Previews: Comedians doing theatre

Gutted: A Revenger’s Musical

A show can get away with murder if it can be described as ‘cult’, so why not set that murder to music? The creators of the cult sell-outs Psister Psycho and Karaoke Circus return to the Fringe with what promises to be another cult hit; a comedy revenge musical. A girl grows up to marry her parent’s murderer and then exact her revenge, but with a hodge-podge of TV and stand up comedians present to help sugar the pill, including The Penny Dreadfuls and Lead Balloon’s Anna Crilly. There will be blood, but there will also be songs, dances, and twisted twisted jokes.

Itch: A Scratch Event

On the look out for the new Peep Show or Green Wing? This may be one the best places at the Fringe to hear new scripts from a series of up-and-coming comedians. Jack Whitehall, Phil Nichol, Stephen Frost, Sara Pascoe and many more invite you to their comedy pitch of all new material. The line-up is rotating so no two nights will be the same. It may resemble anything from an AA meeting to a storytelling centre but above all will be unpredictable. Rehearsed or unrehearsed, promising or not, the sheer variety should satisfy all.

Mackenzie Taylor: No Straightjacket Required

Something funny happened to Mackenzie Taylor on the way to commit suicide, as his 2009 Fringe show attests. The 31-year-old does for bipolar disorder what Eddie Izzard did for transvestitism with No Straightjacket Required. But it is not for mental health reasons that Taylor is repeating the same show this year, it’s because it was bloody brilliant; a critically acclaimed sell-out. Comedy doesn't get much blacker than his tales of popping through pill packets like bubble wrap, mania and medication, schizophrenia and suicide. It’s therapy for Taylor and hilarity for the audience.