More Edinburgh Festival warm-ups have been announced, with Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett - two sides of the Red Dwarf’s computer Holly - scheduled on the same bill at Harrogate Theatre on Monday evening (June 30th).

Although there with the purpose of doing standup, Lovett and Hayridge will join each other on stage to discuss the classic British comedy, which celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year.

The show starts at 7.30pm, with tickets costing £10 - £14  (concessions available) available via Harrogate Theatre box office on 01423 502116.

Expect lots of Red Dwarf fans…

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Here’s one we didn’t see coming - on 17-21 June, the Saltburn Comedy Festival will be held a few miles from the Quintessential Comedy headquarters!

To be held at the Saltburn Theatre on Albion Terrace, the acts - previewing material for the Edinburgh Festival - are:

*Jason Manford: Perrier nominee in 2005 and the brand new team captain on Channel 4’s ‘8 out of 10 Cats.’
*Norman Lovett: best known as ‘Holly’ in Red Dwarf and one of the first group of comics to play the original Comedy Store.
*Markus Birdman: a regular favourite at The Comedy Store, Jongleurs and all other major UK clubs, who is building an increasingly huge cult following.
*Mrs Barbara Nice: the comic creation of Janice Connolly, best known for her role as God-fearing barmaid ‘Holy Mary’ in the hugely popular Phoenix Nights.

… with Anvil Springstien hosting proceedings. Locals and interested parties can read more at saltburncomedyfestival.co.uk

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The Edinburgh Festival is due to kick off in a weeks, and yesterday tickets went on sale for the Fringe events in August

Or rather they didn’t, as the computer systems went down.  Computer says “no”?

Where’s The IT Crowd when you need them?  Did you try turning it off and back on again?

“No tickets have sold on the web today. Phone and counter sales are also operating slowly.  We don’t have any information on whether it will be operating tomorrow.
“It’s really disappointing, but we are doing everything we can to sell tickets as normal, if not quicker in the future.”

The Fringe sold 1.7 million tickets last year.  If they don’t sort things out soon, it will be a lot less for 2008.  This year’s event includes over 28,000 performances, 17,000 artists, and spans 261 venues.

Sounds like a way to spend summer - ticket or no ticket.

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There’s an interesting interview with Brendan Burns on the Grauniad website, in which the if.comedy award winner of last years Edinburgh Festival talks about straight acting, taking time to develop a comedy pilot, and the difference in performance technique depending on the size of the venue, which is worth reprinting here:

In a small club, you can’t do Chris Rock-level performance shtick. You can’t have that level of polish. You can see every face and smell every breath - there’s no sense of occasion when you walk on stage. You’re basically commanding a conversation. If the venue’s bigger, you’re working the room, which is physically taxing. You use every corner of the stage; you sell every bit like you’re singing it.

Fascinating insight there - standup on bigger stages in larger venues is less standup and more walkaround.

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