Chilcot Report reading set for Edinburgh Fringe

The Chilcot Report into the Iraq War will be read in its entirety by a host of comedians, performers, politicians, authors and members of the public at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.

Iraq Out & Loud has been organised by stand-ups Omid Djalili and Bob Slayer, with the round-the-clock performance set to take place in a garden shed next to Slayer's Blundabus venue on South College Street. The 2.6 million word report into the 2003 invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, published earlier this month, is expected to take around two weeks to read from beginning to end. Describing Iraq Out & Loud, Slayer said: "Producing this is going to be a truly mammoth undertaking, however I know I would totally regret not doing it much more than actually doing it."

Stewart Lee, Reginald D Hunter, Arthur Smith, Francesca Martinez, Jo Caulfield, Simon Munnery and Tony Law are among the comedians set to take part, with Edinburgh East MP and founder of The Stand Comedy Club Tommy Sheppard and Rebus author Ian Rankin also set to contribute. Rankin said of the project: “I was on my holidays when the Chilcot Report was published, so this is my best chance to get to read at least some of it. It’s either that or wait for the film.”

Iraq Out & Loud begins at at 6pm on Mon 8 Aug, continuing 24 hours a day until the Chilcot Report has been read in full. Tickets for the show will be available from Monday 25 July, with the full event also set to be live-streamed online. 

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Full details of the show, and details on how to assist with reading/teching/promoting the event, can be found at iraqoutloud.com

A GoFundMe page to cover the show's costs can be found here; any additional money raised will be donated to the International Rescue Committee.