Persistent and Nasty

It’s the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with performer Hannah Docherty and producer Aila Swann about Matchstick Production’s new musical Perfect Match. This was on at the space on the mile from 18th-22nd August.

Huge apologies to the Matchstick team that due to Elaine being ill the day after recording this episode we were not able to get this episode out before their run ended. This is an important conversation around new musicals in Scotland,

A PERFECT MATCH

A power cut. Darkness. Sparks fly. Rowan is a straight-laced musical theatre writer, struggling to find inspiration. Charlie is a hurricane of inspiration with no respect for the rules. When Rowan’s flat is plunged into darkness, a knock on the door brings Charlie, searching for a match, into her life. This charming, intimate new musical asks whether love is truly blind, and if a connection formed in the dark can survive the light. The Perfect Match is the debut show from Matchstick Productions UK, founded by Scotland-based book writer Mairead Dunsmore and composer/lyricist Samuel Macdonald. Inspired by a real-life story, The Perfect Match offers a safe space in the dark for two characters who’ve been burned by love before the chance to explore each other... and maybe even get a little carried away. For anyone who’s ever scrolled on a mind-numbing dating app or struggled to form a real connection in this world of overwhelming online stimuli, this show offers the

perfect solace of human connection when everything else is stripped away.

Instagram Matchstick Productions UK - https://www.instagram.com/matchstickproductionsuk/?hl=en

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

HIPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

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It’s the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 series

Elaine chats with writer and performer of Cvntclave Arden Fitzroy.

CVNTCLAVE

Greenside @ George Street (Lime Studio)

Dates: 7-29 August (not 16, 23)

Time: 20:45 (60 mins)

“What’s the one secret that would destroy you, if it got out?”

CVNTCLAVE follows the confessions of Cardinal Cvntvs in the lead-up to a conclave electing a pope, as the previous one has just died - again. There’s nothing straightforward, or straight of any kind, really, in the tangle of emotions, doubts and dalliances Cvntvs dredges up for you, dear College of Cardinals, for the very first time in his life. A rising star of UK theatre and the cardinalate, actor and writer Arden Fitzroy makes their Edinburgh Fringe debut with CVNTCLAVE, the high key drama-comedy-confessional the festival has been waiting for for years - except in this case it’s the literal Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. This brand new talent has been supported by Soho Theatre Edinburgh Fringe Lab, Soho Theatre Writers Lab and Theatre Deli Artist Residency. With the clarion call of the fandom surrounding 2024 Oscar-winning film Conclave ringing like the Campanone of St. Peter’s Basilica, Arden realized the wealth of dramatic material hidden just behind the locked doors of real-world conclaves. Inspired by both the queer (sub)text of Conclave (2024) and Frédéric Martel’s examination of queer subculture in the Catholic Church’s highest echelons (In the Closet of the Vatican), CVNTCLAVE explores the tensions, confluences, rivalries and unlikely camaraderie that emerge from an environment simultaneously intensely queer and intensely Catholic.

TICKET LINK - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/cvntclave

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

Persistent and Nasty join the CEC community to create a safe space & build a community for those who are marginalised in any way in the arts.

Link for our Zoom meeting with Creative Entrepreneurs Club

https://creativeentrepreneursclub.co.uk/

MAIL BAG – you can write and ask us industry related questions or general

questions or maybe you have a hot take you want to chare, some tea you want to spill or a topic you want discussed on the podcast.

To be included in the Mail Bag podcast email [email protected] with subject line MAIL BAG or slide into the DM’s.

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with writer Corinne Sailsbury and Director Jo Rush of Slayers about Corinne’s new eclectic play Slayers.

SLAYERS

Assembly George Sq Studios - Studio 5

18-30August

12:15

“He takes hold of my wrist. His thumb is on the vein. His eyes into my eyes. I don’t pull away. Then I do, I pull away.”

