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Edinburgh Reporter
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Fringe 2025 – Alice Fraser: A Passion for Passion
Alice Fraser, despite having appeared on and written for various radio and TV programmes, podcasts and performed throughout the world, is not as well known as she deserves to be. Yet. You would think featuring in the Daily Telegraph's 50 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century, being a regular on Radio 4's The News Quiz and ABC's Thank God It's Friday, as well as having done documentaries for Audible and hosted various podcasts people would know her. She's also written my favourite description of a certain type of politician; 'I love hearing unrestricted indulgence in grievance politics by men who say being masculine means being stoic while whingeing like a toddler about how things aren't as good as the olden days.' In an alternative dimension, you have heard of and seen Alice Fraser, but I think that's about to change with her first book and accompanying show A Passion for Passion. ''A Passion for Passion: A Delirious Love Letter to Romance' is a loving homage to genre fiction, celebrating the solemn silliness of romance novels. I have a special place in my heart for the silliness of romance novels,' Alice explains. 'Yes, there is a lot of garbage in the genre but also a lot of good; just like every other genre. Also it is book publishing's dirty little secret – these books sell; in the UK sales accounted for £69m in 2024, with over 40m books sold, keeping book publishing alive. They sit in a very weird bottleneck, they are successful but stay under the table, which is part of the reason I have a fascination with them.' I must admit, as a man of a certain age, romance novels to me are Barbara Cartland and Mills & Boons but having worked in book and charity shops I've seen how quickly people read them and how much they consume. Obviously the books and their authors are doing at least something right if they sell that much. Alice continues, explaining to me more about romances and why I should have a more open mind to them. 'Yes, they are wish fulfilment and the journey to reach a Happily Ever After can go via an unbelievable roller-coaster of intensity and feature entertaining twists. So does the Opera and nobody's looking down on Carmen. James Bond books do exactly the same thing, except instead of making a duke fall in love with him, he kills somebody with a robot pencil and wins the woman with a bad pun and a magic car he didn't have to pay for. Nobody is looking down their noses at the espionage genre the same way they do with romance and romantasy.' Romantic fantasy, or romantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy fiction that combines fantasy and romance. These are books that use many of the elements and conventions of the romance genre but there are elves, dragons and many other creatures in the between the covers. Key features of romantasy is the focus on relationships – social, political and romantic. They are predominately written by women but also known for representing less covered sections of society. People also look down their noses at these books but they also sell incredibly well. You may have heard of a little thing called the Twilight Saga. 'I know these books are denigrated and I like them despite that. They deal with women's desires; they are written for women, by women and for women's pleasure. Since the explosion of self-publishing online proved there was an even vaster appetite for these books than Mills & Boone had assumed. Also, readers, writers and protagonists in Romance are all increasingly diverse. For me there is something creepy if that is seen as wrong. For most people, day to day, the quality of their intimate relationships are the key to whether you find the world bearable and yet some discount books that explain how they work. Also, there's a magical trick in writing 250-300 pages where the reader knows what is going to happen in the end but still wants to read every page to find out how, while still making it joyous and treating your readers as intelligent. Many authors in other genres could learn a thing or two from these books. For me the sexy stuff is the least interesting part, I care more about the emotional component than the sex. Why can't he say, 'I love you'? Why is a firm pat and 'humph' the highest expression of love he can muster? What happened along the way to make these characters who they are and behave this way? That's what I want to know about. These are dramatic and operative stories on a huge stage, life writ large.' To promote the book Alice has an accompanying show, unsurprisingly titled, 'A Passion for Passion,' where she explains how she's fallen in