Unmissable Comedy:
Berk’s Nest Shows at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe
Sure it’s a little cheeky, us plugging a list of our own shows, but we’re incredibly proud to be producing them this year and can’t recommend them highly enough.
So here’s why, from the horse’s mouth (or, our Managing Director Owen Donovan’s mouth), you should make sure you see these thirteen shows this Fringe:
Max & Ivan: Life, Choices
Edinburgh Best Show nominees. Melbourne Best Show nominees. Edinburgh Panel Prize winners. Most of all, Max & Ivan are two best friends who love making super smart, very silly comedy. But is this really what they should be doing as they head towards 40, and when Ivan (himself a helpless almost-child) has a child of his own? Life, Choices asks that question in the funniest possible way, and answers it by… well, you’ll need to see the show live to find out what happens next.
If you’ve loved any of Max & Ivan’s previous shows (and their 2019 show goes out as a special on Youtube tonight!), I’d get in to see this show as early as possible – trust me, you don’t want any of it spoiled for you. It’s a beautifully crafted, genuinely emotional rollercoaster, and there’s never a moment missed for a big laugh.
Kieran Hodgson: Big In Scotland
Returning for his first fringe in five years after his last three shows were nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award, Kieran tackles moving to Scotland and the complexities of Scottish & English identities in the way that only Kieran (as an Ex-Englishman and New Scot) can. We’ve all thought about moving elsewhere and whether that might give us a chance of becoming someone else, but Kieran’s done exactly that – and now he tells that story.
I really think this may well be Kieran’s best show, with some of his most vivid characters and funniest jokes yet, and a beautiful, personal narrative that really gets you in the feels. It’s stunning.
Not in Edinburgh? Kieran’s on tour from September until next Spring, with more dates to be announced.
Sikisa: Hear Me Out
Sikisa’s show last year was one of my absolute favourites: a proper party of a show, with dance breaks, audience gift bags, and stunning stand-up, and she followed it up with a killer Live At The Apollo set. This summer, Sikisa returns with something a little more personal. It’s still a party, but this time she’s talking about being diagnosed as dyslexic as an adult, and why it’s harder to navigate the world when saying (and writing) the right thing might not come easily to you. It’s Sikisa at the top of her game, doing what she does best: owning the room, telling her story with as many jokes as possible, and taking us all along for the ride.
And the end of the show? Genuinely unmissable.
Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared
Our only debut show this year, Paddy Young’s Hungry, Horny, Scared is just a real masterclass in very smart, very funny stand-up. Known online for his hilarious ‘Afters’ videos, he’s also a first class live performer, and it’s been a real joy to work with him on putting together his first full hour since I was lucky enough to catch an early work in progress at The Bill Murray.
He’s crafted a charming and confident mix of ultra-relatable stand-up (house shares, living with your parents, everyone’s dad’s reading habits), and brilliantly creative surreal flights-of-fancy that more established comedians would kill to write and deliver like Paddy does. Joe Lycett called him ‘one of the most exciting new comics I've seen for a long time', and Joe’s never been more right.
Tarot: Work In Progress
Chortle’s top comedy show of 2019. The Guardian’s 6th best show of 2022. In their blurb, Tarot invite you to watch their “slow descent into mediocrity”, but in my opinion these new sketches are as good as – if not better than – their last two shows. There’s one with a song that Ed’s written and recorded that had myself and our producer James doubled over when we last saw it (helped by Ed having completely changed the song without telling Adam or Kath what was about to be played).
Tarot are at their best when they’re totally present in the room, where each show can be completely different to the day before, and when what happens can be radically changed by the crowd that night. This work-in-progress run is a chance for you to catch exactly that – no two shows will be the same.
It’s also at the very un-Tarot time of 12:45pm, which means it’ll clash with hardly anything else – and some of these new sketches will give you a good jolt awake if you’ve been out late the night before…
Mawaan: Songs About Birds (WIP)
We were originally planning a show with Mawaan in 2020, but something got in the way. Since then, he’s appeared on Taskmaster, written two episodes of Netflix’s Sex Education, and created and starred in his own BBC series Juice, which airs this Autumn. Now, he’s back at the Fringe with nine unmissable work-in-progress shows, ahead of some very exciting news to come for 2024….
His new songs are better than anything he’s put out previously (yes, even Mango) and his energy on stage is even more deliciously infectious. There’s hugely exciting things to come for Mawaan, and now’s your chance to still see him in an intimate space. Top tip: if you’re looking to come on the 5th, 11th or 12th, you’d better book quickly!
