Preview: That's Fife Comedy Festival
There's a month-long line-up of comedy across the Kingdom of Fife over April, with headliners including Nina Conti, Ed Byrne and a special double bill for Father Ted fans.
Young comedy festival That’s Fife is set for its most ambitious year yet, bringing a programme of standout acts to Dunfermline, Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy and St Andrews.
Festival director Evan Henderson started That's Fife in 2014, while working as programme director at Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkaldy. Now coming into its third year, the festival partners with The Gilded Balloon, who bring three decades worth of comedy expertise to the table and add to their active calendar of year round events.
It all starts on April Fool's Day, and while the leading names include familiar faces from TV, the live experience finds these shows at their most rewarding – especially in the case of ingenious ventriloquist Nina Conti, who plays Rothes Hall, while also arriving in Glenrothes is stand-up Ed Byrne with his Outside Looking In tour. Then there's a Father Ted-inspired double bill in Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall: headliner Ardal O'Hanlon will perhaps never grow out of being best known for playing sublime innocent Father Dougal, but then that's a compliment to his performance in the classic sitcom. He'll be supported by Michael Redmond, who famously played the uncomfortably reticent Father Stone and is also a local favourite for his regular Sunday Service gigs.
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Michael Redmond appears at That's Fife in April
Other notable appearances come from Fife comedian Kevin McMahon, the physicist turned magician and one third of the innovative sketch group The Colour Ham. Last year's Fringe favourite George Egg returns with his hit show Anarchist Cook, about the meals he's cooked in hotel rooms 'with the utensils they unwittingly provide', and Al Porter also follows his Fringe success and recent Live At the Apollo appearance by topping the bill of a strong line-up in Carnegie Hall.
The latter show is also part of the regular Fife Comedy Circuit nights which The Gilded Balloon have introduced to their expanding showcase of year round comedy, including Friday nights at Drygate, Glasgow and also in the studio space in Festival Theatre, Edinburgh. Karen Koren is founder of The Gilded Balloon and in 2015 was awarded the panel prize by the main Edinburgh Fringe award judges in recognition for her contribution to comedy over the last 30 years. "There's a real appetite for comedy," she says, speaking to The Skinny from Melbourne Comedy Festival. "Drygate is doing very well now – it's taken a little bit to get the local comedy audience – but they know we put a good programme on and are really enjoying it. We've been building that up for a couple of years, and that's what we want to do for Fife."
Able to attract big names to That's Fife, Koren is confident the festival will continue to grow: "We're hoping to make it a lot bigger," she says, of the long-term ambitions. While many commute to Edinburgh from Fife, she believes the programme will attract an audience from beyond the United Kingdom – not only due to the quality of acts, but the venues too. "We also have the Byne Theatre in St Andrews," she says, and adds that the four "lovely venues" will make a nice trip for Edinburgh residents, while providing comedy fans in Fife with something closer to home.
In addition to the main programme the festival also features children's shows, photography exhibitions and classic comedy films.
That’s Fife comedy festival, 1-30 Apr. The full programme can be found at onfife.com/fifecomedy