Liane is a single mother, a survivor of abuse, now trying desperately to shield her ten-year-old daughter from the world’s dangers. As her daughter suffers bullying, Liane has a real-world encounter with the Manosphere that stokes her rage. Mother and daughter take up boxing. They develop a taste for violence. They plot their revenge… SLAYERS is a tense contemporary drama that asks: How can we arm our daughters against the world? What happens when our anger makes us go too far? When does revenge stop feeling righteous – and how do we find a better way?

TICKET LINK -https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/slayers-by-corinne-salisbury

No Palantir in our NHS - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/international-crisis/no-palantir-in-our-nhs/

SAVE THE CCA – https://saveourcca.com/

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with Edininburgh born working class queer writer Kari Hall about their new play hame.teeth.CLUB.

hame.teeth.CLUB.

Underbelly Cowgate

5 - 30 August 2026

17:10

“A dark-comedy about survivor-hood, female friendships, and working-class Scottish identity”

Iona Bremner Productions and Sláinte! Theatre are delighted to present HAME.

TEETH. CLUB., a brand new play from emerging Scottish writer Kari Hall, directed by Jessie Wren Jacobs. Developed from Sláinte! Theatre’s scratch nights with support from Playwright Studio Scotland’s Mentorship Scheme, this quick and visceral dark-comedy explores identity, growing-up, and plays with the cheeky and witty nature of Scottish humour. Fuelled by Dragon Soop and recklessness, Morgan is a hedonistic party girl who lives for her weekends at Dalkeith Miner’s club. But after experiencing a sexual assault, she’s forced to confront her lack of ambition; her personal chaos; and the emptiness that remains when you are believed, but no one stands by your side. HAME. TEETH. CLUB. tackles how communities talk about and treat survivors of assault, and just how much complicity plays a part in not supporting victims. This play explores the intricacies of female friendship as something that is sacred - but can be completely sidelined for male validation. At a time when conversations around consent, accountability and community responsibility remain central to public discourse, HAME. TEETH. CLUB. Asks difficult questions about what support truly looks like.Written in a blend of colloquial Scots and English language, HAME. TEETH. CLUB. celebrates contemporary Scottish language while bringing a distinctly working class voice tothe Edinburgh Festival Fringe.. Drawing on experiences of growing up in Midlothian in the 2010s, Hall's debut Fringe play explores a generation of young Scottish women navigating survivorhood, friendship, and contemporary Scottish identity.

TICKET LINK - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/hame-teeth-club

No Palantir in our NHS - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/international-crisis/no-palantir-in-our-nhs/

SAVE THE CCA – https://saveourcca.com/

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with Penny Chivas about her show Where we Choose to Stand which has finished it’s official run at the festival but is part of the Fringe Fragments.

Where we Choose To Stand @ Fringe Fragments

Assembly Dance Base

24/25 August

13:15-14:15 & 17:30-18:30 both days

Where We Choose to Stand is an ambitious dance-theatre work inspired by climate activism amid political upheaval. Embedded in Nicolette Macleod's evocative soundscape are first-hand accounts from people from across the UK who have been involved in direct action, amplifying the voices of those often silenced for their actions. Through audience interaction, the work challenges audiences to reflect on where they stand, asking how we position ourselves in moments of crisis.

Fringe Fragments

Dance Base Festival 2026 in partnership with Assembly Festival presents Fringe Fragments on 24 and 25 August 2026.Produced by Dance Base, Fringe Fragments is a pitching platform showcasing dance talent from around the world. Designed as a public event and industry showcase in one, audiences can see several excerpts from tour-ready performances by international and UK dance artists, each presented with a short artist talk and hosted by Artistic Director, Tony Mills. This year, Dance Base is collaborating with Nordberg Movement (Sweden) and Kultur | lx—arts council Luxembourg, to present artists inspired by activism, Hip Hop and Merce Cunningham. Artists include: Penny Chivas Where We Choose to Stand (Scotland). A dance-theatre show inspired by activism and political change, blending movement, music, real stories and moments of audience connection. Alicia Cano-Smit and Benoît Callens Echos Infinis (Luxembourg). Bound by a constant physical connection that shifts its point of contact, Benoît and Alicia move through cycles of conflict, support and loss of control to reveal the ways we become trapped, evolve and reconnect. Philip Berlin La Ronde (Sweden) Performed by Philip and Louise Dahl, La Ronde is explosive yet minimalist. An investigation into circular and rotating dance material, expect spherical leaps, sudden accelerations and a thrilling physical claiming of the entire space.

