Tim Biglowe returns to the Edinburgh Fringe for 2025 and I have caught up with him in the run-up to the festival.

When were you last performing at Edinburgh Fringe?

I was performing last year in Whistlebinkies Arch Room. It only has a capacity of 15 and I called it my cupboard. For me it had the true spirit of the Free Fringe. They were packed in and I performed without a microphone, there was a bit of noise bleed and of course it was right next to the toilets. Every time someone used a hand dryer, the sound blasted out and I lost my train of thought.

I’m excited to try a different venue this year in a  cool vinyl/coffee shop but there’s also a bit of sadness. I built a strong bond with that little room, it gave me the belief that I can put on my own stand up show at the world’s biggest arts festival.

What was the name of your previous show?

My show last year was called Grease Monkey, it was about how I tried to become a mechanic at the age of 31. I had zero mechanical knowledge and I lasted 2 weeks in this makeshift cash-in-hand apprenticeship. I feel like I know even less about cars now. All the garages couldn’t believe I wanted to start learning but I had over romanticised the urge to have a practical skill.

I think I should’ve started with something easier like garden fence installation. I was at my brother’s house when he was having a new fence done recently and I thought damn, I should’ve done that!  Looks easy. Maybe next year.

How long has your current show been running for?

My new show is called Landlubber, it’s about how after 4 years I sold my canal boat to live back on dry land. I did the first preview in April down in Dorset, where I’m from and I’ve been playing a few of the smaller fringes in England before I’ll head up to the big one in Scotland. It’s been fun, I’ve changed my approach to writing this year, my ‘bits’ are shorter. I’m attempting more physicality and because my life feels a bit more conventional, it’s possibly more relatable but I’ll soon find out if that is true.

Do you have any good luck rituals you undertake before performing?

I am performing with the PBH Free Fringe, which I really enjoy. There is no way for the audience to book tickets in advance so the audience, hopefully, just show up. Everyday, my wife and I head out to the Royal Mile with a stack of flyers for 2 hours to find our audience. So I suppose the ritual is finding the people to perform at.

How have you found booking accommodation?

I am aware the price of a roof is doing a lot of damage to this festival. I was lucky to secure artist-assisted accommodation through the University Of Edinburgh halls of residence. I found out about it on the Edinburgh Fringe website. I’m going to be sharing a single bed with my wife and we’re gonna share a kitchen with some comedian mates. It’s quite rock n roll and the price was under a grand for 3 weeks.

But I do think that something huge needs to be done. I was thinking they should put a load of temporary structures on the outskirts of town. I saw photos of loads of converted shipping containers being used as a fan park at the 2022 Qatar World Cup and I thought that would be perfect for fringe! It’s not just about the amount of rooms, they have to be in the right hands but sadly it seems the will from the higher-ups doesn’t seem to be there.

What 3 pieces of advice would you give first timers going to fringe?

I started going as a punter and I would definitely say only book 1 or 2 shows a day and leave the rest to ‘spur of the moment’ decisions, particularly free shows. I guarantee your favourite performance will be that weird one you gave a chance to. I would also say, that if you like writing, you could start your own review blog, there are so many smaller shows that never get reviews and they would really appreciate it.

Also, if you’re not usually in the east of Scotland, I recommend taking a bit of time out from the festival and going to Queensferry to see the Forth Bridge. It’s beautiful.

But now, I go the festival as a performer and I keep myself to myself, I don’t drink or socialise too much. I like to have as much mental clarity as possible. People say it’s good to go out drinking every night for ‘networking’, my personal opinion is that the best networking you can do is on the stage. I know I can let my hair down in September and I have a lot of hair.

What are your plans are the fringe is over?

I would like to take this show to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I have never been south of the equator before and my wife and I have got a couple of mates down there.

For more information about the show please check out the link below.

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tim-biglowe-landlubber