Latest news with #JosephMartin
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Loved-up Fringe performers tie the knot on stage in first ever for the festival
A loved-up couple have tied the knot in a 'history making' performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Linus Karp and Joseph Martin were married on Saturday in front of a sold-out audience at The Pleasance Grand on Saturday. The couple, known for hit shows such as Gwyneth Goes Skiing, are the first pair to marry on stage with a ticketed audience in the Fringe's 78-year history. READ MORE: Edinburgh Fringe tourists 'double-take' when 'Trump' walks into George Square READ MORE: Edinburgh passengers face rail chaos as 'lines closed' due to 'damaged bridge' At the ceremony, Joseph entered to Charli XCX's Von Dutch - while Linus was carried on stage to the tune of Jellicle Cats, from the musical Cats. The service was conducted by Edinburgh Council's Jackie Blackburn, who pronounced the couple husband and husband to a 'momentous' standing ovation. After the ceremony, Linus said: "This day was so fergalicious. Being in a room so full of love alongside the love of my life is a moment that will live with me forever. "We cannot wait for our incredible officiant Jackie Blackburn's debut comedy hour at next year's Fringe - she was an instant icon." Joseph added: "The nerves kicked in when we went to get dressed with our incredible designer Cosimo Damiano - then it felt real! But once we were in our outfits and backstage, it felt like the most natural thing for us to be doing. "Walking down the aisle to Charli XCX's 'Von Dutch' with bodyguards and spark machines wasn't necessarily how I saw my wedding going, but I don't think it gets any more iconic. I couldn't be happier to be Mr Ljunggren." The couple are also starring in The Fit Prince, which is on at the Pleasance Courtyard. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Couple get married on stage in the middle of Edinburgh Fringe show
There are plenty of shows about weddings at the Edinburgh Festival Karp and Joseph Martin star in one, the inordinately long-titled The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holiday here)).But on Saturday, they became the first couple to marry onstage as part of the official Fringe wedding in the 750-seat Pleasance Grand was ticketed with friends and family seated alongside other performers and fringe goers. "We've been a real life couple for 11 years and we're having a sort of a small ceremony in September but we wanted to do the legal bit first and we thought Edinburgh's a very special place for us so why not do it there?" says Joseph. Both grooms were in outfits designed by Edinburgh based Cosimo Damiano Angiulli (Simo the label) and came down the aisles to their own distinctive theme tunes."There was a moment where we left the stage just before the audience were led in and I felt the nerves kick in a little bit," says Joseph."But then show mode kicked in and bizarrely, it felt like the natural place for us to be at that point. We're at home. "The ceremony was conducted by Jackie Blackburn from Edinburgh City Council."I have been involved in many unique ceremonies but none quite on the scale of this," she says."It was by far the largest venue and greatest number of guests I've officiated in front of. "My favourite part of their ceremony was when the grooms made their vows and declarations to each other - they were so sincere as in addition to the required legalities they had written their own personal vows, it was like a period of calm in the midst of magical romantic mayhem." Joseph, who is from Northamptonshire, vowed to continue to enable Linus's "insane ideas" - as he dressed as Princes Diana and Gwyneth Paltrow for their other shows Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, and Gwyneth Goes who's from Sweden, described Joseph as the "sweetest most ridiculous person" and said he couldn't wait to create "more stupid fringe shows" sets of parents joined their sons on stage where Linus's mother Elisabeth Ljunggren said they were happy to share their day."Love is a gift to cherish and care for, every day in good times and bad, in sickness and health," she said."We love you both to the moon and back."Fellow performers including Sooz Kemper, Emily Lamey and theatre company Recent Cutbacks provided the entertainment, and guests were invited to donate to charity or buy tickets to their shows in lieu of happy couple had just over an hour with their guests in the outdoor bar before they had to leave for that day's with US and UK dates in September and December, there's little time for a honeymoon either."I'm not sure there'll be time for a real honeymoon for a little while at least but performing at the fringe is very much a honeymoon in itself, very relaxing," says Linus."Maybe we'll climb Arthur's seat. That seems like a good way to celebrate our Scottish wedding."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
B.C. legislator enraged by American state senator's 'nonsense' pitch to join U.S.