TICKET LINK -https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/fringe-fragments

No Palantir in our NHS - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/international-crisis/no-palantir-in-our-nhs/

SAVE THE CCA – https://saveourcca.com/

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with the brilliant Tessa Parr about their show I am Johnny.

I am Johnny

Summerhall, Red Lecture Theatre

Dates: 6 - 31 August (not 17, 24)

Time: 18:15 (60 mins)

“Boys, are you shirkin for a gherkin?”

Tessa Parr is Johnny the Biblical Rapper. I AM JOHNNY sees the acclaimed actor and theatre-maker transform into a white male 30-something poet-manchild.

Navigating the world from a place of vulnerability doesn’t come easy to Johnny, but poetry speaks to the soul, so he’s found the perfect medium. Johnny is fresh from the gym, found his spotlight and is willing to give it a go. After all - it’s what the people want.

Strikingly timely in light of the rapidly widening class divide and the evolving discourse around troubled masculinity, Parr presents a gripping and intimate exploration of masculinity, emotional exposure, and the quiet expectations that sit beneath honesty.

TICKET LINK - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/i-am-johnny

No Palantir in our NHS - https://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/international-crisis/no-palantir-in-our-nhs/

SAVE THE CCA – https://saveourcca.com/

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with co-founder of Cutty Sark Theatre and writer Eve Miller. They are joined by Molly Cavanagh who is sound designer and technician on Turn the Cloth

Turn the Cloth

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Turret

5-31 Aug (not 12, 26)

2:30pm (50 mins)

“A queer Scottish folk horror about tradition, superstition, and Elvira”

1989. The first storm of winter hits a small Scottish town, bringing with it obligation, tradition, and a spirit hungry for a wife. Bonds are tested, secrets revealed, and the ghosts of the village’s past invade the present. Darkly funny, unsettling, and atmospheric, the Charlie Hartill Shortlisted play Turn the Cloth dissects defiance, girlhood, and the rituals that shape us. For centuries, young women have gathered in the village hall during the first storm of winter

to complete a tradition warding off a kelpie who seeks to abduct an eligible bride. But when one of the girls doesn’t show up, the others fall to gossip, in-fighting, and debate over whether anyone could still believe in this fabled beast. Teenage heartbreak, eldritch horror, and Blockbuster video collide in this treacherous ritual that has the power to save or unmake four futures.

TICKET LINK - https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6746/

STRUT SAFE –

https://linktr.ee/strutsafe?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAad29y9ugqwt1Yak5f3ChVWdyConD1_9OFYkccDGqzKEvfFcZN7ZUzdlVN8ELQ_aem_LgvJU0G-XGKR5kcB365GVQ

SAVE THE CCA – https://saveourcca.com/

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats comedian Han Whyte about their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe with their show Roger Prick: Sexopolis.

Roger Prick: Sexopolis

Underbelly Cowgate (Jelly Belly)

Dates: 5-30 August (not 18)

Time: 18:55 (60 mins)

“How could I be sexist? I’ve got tons of girls in my books”

Sexy, seedy Soho in the 70s. What a time to be alive. And what a time to be Roger Prick, the UK’s number one pornographer, erotic novelist and dirty old creep. Because of woke, feminism, and the #MeToo movement, Fringe 2026 is the perfect time for Prick to relaunch his seminal work for a new generation.

