Latest news with #DanBoerman
Scotsman
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Hundreds of people gather on Edinburgh's Calton Hill to watch man fold bed sheet
Hundreds of people gathered on Calton Hill on Friday night to watch a comedian fold a fitted sheet beside the National Monument of Scotland. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The unusual event was a promo for New Zealand stand-up Dan Boerman ahead of his upcoming Fringe show – a move the 31-year-old said was the 'the craziest marketing stunt of my career' adding 'if you don't have rich parents or thousands of dollars for PR, sometimes you just have to think outside the box'. After advertising the unique spectacle with posters around the city, a considerable number of people visited the Edinburgh beauty spot on July 25, curious to see how the situation would unfold. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dan Boerman captivated his audience at Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Friday night | NW Arriving at Calton Hill for 6pm, hundreds of visitors formed a circle at the top of the hill before the Kiwi comedian made his entrance to thunderous applause. It is the second time Boerman has drawn large crowds to witness the unique performance, with the sell-out comedian performing the same stunt in Wellington in early April. ` Speaking to the Evening News, Dan said: 'This was certainly a bigger crowd than Wellington, probably double the size. But I'm just really stoked that people were on board with what I was doing. 'It's a really beautiful spot, when I put out the flyers for this I hadn't actually been up Calton Hill, so when I got here I thought what a backdrop for a thousand people to sit around, have a laugh and cheer someone on for nothing.' Hundreds of people gathered to watch the unusual event on Calton Hill on Friday, July 25 | NW Dan, who moved to Edinburgh in December last year, will perform his show at the Apex Grassmarket Hotel (Venue 108) from August 1 to 25 following a sell-out 2024 Edinburgh debut. Titled, Dan Boerman Folds a Fitted Sheet on His Own, the hour-long stand-up routine is inspired by Dan's experience following the end of a long-term relationship and navigating life . Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dan said: 'I dreamt up the idea for my solo hour about a year ago. Folding a fitted sheet is a quintessential millennial struggle - no one really knows how to do it but it's something that everyone struggles with. The show is an hour looking at the other side of a relationships and navigating life on your own I suppose. The New Zealand comic's show, Dan Boerman Folds a Fitted Sheet on His Own, will run at the Grassmarket during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe | NW 'I'm not the first straight man to do a Fringe show saying 'hey I had a partner, now I don't, and now I'm on the apps - that's been done before and I think people have grown tired of seeing that. 'I like to think my show is a refreshing take on navigating life as a single straight man. It's high energy, chaotic, relatable, observational, it's Kiwi, and I don't get too preachy. But I'm really pleased with the show and proud of the writing that's gone into it.' Dan Boerman Folds a Fitted Sheet on His Own, runs from August 1 to 25 at Hoot 3 at Hoots @ The Apex.
The National
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Almost 1000 people gather in Edinburgh to watch man fold fitted sheet
A stand-up comedian from New Zealand, Dan Boerman, has gone viral on social media after he was able to draw a crowd of hundreds of people to watch him successfully fold a fitted sheet at the top of Calton Hill on Friday. The UK-based performer said it was probably the 'craziest marketing stunt' of his career as videos circulating on social media show droves of people cheering Boerman on as he completed the task. Explaining why he decided to pull the stunt, Boerman said that he didn't have thousands of dollars to promote his show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival and had to 'think outside the box' to advertise it. READ MORE: 'The welcome he deserves': TikToker goes viral praising National's Trump front page Along with the short video, which has raked up almost 15,000 likes on Instagram alone, Boerman said: 'Yesterday I summoned almost a 1000 people to the top of Calton Hill to watch me fold a fitted sheet in what was probably the craziest marketing stunt of my career. 'Somebody who legally wasn't me put these fliers all around town. 'Word began to spread in group chats and all across social media. 'By the time of the event, nearly 1000 people showed up to watch the action take place. 'If you don't have rich parents and thousands of dollars for PR, sometimes you just got to think outside the box and everyone there was super excited and had a great time.' In another post on Instagram, the comedian wrote that several other people attempted to fold the sheet, with varying success. He also thanked the hundreds of people who gathered for creating a 'fun' atmosphere. Boerman wrote: 'A couple punters from the crowd stepped forward to try themselves. 'One crushed it. One… gave it an honest go. 'Thank you so much to everyone who came through today. Such a fun atmosphere.' The Dan Boerman Folds a Fitted Sheet on His Own show will be running at The Apex Conference Center in the capital from August 1 to 25 at 2pm each day. The self-proclaimed 'high-energy and chaotic Kiwi comedy' describes his hour-long show as a love letter to 'our better halves and/or our situationships,' which you can find tickets for here. The comedian said he has returned to the festival this year after selling out his shows in Edinburgh last year and has just returned to the UK after touring Melbourne and New Zealand.
