Meet the Fringe newbies keen to make their name at the biggest arts festival on the planet

If the streets of London are paved with mythical gold, then during August the cobbles of Edinburgh have TV contracts and West End runs written all over them. Apart from the joy of spending a month in one of the world’s great cities, wide-eyed debut performers gather from all corners of the globe, empty their bank accounts, and hope the top agents and award judges will find them among the masses.

For many it’s been a great experience and nothing more . . . but for some it has been the beginning of a long and successful career. It’s easy to gravitate towards the big names when choosing shows but try to include some first-timers too. Not only could you have a great night but you could also look back and say you were there right at the start. If you’re tired of seeing the familiar faces, then support the brand new ones!

JEFF STARK: Old Fart Gassing

Greenside @ George Street – Fern Studio, August 12 - 24, 8.55pm
Jeff Stark has had quite the career but at an age when most people are sneering at new comedy, he’s throwing himself into that world. Originally from Stirling, the 81-year-old former Creative Director of Saatchis will be standing up behind that lonely microphone for the first time ever at the Fringe. It makes sense that a man with a wealth of life experience would concentrate on all aspects of ageing – such as the fact that the beige cardigan with elbow patches will suddenly seem to be the most attractive thing in the shop one day. The high-flyer still has plenty of ambition – to win the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Newcomer at 81.

(Image: Lucy Ridges)

AMY MASON: FREE MASON

Pleasance Courtyard Cellar, July 31 - August 26, 8pm
Amy Mason may be a newcomer to the heat of the Fringe but her pedigree would suggest this debut will be impressive. Her writing experience covers everything from radio with The News Quiz and The Now Show to the stage, with three autobiographical plays created in collaboration with the Bristol Old Vic. Amy is also a past winner of the Dundee International Book Prize with her novel The Other Ida. Now there are projects in development, too, with BBC Studios and Clerkenwell Films, so there’s a good chance you will be seeing much more of her. Free Mason covers the ups and downs of her 42 years, particularly her experiences after coming out in her late 30s.

(Image: Steve Ullathorne)

WAYNE SLEEP: Awake in the Afternoon

...with Jacquie Brunjes. Pleasance Cabaret Bar, August 19 - 25, 2.30pm
Not all Fringe debuts are new faces. To celebrate his 75th year, the dancer and choreographer Wayne Sleep is joined by fellow dancer Jacquie Brunjes, for what is pretty much guaranteed to be a lively hour of stories and chat and, of course, more than a bit of dance.

(Image: Christina Jobe)

CHRISTINA JOBE: Confessions of a Failed Filmmaker

Gilded Balloon at Patter Hoose, July 31 - August 25, 9pm
Another high-flyer deciding to take the lonely road to the stage is American filmmaker Christina Jobe. With multiple awards under her belt for music videos and advertising, Christina has decided to look at her own life rather than focus the camera on others and has chosen Edinburgh for her debut. With a strict conservative Christian upbringing, showbiz might not have been the most natural route but the tales of how those worlds have collided are the basis of a most enlightening hour!

(Image: Mhairi Black)

MHAIRI BLACK: Politics Isn’t for Me

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, July 31 - August 25, 1.15pm
Not averse to speaking her mind in front of a hostile audience, Mhairi Black became the youngest person ever elected to the House of Commons at 20. After 10 years she stood down and, at an age when many people are just beginning to find their feet, she offers the chance at this Fringe to share in her experiences of a turbulent decade in politics.

(Image: hnry)

JAKE ROCHE: Neporrhoids!

Pleasance Courtyard Beside. July 31 to August 26. 3.35pm

Not a new face to some, Jake Roche was part of the boyband Rixton who did have a number one hit, but then . . . well, that was pretty much it. This show looks at the meteoric rise and what happened afterwards. Also, the nepo comes from nepo baby, as the son of Shane Richie and Colleen Nolan. The show has probably the best tagline in the Fringe: ‘From Universal Music to universal credit’. 

(Image: Ruth Mejber, Ruthless Imagery)

GRACE MULVEY: Tall Baby

Assembly Roxy, July 31 - August 25, 7.05pm
Grace Mulvey is one of the many young talents making their way to the stage from behind the podcast mic. The award-winning comedian is delighted to bring her hotly anticipated debut hour to this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. With awards in the bag for popular podcasts such as the Jump and the Fad, Grace was also winner of the first BBC Galton & Simpson Bursary for Comedy Writing 2020. Such a high achiever is obviously amazingly confident in every way… Well, Tall Baby will disavow you of that, from a Catholic fear of sex, being diagnosed with foot trauma and having to read her very own missing person’s report. 

(Image: The Scot and the Showgirl)

THE SCOT AND THE SHOWGIRL

Pleasance Dome – Queen Dome, July 31 - August 25, 3.50pm
Arbroath-born Norman Bowman, who has become one of London West End’s favourite leading men, and Tony Award-winner Frances Ruffelle are separately no strangers to the Fringe, but now in The Scot and The Showgirl they present a World Premiere in their musical look at what they say is a true(ish) wee musical thingamajig about a perfectly imperfect relationship that began 28 years ago at Edinburgh Waverley station. Expect a musical celebration from Brigadoon to Broadway and from Scotland to Sondheim, via Costello, Bacharach, The Proclaimers . . . .and much more.