“Edinburgh previews are the ultimate win-win situation”

Bristol comedy promoters Chuckle Busters are midway through their season of Edinburgh previews at the Wardrobe Theatre, with some top names including Spencer Jones, Mat Ewins, Tiff Stevenson and Sarah Kendall yet to look in and roadtest the shows they’ll be taking up to next month’s Fringe.

Here’s CB producer Ed Strong reflects on the particular (and, basically, pretty win-win) format that is the Edinburgh preview set.

Tell us who you’ve been especially thrilled to welcome this year.
The lineups are so different it’s hard to pick a favourite. We’ve already had superhero-based sketches (The Just Us League), pictures of dogs (Adam Hess) and routines about bathing (Rhys James); still to come are discussions on your own funeral (from Andy Field), intensely beautiful storytelling (Sarah Kendall) and hard-hitting political insight (Tiff Stevenson). Having said that, the double bill of Spencer Jones (pictured top) and Mat Ewins (July 23) will be hard to beat for sheer lunacy alone.

Sarah Kendall returns with another spellbinding hour of storytelling

Why does the Edinburgh previews formula work so well for a) comics, b) audiences and c) promoters?Edinburgh previews are the ultimate win-win situation:
a) Comedians get to try out their new shows to appreciative and (hopefully) knowledgeable crowds. This helps them to work out whether that new routine is going to win them an award or be consigned to the Recycle Bin of history.

b) Audiences get a sneak peak at potentially award-winning material on its first (perhaps only) outing, plus they get to see behind the curtain at what a show looks like before it becomes tightly honed and refined. Also, tickets are cheap.
c) Promoters get to fill up space in the tricky summer months when people are less inclined to come and watch comedy due to sport, holidays, festivals, picnics, pub gardens etcetera. It must be remembered that comedy is better than all of those things.

One of our very favourite comics, the super-sharp Tiff Stevenson, also looks in

Does an Edinburgh preview gig have a different sort of feel to a normal stand-up gig?
Previews range from an hour of someone reading from notes, through essentially watching a breakdown happen in front of you, all the way to something so slick that you wouldn’t even know the material is new.
As we approach the end of the month, the shows are likely to be pretty polished, though there will definitely be creases still being ironed out. One of the great things about a preview, as opposed to a regular gig, is the freshness of what is being said. There’s a definite excitement to watching someone who usually appears invincible, going outside their comfort zone. It’s kind of like watching number 10 and 11 batsmen try and hit boundaries.

Chuckle Busters’ Edinburgh previews season at the Wardrobe Theatre continues with sets from Andrew Maxwell / Andy Field (July 19), Sarah Kendall / Eshaan Akbar (July 20), Tiff Stevenson (pictured) / Neil Delamere (July 21) and Spencer Jones  / Mat Ewins (July 23). For details on all shows, visit chucklebusters.com