Exclusive Interviews with the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Winners and Nominees
“Will Franken is a master of delusion”
Robin Williams
★★★★Guardian
★★★★The Times
★★★★The Scotsman
Critically acclaimed, surrealistic character comedian with a myriad of personalities Will Franken returns this year to the late-night, rock & roll, filth’n’fury ethos of the Just The Tonic at The Caves at 10.40pm with another violent explosion of his kaleidoscopic, manic, and hysterical imagination in his new show The Stuff They Put In Sleep.
The show is his latest rapid-fire absurdist assault on the fragilities of human identity, platitudes of postmodern sanctimony, and naïve presupposition of collective reality. Be prepared to meet Simon Schama as he invites viewers to see the world of ancient Egypt through the eyes of an asshole and an up-to-date chauvinistic urban gangster Sigmund Freud. Meanwhile, an alcoholic LA businessman holds a conference call with a talking can of Coke and bottle of whiskey, whilst a doctor bears the ambiguous news to a patient that the thing he thought was a brain tumour is actually a testicle.
Franken’s lifelong Anglophilia and his adventures since he has relocated to the UK come to life when you meet the first working class actor to be hired in Britain since the ‘Great Ban of 1983’, struggling against his Cockney pride to make it through the taping of a Nando’s advert. He even dares to tackle the Scottish accent in a metaphor-laden, politically-searing sendup of the SNP on the eve of the independence referendum. Be forewarned: this is not a show for the faint-of-heart, hyper-sensitive, or just plain daft.
Will is a one-man “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” served American style. He has recorded material for BBC, BBC Radio 4, and Berrum og Beyer (NRK Norwegian Television) and made a pilot for Channel 4 as well as being featured in numerous international comedy festivals including Montreal’s prestigious Just For Laughs Festival, HBO’s Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and The New York International Fringe Festival. In the UK, his show ‘Things We Did Before Reality’ debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was rated amongst the British Comedy Guide’s top 15 shows, before transferring to London’s Soho Theatre to critical acclaim.
“Masterful, mind-altering comedy that pokes fun at the world without standing loftily outside it. Join the remarkable Franken on his nightly journey down the rabbit hole – you won’t regret it.” ★★★★★ Spoonfed
“Strange, sometimes awkward, often funny and always interesting, Franken’s act is like Marmite – fucking awesome” ★★★★★ ThreeWeeks
“He gallops along a comedic road less travelled and has found the sweet spot where absurdism and satire combine, both super-sweet and surgically sharp” ★★★★ The Scotsman
“…simply hilarious” ★★★★ The Times
“…you can’t take your eyes off these inspired outpourings.” ★★★★ Guardian
“Will Franken is an astounding character comedian who makes almost everyone else in his field look like lazy chancers… He’s a one-man sketch machine, with scores of personas, all perfectly realised” ★★★★ Chortle
“The most whistle-stop character comedy that you’re likely to see…” ★★★★Independent
“Franken has a bionic ear for hot air. He’ll undercut right-wing jingoism and left-wing piety alike.” ★★★★The Times of London
“…fresh and funny routines” ★★★★ Sunday Times Culture
@WillFranken – www.willfranken.com – Podcast
Will Franken: The Things They Put in Sleep
30th July – 25th August 2014
Just the Tonic at The Caves
10.40pm (1 hour)
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