Unhappy Birthday @ Assembly 3

Last time Amy Lamé came to Scotand, she handed out ham sandwiches and pretended to be Mama Cass's adopted daughter. For the Fringe, her celebrity ambitions are closer to home, as she invites Morrissey to celebrate her Unhappy Birthday.

"No ham sandwiches, but I do start Unhappy Birthday with a jam sandwich!" Lame chuckles. "I think it may be my 'signature' – like, when you come to see an Amy Lamé show you know a sandwich will always make an appearance. Reassuring in a way, don't you think?"

As curator of legendary club night, Ducky, Lamé has become a player in the cabaret revival, but this time, she has a personal tale of woe. "I have the worst birthday in the entire world, out of any day of the year. It’s the 3rd of January, which means everyone’s skint, everyone’s three days into not eating, drinking or smoking, none of your friends want to celebrate, it’s usually the first day back to work or school," she complains. "And my whole life I feel that I’ve squished my friends and family into being happy on a day that they’d much rather spend under the duvet. The show plays with the idea of enforced fun."

"I’d been wanting to do a show about my Morrissey obsession. I invited my friend, the performer extraordinaire Scottee to my 40th birthday; he said he'd direct it. That The Smiths have a song called Unhappy Birthday seemed like too much of a fabulous coincidence... and now it’s a reality, baby!"

"When the audience come to the show they play the role of mates at my party; I've also invited Morrissey, and while we are waiting for him to turn up we play pass the parcel, let off some party poppers, eat cheap snacks full of e-numbers, and have a sing-a-long... and lots of other surprises that shall remain secret! The audience help make the show – which means it's different every night."

"I discovered The Smiths just before they broke up, which was a cruel Morrissey-esque twist of fate! I was 17. My entire life since has been spent trying to make up for the fact I've never seen The Smiths live. Morrissey speaks to anyone who has ever felt like an outsider – the nerds/fatties/geeks/gayers – Moz taps into that feeling of lonesomeness. He's also nostalgic and furtively romantic, which is extremely appealing. I love him unequivocally and unconditionally, even though he's said some questionable things over the years. I deal with that in the show... oh, the challenges of being a Morrissey fan!"

On the vexed matter of audience participation – always part of Lamé's shows – she is apologetic. "I totally destroy myself in Unhappy Birthday, so I think the audience understands I'm not into trashing them, just myself. I never make an audience member do anything they don't want to do. On the other hand, we've had plenty of over-enthusiastic audience members... I love that! Seventeen years of Duckie, my spit & sawdust performance club at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern every Saturday, means I can handle just about anything an audience throws at me. Literally."