Brendan Murphy on the best and worst of Edinburgh

Brendan Murphy is returning to the Fringe with his show Buffy Revamped, summarising  144 episodes of  Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 70 minutes, at Pleasance @ EICC at 8.15pm. Here he shares what he can't get enough of at the festival, his most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…

Edinburgh binge

Some come to the Fringe for the month-long carnival of drinks and debauchery, others come for the allure of the ‘scene’ (the entire London comedy circuit decamping to Edinburgh can make the capital feel pretty lonely over August) but for me the answer is simple: lanyards.

Much like the Pokemon that came before them (it’s impossible to be 100 per cent certain on the timeline of lanyards, but it’s probably safe to assume they came into existence somewhere around 1997, after the Japanese release of Pokemon Red & Blue, but before it hit the US) I feel compelled to catch ‘em all, and no point in the entertainment calendar presents quite the same opportunity as the Edinburgh Fringe.

This year I’ll be performing my Buffy The Vampire Slayer parody show, Buffy Revamped, at the EICC as part of the Pleasance comedy programme (Yellow Pass, I choose you!). I’ve also written a Friends parody show, Friend (The One With Gunther), which is being performed by the brilliant Joseph Maudsley of Potted Potter & The Reduced Shakespeare Company fame in The Museum at The Gilded Balloon (Pink Pass, show ‘em what you got!). 

And in the final week of the festival, I’ll be taking part in the improvised comedy show BattleActs! alongside TV heartthrobs Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Anna Leong Brophy and  Emily Lloyd Saini at The Ballroom at The Counting House - part of the Free Fringe (Go-go-slightly-cheaper-pints-of-Tenants!). That’s three in the bag right there.

Three down, 287 to go. If anyone reading this can get me a pass for The Abattoir that would really help fill out the Pokedex. I can’t keep relying on my favourite doorman being there and doing me a solid. A tough challenge lies ahead, but I’m absolutely here for it.

Edinburgh cringe

I’ve always been very open about my historic and ongoing rivalry with The Amazing Bubble Man. Louis Pearl has been thrilling audiences around the world for nearly 30 years with the art, magic, science and fun of bubbles - a worthier rival would be hard to find. 

Twice I’ve had shows on at the same time as him, and twice I’ve fallen foul of his unwavering popularity. However, my lowest moment was the year I tried to steal his audience by telling them they’d never get in to see him, and that he was probably sold out (an accurate claim, but also very underhand and not at all in the spirit of the Fringe). It backfired. They could see the desperation in my eyes and the utter lack of bubbles in my possession. In the end they gave me a fiver just to leave them alone as I stood there weeping, naked and alone.  

Edinburgh whinge:

 Some might say it’s the prohibitively expensive accommodation, others might point to the racial, gender & economic under-representation leading to the utter madness of BattleActs! being considered one of the most diverse improv groups simply by having a cast that’s not exclusively made up of white, privately educated, able-bodied men! But for me, once again, the answer is simple: Lanyards. 

There’s too many of them! Good lord, they’re alluring but it’s an addiction. And one that - if left unchecked - can destroy a man. Be careful all ye who wander these cobbled streets in the month of the Fringe, for a laminated monster lies in wait ready to corrupt your very soul*. 

*I am still interested in that Abattoir pass though, also if you have any drinks coupons for The Flick that would be greaaaaaat.

Published: 30 Jul 2023