The Spinoff
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Our reviews from week two of the NZ International Comedy Festival
Boners, mums and bad audience behaviour filled our nights in week two of the biggest comedy event of the year. Brynley Stent – Bonetown Bonetown. A safe place to share your bones. Brynley Stent as our game show host, comically skulking around the stage in her Maleficent horns and a black Lycra one piece and devilish tail, accidentally breaking her sexy demon character to explain rules and then quickly transitioning into the best witch cackle I've ever heard. The rules: It's a basic game of 'Would you rather' but with a fun twist: What would you rather bone? It was up to our panel – Kura Forrester, Chris Parker, Olga Koch, Courtney Dawson and Nicko Vella – to decide. Sex with Sonny Bill or freshly washed sheets? A crisp Coca Cola or the feeling after a deadline has been met. Going on a rollercoaster ride continuously because the operator keeps letting you ride or the gender pay gap. The panel guests were asked to choose two 'bones' and then make their call. Discarded bones were then swiftly placed into a cauldron which lit up and made a demonic noise a lot like a guttural 'Singapore'. Pretty quickly, the audience caught on to and repeated it every time a bone was thrown in – very The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Perfect. In the end, the winning bone was A nasty girl who looks chopped – translating to when a mean girl goes out looking unattractive. Not a cool girl who is super drunk, which is what I thought. Bonetown was fun! And although a little late for an old granny like me, it was totally worth it. The rapport between the panel and Stent felt like we were all in on a little secret, part of a crew. Like a funny little hug with the devil. / Eli Rivera Dan Boerman – Folds A Fitted Sheet On His Own When I saw Dan Boerman fold a fitted sheet on Cuba St in April, after weeks of seeing posters plastered across the capital and breathless Vic Deals reporting, I think I might have been the only person there who reacted with complete, unadulterated rage. How dare a comedian (and a man, no less) organise a bit that I would find extremely funny, and then try to sell me tickets to his show?!?!??! What happened to pure, goofy fun with no strings attached? The only option from here was to go to his show and see if my anger was justified. Evidently, the folded sheet stunt worked out, because Fringe Bar was just about sold out. But the problem with Gen Z-geared advertising is that you will have Gen Zers come to your show, and bring their lack of etiquette with them: one lad in the front row tried to butt in every five minutes, others had phones going off, and two girls thought it was all good to have a few chinwags throughout the whole thing. Boerman was great at riffing with the audience, but the near-constant disruptions definitely slowed down the jokes and stopped some trains of thought. In the moments where no one was trying to force themselves into the show, Boeman was very funny. He seems like the kind of guy I would have worked with in hospo and been kept alive by with some much needed banter in the kitchen. So, Boerman, I forgive you – and I hope you can forgive the Gen Zers you turned into fans along the way. /Lyric Waiwiri-Smith James Mustapic – All Good If Not I have been a fan of James Mustapic's work for longer than I've been a fan of any other local talent. Way back in 2014, I was procrastinating my uni assignments by watching Shorty Street Scandal episodes over and over. I first became aware of The Spinoff in 2015 because Mustapic posted that his videos were being shared there. In short, I'm a big fan of the format – Mustapic performing jokes through the medium of powerpoint and short video clips – and have seen a handful of his shows over the past decade, some decidedly stronger than others. But this year, with All Good If Not, Mustapic has produced his best show yet, and one that will surely count as one of the best in the festival. It began as should be expected from Mustapic at this point – with the slideshow powering up and an awkward review of an earlier gig being dissected. The next hour covered Mustapic's sweet spots: his mum Janet's life, his dad (who is estranged and had many issues with Mustapic's TVNZ show, James Must-a-pic his Mum a Man), and his grandma's emails. If it was just that, All Good If Not would have still been worth a ticket. Mustapic has nailed his chosen format and knows better than anyone that sometimes the funniest moments come from those not trying to be funny at all. Example: his slow live and verbatim readings of his grandma's emails (which were projected on the screen behind him) were some of the highlights of the show. But Mustapic has always been a great multimedia performer, especially when it comes to playing the jester – positioning himself as a mere observer of others and lobbing (very funny) grenades at those around him. Where All Good If Not felt new and elevated was in Mustapic's candid moments of self-referential comedy. In speaking to his own feelings and insecurities, Mustapic has found a way to gently bridge the gap between himself as the all-seeing-eye of NZ culture and the audience, who want to get to know him. In All Good If Not, Mustapic assesses himself the same way he assesses Sensing Murders's Sue Nicholson: critical, deeply cutting yet with a deep appreciation and love.
