Lil Wenker returns to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with the one-person cowboy-clown. I have caught up with Lil before the Edinburgh Fringe madness begins.
When were you last performing at the Edinburgh Fringe?
This will be the third year in a row that I’ve performed at Edinburgh Fringe. In 2023, I did a crazy ballet-bouffon two-hander called CRAP BALLET with my dear friend David. Last year, I did my debut year with a cowboy-clown show called BANGTAIL. This year, I have the privilege of bringing BANGTAIL back for a limited run alongside a WIP of a brand-new clown-Shakspearean-tragedy called BOYKING!
What was the name of your previous show?
My most recent show is called BANGTAIL! It’s a clown western about a cowboy-turned-accountant searching for his purpose!
How long has your current show been running for?
BANGTAIL has been running for just over a year now. We did the first WIP back in December of 2023 in London and brought it to Edinburgh Fringe last year for the debut. In the year it’s been touring, we’ve brought it across four countries and thirteen cities. Just last month, as part of the London Clown Festival at Soho Theatre, I performed the show for the 75th time!
BANGTAIL is now winding down as we focus on creating a new show, and I am so excited to use Edinburgh Fringe as the way to say goodbye. It’s my first solo show and is very dear to my heart.
Do you have any “good luck” rituals you undertake before performing?
Last year, in the first few days of Edinburgh Fringe, the lovely comedian Cerys Bradley gave me a tiny tarot card. The card is The World, which is a card that I’ve pulled several times in my life and means quite a bit to me, though I am horribly sceptical about any higher power. Something about this card, and this gift from Cerys, has stuck with me. I carry the tiny card with me to every show.
Before the show, after I’ve tached’ and suited up, I sit with my feet flat on the floor and think about the card: how lucky I am to get to do a show I love for people from all around the world. It always puts me in a playful and receptive mood and quiets the nerves.
How have you found booking accommodation this year?
Oh, it’s famously a nightmare! Criminally expensive and oversubscribed. I am very fortunate to have some friend contacts in Edinburgh who have been extremely generous, but I know many people who are not able to go up to Edinburgh at all because of this cost alone.
One could say there should be legislation around this …
What three pieces of advice would you give to first-timers going to the Fringe?
- Surprise yourself and walk into shows you know nothing about! This is what I did during my first Fringe, and it’s the very reason I got into clowning!
- Every night seems like it’s going to be the best night of your life. Sometimes the best night of your life, really, is eating a bowl of porridge and going to sleep at 10!
- See the shows you won’t be able to see after the festival is over! For example, if you live in London, many of the shows will transfer here post-festival. See the international shows! The small shows! The shows outside your genre! Fill the well in new and exciting ways!
What are your plans after the Edinburgh Fringe is over?
BANGTAIL has a few more stops in a few different countries (exciting!). Then Cecily Nash (director) and I are going to start diving deep into BOYKING. We have some really exciting plans for it—costume, music, dance! This will require finding more collaborators and expanding our reach, so it’ll be a really hands-on project. I can’t wait!!
I’m also working quite a bit on other writing projects in a variety of mediums which is super exciting. Watch this space!
In the fall, I will also go home to Minnesota for the first time in two years and see my lovely parents, my Uncle Gary, and my ailing labrador.
Please feel free to add anything else you would like to include. Please pass on any links
you would like added at the end of the interview.
Some links:
Our social media: @not.little.wenker and @cecilyanash
Lil’s agents for bookings: https://www.unitedagents.co.uk/talent/lillian-wenker
Cecily’s Website https://www.cecilynash.com/
Lil Wenker: Bangtail
Pleasance Courtyard Upstairs at 9:40pm, 30th – 10th August & 11pm, 14th-16th & 21st – 23rd August https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lil-wenker-bangtail
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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