The Stand announces a new raft of comedy shows

Stewart Lee, Paul Sinha, Robin Ince and Bridget Christie are announcing Edinburgh Fringe runs today.

The comics will all be playing The Stand alongside Tom Stade, Simon Munnery, Liam Farrelly and Seymour Mace who also joining the venue’s roster.

Seann Walsh will also be back after winning a Chortle Award for his 2022 offering at The Stand’s New Town Theatre. This year he’ll be presenting a best-of show called Heard It  as well as Very Much a Work in Progress.

The Stand’s marketing officer Louis Cammell said: ‘Having Seann with us in 2022 was a privilege, having him back for 2023 is an honour.

‘Between going into the celebrity jungle, becoming a father and winning the 2023 Best Show Chortle Award, Seann has had an extremely busy year since we last saw him and we’re made up for his success. We’re so proud to have him call us his comedy home.’

The list of new additions going on sale today also includes comics Gareth Mutch, Cal Halbert, Angus Coutts, Mary Bourke and  Susan Morrison, who will be conducting a walking tour of Edinburgh.

Cammell added: ‘It’s amazing to welcome back so many incredible comedians from last year, as well as those whose ties to The Stand extend far further backwards than my own.

‘There’s no doubting that everyone in our programme this year is at the very top of their game and now with the pandemic firmly in the rear-view mirror, it’s a privilege to help put on some of the best shows Edinburgh has to offer.’

Christie will be performing her menopausal stand-up show Who Am I? in the grand hall of the New Town Theatre at noon from August 2 to 10, with Lee taking over the same slot for his latest show, Basic Lee, from August 11 to 20.

Ince’s show, titled Melons, is subtitled  A Love Letter To Stand-Up. Its description reads: ‘Robin’s first solo show was a disaster, but a disaster that ended with him punching a melon with Vernon Kay’s face drawn on it before singing Mustang Sally (still no cruise ship bookings). Despite this, actually, because of this, Robin ended up playing to arenas with Professor Brian Cox. This is the story of how he fell in love with comedy thanks to The Goodies and Rik Mayall and how after 30 years he started to find his voice.’

The venue previously announced shows by the likes of Danny Bhoy, Jo Caulfield, Vladimir McTavish and  Marjolein Robertson.

Tickets go on sale from The Stand website at 11am – except for Walsh’s show that will be available from March 30.

Published: 20 Mar 2023