VICTORIA — A British Columbia legislator said he went from "disappointed" to "enraged" after receiving a pitch from a Republican state senator for Canada's four western provinces to join the United States. Brennan Day, with the Opposition B.C. Conservative Party, said his office had to first confirm the authenticity of the "nonsense" letter from Maine Sen. Joseph Martin after receiving it last week. Martin's three-page pitch said if B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were to seek admission to the United States after referendum votes, it would have to be as full American states. "This would not be annexation. It would be adoption — welcoming home kindred spirits, who were born under a different flag but who desire to live under our Constitution and accept our responsibilities, customs, and traditions," he wrote in the letter shared by Day. Martin said in the letter that his appeal is not a "fantasy of empire" but a "vision deeply rooted in American tradition" that would give the four provinces a chance to "leave behind failing ideologies." "For too long, Canadian citizens have been subjected to an illusion of freedom administered through bureaucratic means," he wrote, adding that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, "while lofty in rhetoric, provides no absolute protection." He said this was in contrast to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Martin said "millions of people currently frustrated by central authority, moral decay, and bureaucratic suffocation" would be rewarded by "liberty" if the four provinces were to join the United States. "The welcome mat is out," he concluded. Day said the most shocking part of the letter was its attack on Canadian institutions, like the Charter of Rights, parliamentary government, monarchism, bilingualism, multiculturalism, and the dismissal of those cornerstones as "political baggage." Day said in an interview that Martin needed to look at "how heavy his luggage" is. He said Martin's party was "hauling around wheeled trunks" of baggage in the United States where the Constitution was 'being torn up by Republicans.' Day said it was not clear why Martin wrote to him, but suspected it might be due to "rhetoric" coming out of Alberta that led Martin to believe British Columbians would be interested. Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment left by voice mail and text. Day said he had written a response to Martin, in which he acknowledged that Canada has problems. "But we don't fix them by surrendering our identity, as you suggest," Day said in his response. "We fix them by doing what Canadians have always done — rolling up our sleeves, listening to each other, and finding common ground." Day said in his interview that the "overwhelming majority of Canadians" like themselves just as they are. "We have got a lot of work to do in improving our services, and making sure that we are spending our money wisely, and getting good value for it," Day said. "But I don't think anybody here looks south and goes, 'we want more of that.'" This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
National Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Maine state senator's pitch for western provinces to join U.S. is ‘nonsense,' says ‘enraged' B.C. MLA
Article content VICTORIA — A British Columbia legislator said he went from 'disappointed' to 'enraged' after receiving a pitch from a Republican state senator for Canada's four western provinces to join the United States. Article content Brennan Day, with the Opposition B.C. Conservative Party, said his office had to first confirm the authenticity of the 'nonsense' letter from Maine Sen. Joseph Martin after receiving it last week. Article content Article content Martin's three-page pitch said if B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were to seek admission to the United States after referendum votes, it would have to be as full American states. Article content 'This would not be annexation. It would be adoption — welcoming home kindred spirits, who were born under a different flag but who desire to live under our Constitution and accept our responsibilities, customs, and traditions,' he wrote in the letter shared by Day. Article content Martin said in the letter that his appeal is not a 'fantasy of empire' but a 'vision deeply rooted in American tradition' that would give the four provinces a chance to 'leave behind failing ideologies.' Article content 'For too long, Canadian citizens have been subjected to an illusion of freedom administered through bureaucratic means,' he wrote, adding that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 'while lofty in rhetoric, provides no absolute protection.' Article content He said this was in contrast to the U.S. Bill of Rights. Article content Martin said 'millions of people currently frustrated by central authority, moral decay, and bureaucratic suffocation' would be rewarded by 'liberty' if the four provinces were to join the United States. Article content 'The welcome mat is out,' he concluded. Article content Day said the most shocking part of the letter was its attack on Canadian institutions, like the Charter of Rights, parliamentary government, monarchism, bilingualism, multiculturalism, and the dismissal of those cornerstones as 'political baggage.' Article content Day said in an interview that Martin needed to look at 'how heavy his luggage' is. He said Martin's party was 'hauling around wheeled trunks' of baggage in the United States where the Constitution was 'being torn up by Republicans.' Article content Day said it was not clear why Martin wrote to him, but suspected it might be due to 'rhetoric' coming out of Alberta that led Martin to believe British Columbians would be interested. Article content Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment left by voice mail and text. Article content Day said he had written a response to Martin, in which he acknowledged that Canada has problems. Article content 'But we don't fix them by surrendering our identity, as you suggest,' Day said in his response. 'We fix them by doing what Canadians have always done — rolling up our sleeves, listening to each other, and finding common ground.' Article content
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
51st state? No thanks, says B.C. MLA after receiving U.S. senator's ‘nonsense' pitch
The B.C. legislature is pictured as people walk in downtown Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick VICTORIA — A British Columbia legislator says he went from 'disappointed' to 'enraged' after receiving a pitch from a Republican state senator for Canada's four western provinces to join the United States. Brennan Day, with the Opposition B.C. Conservative Party, says his office had to first confirm the authenticity of the 'nonsense' letter from Maine Sen. Joseph Martin after receiving it last week. He says the most shocking part of the letter was its attack on Canadian institutions, like the Charter of Rights, federalism, multiculturalism, and the dismissal of those cornerstones as 'political baggage.' Day says Martin needs to look at 'how heavy his luggage' is, and his party is 'hauling around wheeled trunks' of baggage in the United States where the Constitution is 'being torn up by Republicans.' Day says it's not clear why Martin wrote him, but suspects it might be 'some of the rhetoric' coming out of Alberta that led him to believe British Columbians would also be interested. Martin's pitch says if B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were to seek admission to the United States, it must be as full American states. He says entry would not be in the form of annexation, but adoption, and the welcoming home of 'kindred spirits who were born under a different flag.' This report by Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press, was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