Influenced by the burgeoning alternative comedy scene in the 1980s which rose as Soho’s reputation fell, Sexopolis is a deftly crafted, tightly written, laugh-out-loud ode to sticky floors and even stickier pages. An extravaganza of character, drag, time travel, cardboard and cartoons, Roger Prick puts the novel into novelist in his debut Edinburgh outing.

Roger Prick is the creation of drag king, character comic, cartoonist and Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off finalist Han Whyte who brings sleaze kicking and screaming back to the Edinburgh Fringe. She is also a Soho Comedy Plus Lab alumni and comedy history buff with particular interest in the UK’s alternative comedy scene

TICKET LINK -https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/roger-prick-sexopolis

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series

Elaine chats with performer, writer and clown Bruna Longo about her show Whale Fall Or Song To Dance With My Death which is currently playing t the Edinburgh Festival 2026.

WHALE FALL OR SONG TO DANCE WITH MY DEATH

Part of São Paulo Showcase 2026

Lindisfarne Room at St Cuthbert’s Church

Dates: 10 - 27 August 2026

Time: MON-THRU 12:00, FRI-SUN 20:00 (80 mins)

WHALE FALL OR SONG TO DANCE WITH MY DEATH

“A woman dies and seeks to mourn her own passing in this deeply human meditation on mortality, weaving together anthropology, philosophy, and theatre”

Part of the much-anticipated returning São Paulo Showcase, Whale Fall or Song To Dance With My Death is a performance about the taboo of death in everyday life, the process of eliminating funeral rites in Western capitalist societies, silence, and denial. Yet, above all it is a performance about life inspired by the death of actress Bruna Longo's father. Co-directed by Vitor Julian, the production has been acclaimed by audiences and critics in São Paulo, Brazil.

Staged within the historic St Cuthbert’s Church, filled with echoes of its centuries-old graveyard, Whale Fall is a contemplation of mortality; a ritual inspired by Longo’s own experience of loss and grief. Faced with the inescapable, she imagines her own death and attempts to mourn herself - the one thing we, as humans, cannot do. Exploring the funeral rites from diverse cultures, and their philosophical and practical implications, Longo draws from her intimate experience to create a reflective surface: what might we see when we confront our fear of dying?

For Western societies, death is perhaps the last insurmountable taboo - we don't talk about it, and we don't know how to deal with it. Death’s mysterious and unknown character inspired the first human ceremonies, hieroglyphics, and campfire stories; it has given us philosophy, religion, art, and mourning, shaping how we live collectively and individually. Whale Fall reminds us that death is our only, and unavoidable, certainty.

TICKET LINK -https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/whale-fall-or-song-to-dance-with-my-death

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE

Elaine chats with writer and performer Sarah-Louise Young about her latest show The Bob Ross Effect which is curretnly at the Edinburgh Festival.

THE BOB ROSS EFFECT

Assembly Gardens, Piccolo

Wednesday 5th - Monday 31st August 2026 (not 18th)

4:05pm (70 mins)

“We don’t make mistakes, we have happy accidents”

Fringe favourite actor, writer, director and internationally renowned cabaret performer Sarah-Louise Young (An Evening Without Kate Bush, Cabaret Whore, The Silent Treatment, Julie Madly Deeply) makes a much-anticipated return to this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe Festival with The Bob Ross Effect, a brand new show presented with Suzanna Rosenthal Productions.

Artist, animal-lover and unlikely sex symbol Bob Ross brought art into the living rooms of millions with The Joy of Painting, one the most watched TV art shows in history and now an online phenomenon still getting millions of views decades later. With his instantly recognisable big perm and soft-spoken encouragement to paint "happy little trees", Bob Ross has taught generation after generation to embrace their creativity.

Tickets - https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/1652-the-bob-ross-effect

OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk

IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES

Equity Toolkit: Link

Stellar Quines: Link

Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership

Email – [email protected]

Instagram - @persistentandnasty

Twitter - @PersistentNasty

Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets

LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE

Resources

Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK

ArtsMinds - BAPAM

Freelancers Make Theatre Work

Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK

Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE

ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE