Deli Theatre festival is an Edinburgh Festival Fringe preview festival in London.
The preview season can sometimes be hit and miss. Shows vary from a perfectly finished and ready to go full hour, to a not fully thought out collection of jokes, strung together by a rather frail thread.
But they’re totally worth the risk and the reasons are aplenty! If you’re trying to get an idea of the shows that you can check out while in Edinburgh; if you’re going up for a short period that won’t allow you to see everything you want to see; if you’re not going at all; if you just can’t wait! Previews are usually free or a cheap ticket price and you end up seeing a lot of great comedy near your doorstep – if that doorstep is in London.
There’s still a bit of a gender imbalance when you look through the comedy section of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s programme. It’s refreshing to see Deli Festival have such a good balance of acts and championing female acts.
Most nights of the festival are held at the Old Library in Camberwell, a bit out of the beaten path, which may make it a bit difficult for most to attend, but bringing comedy to places with less access to it is laudable.
Theatre Deli are an organisation that exists to give opportunities to artists, whether they are cheap rehearsal spaces, performance spaces, activities or events for creative practitioners. By attending Theatre Deli Festival you will not only be watching good comedy, supporting live comedy, much of which made by women, you will also be supporting Theatre deli in expanding opportunities for people to make and experience art.
For me personally it’s being a good opportunity to come up with some recommendations to share with you:
Jessie Cave: Sunrise – A show where she overshares about her relationship with her ex, with the help of puppets – really cool, unique and unexpected puppets – which she uses to help tell the stories in her life.
Elf Lyons: ChiffChaff – Elf’s attempt to be less silly and a bit more serious as both her agent and father suggested. The result is a musical where she teaches the audience about the economy. Serious but silly!
Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut – In this show, Felicity tells us about the relationship with her in-laws, her mum and partner. All the funnier things in one’s life!
Lauren Pattison: Peachy – In a bit of a turn from her show last year, Lauren tells us all about the reasons she is happy. The sentiment may have changed, but she’s still the same warm and authentic teller of jokes.
Theatre Deli Festival is running until the 28th July at the OId Library, Camberwell. Find out more here.
