Award-winning character comedian Ted Milligan brings his live mockumentary following Crubchester’s fervent fans, oligarch owners and players to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. I have caught up with him before the Edinburgh Fringe chaos begins.
When were you last performing at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I went up with a work in progress in 2023 and a panel show called Comedians Getting Drunk Playing Panel Shows. I was also working-from-home for that first week, I got so ill. It was awesome.
What was the name of your previous show?
It was a work in progress called Ted Milligan: The Finished Product (A Work in Progress). I wanted to call my debut Ted Milligan: Try Not to Laugh Challenge (Possible) but that was absolutely nothing to do with the plot at all and didn’t make it clear it was a football show.
It was a really silly show with a few good bits, but ultimately wasn’t ever going to be a good full-length show. However, some of those bits could make a comeback at some point.
How long has your current show been running for?
My first preview was in February, so not a lot of time. I wrote it on the train to visit my mates who were doing the Fringe last year; it’s why a lot of surnames in the first draft were stops on Avanti West Coast (Jonathan Crewe, Linda Newcastle and Hugh Berwick-upon-Tweed).
Do you have any “good luck” rituals you undertake before performing?
For this show, I listen to the song “We’re on the Ball” by Ant and Dec, and that gets me so unbelievably hyped. I will also drink 2 whole pints of water and a can of coke, I perform best when I slightly need the loo.
How have you found booking accommodation this year?
I was very lucky as Pleasance sorted us out with some university halls to stay in, so finding it wasn’t hard. Affording it was the hard part. Oasis have meant that the prices have gone Supersonic (1994) even more so than they already were, and honestly it’s getting ridiculous. We say this every year, but nothing happens, so I guess we’ll just have to keep saying it. At the risk of saying the same thing everyone else does, it’s stupidly expensive to do Fringe and that’s not good for encouraging artistic diversity.
The main issue with the room is that the beds, I’ve been reliably informed, will be bad. But cleverly I’ve decided to buy a mattress topper.
What three pieces of advice would you give to first-timers going to the Fringe?
- Go to as many shows as you can in the Pleasance Courtyard at 9.45pm.
- Go to as many shows as you can in the Pleasance Courtyard in Bunker 3.
- Go to any show that perfectly combines those two elements.
What are your plans after the Edinburgh Fringe is over?
Go watch Plymouth Argyle away at Cardiff on 31st August, Cardiff City Stadium is a new ground for me, and it will be the first game I can do. COYG! Oh and hopefully take this show on tour and perform around and about!
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.
I also am doing a 1-off sketch show on the weekend on 15th, 16th, 17th with my friend James Trickey as Burger and a Pint!
Ted Milligan: United
Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Three) at 9.45pm, 30th July – 24th August (except 11th)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ted-milligan-united
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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