love with romance novels and is living with the consequences. I'm looking forward to seeing, especially as I think I don't like romance novels, but it might make me rethink what's so wrong with happily ever after. The show iss on in London first at the Soho Upstairs from Wednesday the 6th to Saturday the 9th of August, before jumping in a horse drawn carriage, skipping any balls on the way and heading up the Great North Road to Edinburgh. There the show is on from the 11th to the 25th of August at Friesian at Underbelly, Bristo Square. On top of writing and performing, Alice also hosts online writers meetings and workshops, occasional writing retreats and one-to-one writing consultations. To add to the August fun, while she's in Edinburgh she is running two writers workshops at Black Medicine Coffee on Sunday the 17th and Sunday the 24th. You would think with everything else that running these and doing a show is overload but Alice explained that it's selfish altruism in part. 'I like to help others, it's a good thing to do, but also it stops me becoming self-obsessed and helps me see the bigger picture. Plus it's good for the people who come to hear different views about the issues writers face and it makes me feel good. Everybody wins. 'I've suffered quite badly at times with imposter syndrome despite having worked on four or five different radio and podcast shows every week for a run of two to three months at a time. You would think that would give me the confidence in myself and my work. Flyering is soul destroying at times but is definitely embarrassing and fed into the feeling that I wasn't a 'real' or 'proper' comedian and writer. These workshops have helped me realise that's not true, I am able to give advice to people at various stages of their careers, which they find useful and beneficial. If that's not showing me I am a professional and good at my job then what can? Running the workshops is a really enjoyable part of my career and I hope I can always have them on the go.' As we finish up, I can't help but ask about how Alice feels about coming back to Edinburgh and the Fringe. Unsurprisingly, she enjoys the experience. 'I know that people say that it's a bad thing that the expense of coming and putting on a show means there is less good stuff and possibly more vanity works. However, there is still space for bad or silly art and there is something wildly pleasurable about that. The people who perform love their work and want to share it with as many as possible. For that to happen there is definitely something going right in the world. I love the Fringe, I love the silliness of it all and the chance to sit in a dark room and see something that makes me laugh, makes me think and sometimes does both.' You can't say fairer than that. As for my relationship, or lack of one, with romance novels? Well, dear reader, I now have one – Candace Camp's 'A Gentleman Always Remember.' Alice approves: 'Oh Candace knows the business. Enjoy!' I'll just have to see if I am whisked off my feet. Keni O'Neill An everyday middle-aged person who wants to make a better, brighter Scotland. I also want to see Hibernian and Brentford FCs play well. This author does not have any more posts. Like this: Like Related
Western Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Comedy podcast launched exploring 'history' of Haverfordwest
Harford: An Oral History is written and performed by comedy writer Dan Hooper. The series, which began on February 20, presents a unique take on the town's past through the eyes of its inhabitants. Each episode is a monologue exploring a different chapter of Haverfordwest's history, from an unsuccessful attempt to build the world's tallest building in the small town to a battle re-enactment that turned into a real conflict. The stories are accompanied by experimental music to enhance the surreal experience. The 10-15 minute episodes offer a break from the typical chat format, appealing to fans of absurd, surreal humour. Mr Hooper said: "My aim was to create something layered and strange—like stumbling onto a late-night radio broadcast. "I didn't want this podcast to follow the usual chat or interview format. "Growing up in '90s Haverfordwest, it felt like nothing exciting ever happened. "This podcast aims to change that, even if none of it is true." Mr Hooper is an accomplished comedy writer and performer, having written for flagship BBC Radio 4 programmes such as The News Quiz, The Now Show, and The Show What You Wrote. He was shortlisted for the BBC Wales New Drama award in 2017 and was a semi-finalist for the 2022 Nobbs Memorial Trust. Harford: An Oral History is available to listen to now.
New European
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New European
Dilettante: Have I become British?
