Culture

Beatris Khamidullaeva
18 July 2023

Embracing the Rhythm of Ballet: Beatris Khamidullaeva's Passion for Dance
Hailing from the Sovereign Republic of Karakalpakstan in Central Asia, 23-year-old ballerina Beatris Khamidullaeva has captured the hearts of audiences with her graceful presence on the stage. Her journey from ...

Amy Gledhill
1 August 2022

Comedian Amy Gledhill shares how comedy has helped her mental health
Stand-up comedy feels intrinsically linked to mental health. We all know the trope of the ‘sad clown’ and how huge swathes of comedians battle with depression and anxiety in their ...

Jess Robinson
14 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Jess Robinson shares how comedy has helped her mental health
Do I think laughter is the best medicine? Nope.  Depression and anxiety is something I’ve battled with since my early teens… so about 5 years (insert winky face emoji here). ...

Siblings
14 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Siblings share how comedy has helped their mental health
Written by Marina Bye Probably one of the most soothing things for mental illness is escape. I know from my own experience of anxiety and depression, when the thoughts become ...

Hannah Fairweather
14 July 2022

Edinbrugh Fringe Festival: Hannah Fairweather shares what playing golf has taught her about comedy
There is only one thing that ties my haphazard CV together - my seemingly unwavering desire to steal jobs god intended for straight white men. I grew up playing golf ...

Jess Fostekew by Mark Stronge
14 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Jess Fostekew shares how comedy has helped her mental health
The first recorded use of the phrase ‘laughter is the best medicine’ was 1611, which makes sense because that’s over 200 years before they discovered penicillin. Don’t get me wrong, ...

Esther Manito
14 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Esther Manito shares how comedy has helped her mental health
Anyone who knows me on the circuit knows me as that comic in the green room that is riddled with stage fright, obsessing nervously over every single one of my ...

Abigail Rolling
6 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Abigail Rolling on moving from courtroom to comedy
The babysitter was downstairs on her third helping of apple crumble when I slipped into my parents’ bedroom and switched on their tiny black and white portable TV. On screen, ...

Sasha Ellen
4 July 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Does a work-life balance exist at the Fringe? by Sasha Ellen
FOMO is one of the cornerstones of the Edinburgh Fringe. As a performer there are so few hours of the day when you don’t feel like you can, and therefore ...

Jamie D'Souza by Natasha Pszenicki
27 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Fesitval 2022: Jamie D'Souza shares how comedy has helped his mental health
I really love doing comedy. I love getting to watch a load of shows, I love the friends I’ve met through gigs and I love performing. People are often surprised ...

The Sugarcoated Sisters
27 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: The Sugarcoated Sisters share how comedy helped their mental health
I (Tabby) have type 1 diabetes. I've suffered with anxiety since I was diagnosed in my teens (something to do with suddenly being in total control of my own mortality ...

Antony Devito by Mindy Tucker
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Anthony Devito shares how comedy has helped his mental health
We all know the idea of the stand up comedian as the “sad clown.” But I see us differently. Imagine if you could test pilot your thoughts and stories on ...

Red Richardson
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Red Richardson shares how comedy has helped his mental health
Stand up is the best and worst thing for my mental health, if it goes well there is no better feeling in the world and when it doesn’t it feels ...

Luca Cupani by Steve Ullathorne
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Luca Cupani shares how comedy has affected his mental health
I remember that once when I was a kid, my cousin made a joke and my mum burst out in big joyous laughter. I was amazed by that reaction: it ...

Michael Akadiri by Garry Carbon
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Michael Akadiri shares how comedy helps his mental health
Doctors are seen as the bastions of health; yet paradoxically with its mentally exhausting long hours it’s a profession that I know first-hand, challenges one’s psychological wellbeing. Without ‘Sanity Strategies’ ...

Eryn Tett, Kayt Webster Brown
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Comedian Eryn Tett shares how comedy has helped her mental health
How does comedy help my mental health? At the first glance of this question I’m like…I’m really not sure it does. It’s not as if comedy is inherently enjoyable, in ...

Michelle Shaughnessy by Steve Ullathorne
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Michelle Shaughnessy shares how comedy has helped her mental health
I uprooted my happy life in Toronto and a few months later and moved to the UK on a whim. I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t know what I was ...

Finlay Christie by Piers Alladyce
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Finlay Christie shares how comedy has helped his mental health
Comedy is a uniquely exhilarating communal experience. Laughter releases tension, and watching comedy night after night presumably makes your brain release all sorts of happy chemicals. It’s great for the ...

Aliya Kanani by Monica Pronk
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Aliya Kanani shares how comedy has aided her mental health
My connection to comedy started long before my comedy career. Making folks laugh was not even something I calculated, it was just part of my personality. I was that funny ...

Anna Clifford
23 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe: Anna Clifford shares how comedy has helped her mental health
I’ve sat at the edge of my life multiple times, peering over, and finding peace in the finality of it all. It took me 31 years to realize that ‘fear’ ...

John Hastings by Mandee Johnson
7 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: John Hastings discusses comedy and mental health
How does comedy help my mental health? I have no idea what to do with my mental health in the same way I do not know what to do with ...

Alison Spittle by Karla Gowlett
6 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Alison Spittle shares how comedy has helped her mental health
When I was thirteen I punched a jacket potato into the floor. It became clear to my parents and my school, I needed some professional help and there was no ...

Helen Bauer by James Deacon
6 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Helen Bauer shares why comedy helps her mental health
In the summer of 2018 I was at my lowest. Nothing had happened, in fact technically everything was going well. I was renting a lovely flat in London with some ...

Sikisa
6 June 2022

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022: Sikisa shares how comedy has helped her mental health
“I have no idea how you do it.” This is something I get told a lot in regards to the fact that I do comedy. “Do you even sleep?” is ...