EGG: Absolutely Fine
It’s been a long time since we produced an EGG show, and since then – well, they’ve sort of been on a break… This show is about everything that’s happened in between (Emily’s had a child, Anna’s had a lead role in a huge Netflix series), as two brilliant comic minds reunite to tell you how absolutely fine they are together and apart, why they’re not concerned about anything at all, and why two German schoolchildren might be our best hope at navigating the world.
In London? EGG: Absolutely Fine plays at the Roundhouse Comedy Festival Aug 9th & 10th.
Zoë Coombs Marr: The Opener
We’ve been trying to make a show work with Zoë for three years, so I’m thrilled she’s back in the UK and joined by her alter ego and everybody’s favourite hack comic: Dave! I first saw Zoë as Dave (complete with stuck-on facial hair cut from her own head, blood packs that leak throughout the show, and too many mic stands) in a damp Fringe cavern in 2015, and 2016’s Trigger Warning remains one of my favourite Fringe shows I’ve ever seen.
Since 2016, Dave’s been in a coma, and now he’s back to wreak more havoc, clash with ‘woke politics’ and give all his hot takes on Dave Chappelle’s latest Netflix special. It’s a brilliant, thoughtful and yet very stupid hour of comedy. In lots of ways this is one of the more stripped back shows from Zoë Coombs Marr, but there’s still a suspiciously large package sitting in our office currently that may or not be heading into her venue ahead of her show opening on the 14th…
In London? You can catch The Opener at Soho Theatre this September.
Catherine Cohen: Come For Me
Even better than her 2019 hour and the Netflix special that followed, Come For Me is everything you want from a Catherine Cohen show – and somehow more. I went to all the dates of her first UK tour this February (including a phenomenal sold out show at Hackney Empire), and every night she blew me away with smarter songs, even stronger jokes, and a more considered comedic style that balances the brilliant ‘Cohen’ stage persona (all brilliant, all-consuming ego) with an increased self-awareness and a wider, more complicated view of the world.
There’s no one else doing comedy-cabaret like Catherine Cohen and, having already toured, this will likely be your last chance to catch Come For Me in the UK. Don’t sleep on it.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Work In Progress
Kiri remains for me one of the best stand-ups working today: an excellent MC and club comic who can smash any room you put her in, she’s just as brilliant (if not more so) when crafting her own longer shows. We first caught this show in development at our weekend takeover for the Glasgow Comedy Festival earlier this year, and it’s shaping up to be Kiri’s best yet: a touching and hilarious hour about a subject that, for genuine legal reasons, we can’t tell you anything about.
If you want to get in on the secret, you’re going to need to catch the show live this Fringe (the show won’t tour for nearly another year). And with three dates already sold out and three more incredibly close, you don’t have long to book a ticket.
Nick Mohammed presents The Very Best & Worst of Mr. Swallow
I’m not sure there are many better live performers working in the UK than Nick Mohammed. Known now as Ted Lasso’s Nate, before his TV career exploded he was best known for his live work as Mr. Swallow: an ego-fuelled, riotous character who’s both always on the back foot and completely in control. This show collects the best of Nick’s previous work (particularly from his early Mr. Swallow shows) along with some brilliant new material, and presents it all in a dizzying 65 minutes performed entirely on roller skates. Making this show with Nick has been a joy from start to finish, and bringing it to the Fringe where Nick developed his craft is a perfect addition to the sold-out tour.
It’s on for one night only and there are already very, very few tickets left – this will be sold out before the Fringe kicks off, so get in quick. If you miss out, the tour wraps up with a week of shows in London’s West End this September.
Kiell Smith-Bynoe: Kool Story Bro
You know him from Ghosts, Taskmaster, and Stath Lets Flats, but did you know that Kiell is also one of the best improvisers in the country? In Kool Story Bro, a brand new improv show debuting this Fringe, Kiell hosts and is joined each night by four of the best improvisers at the Fringe (including the incredible Emma Sidi, who we’re bringing up to the Fringe especially for these shows). They’re also joined by a very special guest each night, who’ll take on the role of ‘audience inquisitor’, prodding willing audience members for more details to their stories that will inspire Kiell & the team’s hilarious scenes.
We’ve loved producing late-night improv at the Fringe in the past, but with New Zealanders SNORT taking this summer off, it’s time for a brand new home-grown improv team to emerge. I can’t wait.
Tarot: Hive Mind
Kiri Pritchard-McLean hosts this chaotic late night game show from the Tarot crew, where two special guests must compete to win using only the knowledge and expertise of the audience, and must try to find the audience members who would know most about a subject. We first saw a WIP of this at ARG festival, where Chloe Petts & Alison Spittle dueled over which audience member had eaten the most chewing gum and who had most recently been to an All Bar One.
It’s brilliant, funny, shambolic fun –- and we’re really going all out. Expect very silly musical stings, a whole bunch of branded props, and mega guests across the run.