Well, it probably is for some. I wouldn't know how they feel. Last week, I, a foreigner, recorded an episode of The News Quiz on Thursday evening then, on Sunday, went to the shop to pick up a paper, in which I had a column about county cricket. Oh, and on Saturday I had a boozy picnic on the grounds of Windsor Castle, while watching some more cricket. How do you know you've successfully integrated into the country you decided to move to, years or decades earlier? Some may say it's a feeling that's hard to describe, and never quite comes to you as an epiphany. It's such a deep, complex topic – how to decide, for certain, that the place you emigrated to has changed you for good? It's just easier said than done. As far as I'm concerned, I should be allowed to send the paragraph above to the Home Office and gain access to this famous blue passport I've heard so much about, no questions asked. Still, my especially British week made me think. In what ways have my 15 years here reshaped both my innate and learned Frenchness? In what ways am I still, in essence, fresh off the Eurostar? It turned into quite a fun game, and I made a little list for each side. Here are my results: Too British to ever return home In the first column, I started by adding… well, what I've just told you about. I watched cricket twice in a single fortnight, of my own volition. It wasn't even glamorous, glitzy T20: I really did sit there and watch players do not much at all for hours on end. I told my mother about it and her reaction made it sound like I'd just mentioned a quick, casual trip to Mars and back. Another important change is that I'm now unbearably, comically polite. I apologise to lampposts not only if I walk into them, but even if I happen to merely brush past them. I had an interaction with a woman in the gym the other day which essentially consisted of us apologising to each other for a full minute. If interrupting a stranger in a public place, I will make sure to say 'sorry' at least seven times, in a wide variety of ways, before getting to my point. A third, perhaps critical shift is that – God, it hurts to even type – I now prefer British drinking hours. I moved here and was baffled by this habit of getting to the pub exceedingly early, having a full night out, then being in bed by 11pm. It went against everything my Mediterranean roots craved. Still, over time, I got used to it. I even… started preferring it. Who wants to go out at 9pm then get home in the middle of the night? I want to get sloshed and I want to wake up some time before noon, thank you very much. I'm sorry, je ne parle pas anglais Listen, I'm not judging. We're just different. That's fine. All I will say is that what I think of as a 'going out' outfit is not what women here think of as a 'going out' outfit. My dresses will never be short enough. I will never show enough cleavage. I will never wear heels high enough. No amount of make-up on my face will ever be enough. I have made my peace with that. Similarly: a fact that has often amused my friends is that I have never, in my life, bought a supermarket meal deal. I consider lunch to be a proper meal, on par with dinner. I refuse to eat at my desk, and I want to eat something substantial, and preferably warm. I believe you're cheating yourselves when it comes to lunch. Give it the respect it deserves. Oh, and speaking of which: I will never have dinner before 7.30pm. I take dinner time so seriously that pals will message me when eating at 6pm, purely because they know it will enrage me. It always works. I hate the idea of early dinner so much that merely imagining it, as a concept, makes me angry. No amount of time spent here will change that. Tea, on the other hand, is something I'm mellower on. People are allowed to enjoy it. It's a free country. I just don't think it'll ever be for me, though: I've tried it black and milky, with and without sugar, and I just don't really get the point. You can yank my single espresso out of my cold, dead, shaking hands. This is where my list ended, though I knew it could have gone on – and on, and on. I really enjoyed writing it, because it made me realise that some parts of my personality are thoroughly malleable, when others will clearly never change, no matter what happens to me. I don't know that, 15 years ago, I could have predicted any of those shifts, or lack thereof, and that's a good thing. Maybe I'll do another one of those lists in another decade and a half, see who I am then. I look forward to it.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Pearl Mackie delves into murder: best podcasts of the week
Hosts Pearl Mackie, Emma Sidi and Kiell Smith-Bynoe claim to be 'reinvestigating' the infamous 1907 'Camden Town Murder' – via 'reimagining key moments' (read: inventing dialogue) with hammy accents. True crime can feel exploitative, and given that a real person – 22-year-old Emily Dimmock – died in this case, not all listeners will find an attempt to turn it into chucklesome light entertainment to be in the best taste. Alexi Duggins Widely available from Tue 25th February, episodes weekly An absorbing investigation into Gareth's claims that when he was a 14-year-old student at a prestigious school, he felt like a 'lucky boy' to be in a relationship with the teacher that everybody fancied. Host Chloe Hadjimatheou asks: what does it mean when the abuser is an attractive woman? Hollie Richardson Tortoise, all episodes out on Tue 25th February Who are the people who send scam texts/emails? This shocking show about the gangs with whole organisations dedicated to deceit focuses on a young Thai man who thought he was getting a legitimate job, only to be held captive in an armed compound and made to send messages 14 hours a day. His sister's daring rescue attempt helps propel the narrative. AD Widely available, episodes weekly High-tech sex trafficking, aliens, a top-secret military operation – or something a little more prosaic? This podcast about a string of spooky drone sightings across the US will surely hook you in with its wild theories and X-Files-esque soundtrack. Although whether host Gabe Lenners gets to the bottom of it all is yet to be seen. HJD Widely available, episodes weekly Dan Hooper is a comedy writer for Radio 4's The News Quiz. Here, he turns his hand to something more idiosyncratic – and it works. Based on his own experiences growing up in the small Welsh town of Haverfordwest, supplemented with some offbeat embellishments, these strange little monologues are brimming with dry wit and unlikely twists. Hannah J Davies Widely available, episodes monthly
