Rising star Andy Barr forgot to debut – the show was written, but things get lost. Now, award-winning television comedian Andy Barr (London Live News, 2017) returns with his fourth debut hour! A show, formerly about grief (but that got sorted out), now just knockout gags, puns, pints, bitter recriminations and excoriating social critique.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
The Hotly-Anticipated 4th Debut Hour from Rising Star, Andy Barr is, in many respects (other than the one that counts), the debut show from Andy Barr. Whilst I, Andy Barr, have previously performed three fringe shows (2017, 2018, 2019), this is the first one in which I’m being me. I started producing the material that makes up this show around 2016, at which time the show was about performing 40 minutes of absolute gold in order to gain permission from the audience to speak about my grief over the death of a friend. Then I got over the grief, thus removing any chance of wringing critical acclaim or an award from this tragedy, which, I’m sure you’ll agree, was inconvenient at best. That left a gaping hole in the show and left me with 40 minutes of absolute gold with nothing to lend it greater weight, so now it’s about performing 40 minutes of absolute gold whilst figuring out what the show could possibly be about now.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
Naturally, with a show which has been in some stage of development for such a long time, many people, things and events have helped to shape the material over the years. The timespan contained within the show presented a critical challenge – after all, this is a show which has across its development seen the death of a monarch, the process of Brexit from referendum to final (?) departure, not to mention a pandemic that drove many of us quite mad – nothing is static, and material once urgent is soon passé, despite being structurally excellent. Key to resolving that challenge has been my director, Joz Norris, whose keen analytical mind and eagle’s eye have been crucial in knocking the show into a form in which I can perform my greatest hits without the audience feeling aggrieved that some of the material has seen many winters. I am also indebted to my producers, Ben and Ellie at Liebenspiel, who’ve helped sculpt the poster photoshoots, the filmed inserts, other production stuff I will never know about AND secure a venue for the show which I would never have thought accessible to me, given that I have spent so long on the outer fringes of relevance.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
I’ll be returning to the Fringe for the first time since 2019, and it feels bittersweet. I had been planning to take 2020 off anyway, and then some global stuff happened, and I wound up taking the subsequent four years off as well. I’m in my mid-thirties now. I take pills to stop my hair from coming out. I no longer have the body, the stamina or the will to keep the sort of hours I kept in 2019. I hope that it will be like the ‘Before’ trilogy – a series of films I have not seen, but the plots of which I have some passing knowledge of – the fringe and I meeting back up many years later, hoping to rekindle that same electric chemistry…
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
I believe that I can be fairly safe in saying that my show will be the only on at the Fringe in which audiences can expect to watch a mid-thirties, Kentish school administrator in a variety of non-breathable 70s fabrics sweat his way through 40 minutes of dynamite material, in a very hot room, before tying it all together with a serious point about personal responsibility and the fate of humanity. There’s also a bit about Moorhens and Dr Oetker, which I don’t reckon will feature in anyone else’s stuff.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
The courage to act on their convictions and stand up for what is right – along with some of my merch, which will be retailing at very reasonable prices after the show.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
The 2024 squad of my beloved NFL team, the Detroit Lions, so that I could close the show by congratulating them on a magnificent season. Although, as mentioned, my room will be very hot and it’s a 46-cap room. The NFL season roster is 53 players, so some would have to sit out. On top of that, they’re all pretty big, so that would cut the capacity down even further. So, now that I think about it, I reckon we’d have QB Jared Goff, the running backs, wide receivers, the smaller tight ends, linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties in the room. The O-line and D-line would have to sit out, I’m afraid. Although I’m sure that the Pleasance Courtyard would delight in seeing these man-mountains trying to fit themselves onto the benches, accidentally crushing plastic pints in their colossal paws.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
I’m hoping to play a fair bit of pool – if I can improve my game to the point at which I’m able to hustle other comedians around the festival, this could help provide a little bit of walking-around money for the month. Other than that, I’ll be taking my Switch with me (come at me, burglars!), and listening to the archive of In Our Time on BBC Sounds to get to sleep – I love to have Melvyn Bragg’s terse hectoring of flustered academics soundtrack my descent into slumber. Between all this, I will be watching as many shows as I can. I am very excited to see the following: Johnny White Really-Really, Sam Nicoresti, (beloved director) Joz Norris, The Mayor and His Daughter, Soft Play, Jain Edwards, Ali Brice, Late Night with Terry Wogan and many, many more…
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
Besides all the obvious points about accessibility and finding a solution to accommodation costs that doesn’t allow landlords to exploit Edinburgh residents, it would be really, really good to find a viable alternative to flyering. Working in a secondary school the majority of the year, I’ve really had my fill of excessive use of paper, and when your face is on the bit of paper that’s ultimately getting tossed on the floor it somehow makes the waste sting even more deeply. Also, I feel that it would be of sincere benefit to society if we could sell out my show.
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