BBC New Comedy Award winner, Japanese Londoner Yuriko Kotani, was about to make a change and have a fresh start in her life… Then ‘kaiju’ showed up. If you want to know what kaiju is, you will have to see the show! We caught up with Yuriko about returning to Edinburgh, keeping healthy and taking chances on new shows while you’re there!
Funny Women: Tell us about your show.
Yuriko Kotani: It’s called Kaiju About. It’s about myself, a Japanese person living in London. I was about to make a change and have a fresh start in my life. Then something happened…
I’m going to tell stories and my thoughts through the journey from my experiences as well as the challenges. I’ve been working very hard to create this show. It’d be great if you can come and see it!
Do you think everyone has a Kaiju?
That’s an interesting question and thank you for asking me. But I don’t want to spoil it now. So all I would like to say is please come to see the show and find it out!
FW: How does it feel to be returning to a ‘back to normal’ Edinburgh Fringe?
YK: I’m very excited and so grateful. Edinburgh Fringe is one of the biggest art festivals in the whole world and I can get to be a part of it – I’m so looking forward to performing every day to a live audience as well as watching lots of live shows there.
FW: Have you got any tips for comedians going up to the festival for the first time?
YK: Enjoy and have fun! Also please don’t forget to have plenty of sleep, water, and vegetables during the festivals. Walk around and see what’s there, take a chance and go into the venues, watch shows by taking a chance – you might discover a show that is so incredible and you’ll be in love.
FW: Who are the funny women are you hoping to see in Edinburgh this year?
YK: There are so many funny women at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022! I’d like to watch as many shows as possible and I hope we can inspire each other there!
If I shall pick one to write here (although there are so so many…), I’d like to see Adele Cliff’s show In the Dark. She is brilliant and a great joke writer (she is a winner of the UK Pun Champion). I’ve been trying to write many one-liner jokes during the lockdown and I really respect and admire everyone who can write great one-liners! So I’m looking forward to seeing her new show this year. Her show is on at 3:40pm at The Tron.
Yuriko Kotani’s new Edinburgh show Kaiju About will be at the Pleasance Dome – 10 Dome at 7.10pm for the month of August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com
