reading this - but clear skies and sunshine fill me with hope. And whatever happens to the weather, it being spring means we have another edition of the Sprint Festival, full of new, excellent stuff like 'Pimlico' by Shilpa Varma, an exploration of identity, reconciliation, inter-faith marriages and family bonds. More here.
The Beauty Of Being Herd | Camden People's Theatre | 15 Mar (pictured)
And, as we love the freshness of Sprint so much, I thought we'd treat ourselves to three whole recommendations from it. So second up is a show that very much had me at that punny title (there's a whole lot of sheep stuff going on here), but which also drew me in with its promise to be funny, heartfelt and quirky, while also looking at stuff that's close to my heart: belonging, social anxiety, neurodiversity and consent. Details here.
The City For Incurable Women | Camden People's Theatre | 17 Mar
Before we talk briefly about this one, I would just like to say: it was really hard for me to pick these three out of the Sprint line up because there are so many cool things to see, so please do me a favour and look at the full programme here. But then do definitely consider seeing this one person work in progress based on the true story of women confined to a 19th Century psychiatric hospital and the doctor who treated their 'hysteria'. Click here.
AMUSING STUFF>>
Angela Barnes: Angst | Leicester Square Theatre | 12 Mar
I spend a lot of the winter moaning and saying we need comedy to cheer us, but, you know, we need it all year round, really, so let's have some amusing stuff shall we? This section is two thirds dominated by more theatrical amusing stuff, but here's your one stand-up recommendation, and it's the highly amusing Angela Barnes, who I'm sure you're all more than aware of. Expect 'Angst' to be good, because Ms Barnes always is. Info here.
Plied And Prejudice | The Vaults | 13 Mar-18 May
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in Regency England must be in want of a very stiff drink". I like Austen, and I enjoy all adaptations of her work, to be honest, but this "side splitting parody" looks like it will be extra fun. Five actors play twenty characters in a chaotic performance-party at Mr Darcey's booziest ball... Possibly not one for purists but the rest of you can click here.
The Mosinee Project | New Diorama Theatre | 11-22 Mar (pictured)
"Mosinee, Wisconsin, 1950. An idyllic Midwestern town is about to wake up to a nightmare. A shadowy group of hardline activists are planning. Armed forces will imprison the townspeople". Yes, you can tell by that plot, I imagine, that the funny moments here are distinctly dark, given that this is the true story of a fake invasion that looks at how we deal with fears and turn them into stories. Find out more here.
SHORT STOPS>>
Happy Hour | Jacksons Lane | 14 Mar (pictured)
Some shorter runs for you so, as ever, don't get complacent, especially with this one, which is only on at Jacksons Lane once. It's a show described as Scandi circus noir, a "playful ode to the deep, dark North and its vibrant social scene", which "grapples with the contradictory relationship to alcohol, celebrating both the joy of socialising and the awkward moments that can arise". Expect something humorous and exhilarating. Click here.
Out Of Woodstock | Old Red Lion Theatre | 11-15 Mar
When I first heard the name of this show my initial assumption was that it would be about the original lovely 1969 Woodstock festival, but in fact it's set at anniversary event Woodstock 99, which kinda actually makes more sense given the dramatic potential of the horror that went down there (death, rape, general descent into something resembling a war zone). So, sounds good, plus this is a show that went down well at edfringe last summer. Info here.
The Last Supper | The Space | 11-15 Mar
"Death comes to us all in the end. But for them, it's the beginning. And the middle. And the end. Trapped in a seemingly inescapable kitchen, a man and a woman prepare their last supper over and over again, having forgotten the recipe, and most importantly, each other". I'm rather intrigued by this, which explores the what-if moments, and what effect different choices might have had. Find out more here.
LONGER RUNS>>
Bacchanalia | Hoxton Hall | 11 Mar-6 Apr
And now, as is often the case after we've offered you some short runs, we're going to move on to the longer runs. They're not that long, though, so don't rest on your laurels and risk not seeing these quality productions. This one is an immersive re-imagining of Euripides' 'The Bacchae' and has a psychedelic sixties setting, which sounds cool. Head to this page here to find out more and book tickets.
Gruesome Playground Injuries | The Glitch | 12-24 Mar
"Two eight year olds meet in the nurse's office at their elementary school. Kayleen has a stomach ache, Doug has just ridden his bike off a roof. Over the next thirty years, a strange love story unfurls as two wounded people are drawn together, again and again, scars and all". A staging of Pulitzer nominated US playwright Rajiv Joseph's humorous yet heartbreaking 2009 play. See this page here to sort out your tickets.
What If They Ate The Baby? / A Letter To Lyndon B Johnson Or God | Soho Theatre | 17-29 Mar (pictured)
So, there are two shows here, they're showing on alternate nights, and they're by three time Fringe First winners Xhloe and Natasha. One is "a queer clown reimagining of the 1950s American housewife through the lens of paranoia, surveillance and bodily autonomy", the other an "absurdist two-hander that blurs the lines of 1960s American Boy Scouts and drafted US Soldiers in Vietnam". Definitely see both. Click here.
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