5. Ten true-life stories

Edinburgh 10x10

Shows drawn from real – if not always conventional – life.

1. Man 1, Bank 0

When Patrick Combs received a supposed ‘cheque’ for $95,000 as part of a junk-mail promotion, he thought he’d try to put it into his bank account, just as a joke, Thing is, it cleared… This is the story of how he fought the banking system who wanted to get the money back… Gilded Balloon 17:15

2. One Rogue Reporter

You wouldn’t expect to find a red-top journalist in the comedy section, but this year there’s two. The Sun comedy columnist Tommy Holgate is hosting a chat show, while here Rich Peppiatt – the reporter whose resignation email from the Daily Star put the spotlight on the paper’s anti-Muslim propaganda – here lifts the lid on his years of tabloid shame. Lord Leveson take note. Pleasance Courtyard 17:00

3. Chris Dangerfield: Sex Tourist

Dangerfield is happy to admit that he went to Thailand for a seven-week sex holiday. But it didn't go according to plan, and this is his story. According the the blurb, the tale that involves ‘whores, drugs, guns, anal issues, ladyboys, occasional crying’. Alternative Fringe @ The Hive 17:45

4. Fat Whore

From the other side of the sex business, Kristine Levine spent 13 years as a sex shop worker. Her tales from behind the blacked-out windows include how she used a co-worker’s semen to exact revenge on customers to clearing a dead body from a video booth. Assembly Rooms Fringe 22:15

5. Michael Pope Is Gay For Pay

More sleaze. Pope replied to an ad for a mystery job in the Empire State Building and wound up as a sexline operator. But he says that was where he discovered a knack for spinning stories. One with a ‘happy ending’ would cost $2.99/minute to hear, but this show is free. Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix 22:45

6. Alfie Moore: I Predicted A Riot

Probably time for a bit of law and order in this list. Alfie Moore is a sergeant with the Humberside Constabulary, whose stand-up features many tales from his side of the thin blue line. He’d planned to bring this show about civil disturbances to the Fringe last Edinburgh – but couldn’t when leave was cancelled because of the riots. Pleasance Courtyard 21:50 – assuming it doesn’t all kick off somewhere of course.

7. Mick Foley

Former American pro-wrestler who performed with the WWF under alter egos including Dude Love, Cactus Jack and Mankind. He’s been knocked unconscious, had his ear ripped off and beaten with barbed wire all in the name of entertainment – thus making all stand-ups look like pussies. Assembly Rooms Fringe 22:25 (8-11 only)

8. Who’s Your Daddy?

Something a bit more heartwarming here. Johnny O'Callaghan's is a gay Irish-American actor with credits including Stargate Atlantis. But this is the story about his nine-month adventure to adopt an orphan from Uganda – where people are killed for being homosexual –  against all the odds. Assembly Hall 22:30

9. Rom Com Con

A comic documentary in which Lizzy Mace and Juliette Burton decided to put some rom-com clichés to the test. Taking their lead from Hollywood they try talking to coma patients (as in While You Were Sleeping), standing on street corners (Pretty Woman) and dating a guy whose paddling pool they used to play in (Bridget Jones’s Diary) - all to find The One. The Canons' Gait 13:15

10 Billy Watson: Sex, Drugs And Marriage

Billy became a drug abuser to get through his mind-numbing teenage job in a chemical factory. In this altered state he got married to a Turkish woman after an all too brief courtship. Before he could extricate himself from this situation, his wife had her first of many psychotic episodes. Drugs, romance and pschosis.. all just another wet Wednesday on the Fringe. Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom 17:45

Published: 24 Jul 2012

Live comedy picks

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