Edinburgh Fringe Artist Interview: Dan Bishop from Brainsluts

As so many shows prepare for their trip to Scotland in August, I am so excited to launch my Edinburgh Fringe 2025 Artist Interview series. I'm hoping to share some amazing shows with you, as I chat to the artists who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make them a reality! Today, I got the chance to chat to Dan Bishop who talks about the inspiration behind his upcoming play, advice for those who want to make a start in comedy and his excitement for the Edinburgh Fringe!

Without spoiling your show, what is Brainsluts?

Brainsluts is a comedy play set in a clinical drugs trial: across five Sundays, five strangers swap stories about what made them sign up to the study, divulge bizarre details about their personal lives and do pretty much anything they can to fill the silence. Something the participants have in common is that they’re all struggling to gain full time employment and they think society needs radical change.

However, despite their strong convictions that something must be done, they are - unfortunately - deeply clueless about what exactly they must do.

How did this show come to fruition?

So, I wrote this play because I wanted to write about work, its bleakness and its absurdity. For years now, I’ve found myself moving from one short-term contract to the next, often working multiple jobs at the same time, and feeling like the work I’m doing is either meaningless, boring or evil. So, I wanted to

write about that feeling of stress and hopelessness, but I also wanted to make it really funny. I ended up asking lots of my comedian friends to act in the play and thankfully they said yes. Lots of them are doing their own solo shows up at the Fringe as well, and the fact that they’re working two jobs simultaneously throughout the month feels cruelly in keeping with the show’s themes…

Why do you think this show is an important one for audiences to see?

Well, I think patchwork careers are really common at the moment, but maybe even more so for those working in the arts, so I think Fringe audiences will really get what these characters are going through.

Also, I think there is part of the show that is trying to shed light on the illogical nature of modern working

practices and Fringe feels like the perfect place to poke fun at an issue while also starting a bigger conversation.  I’m still always in awe of people who can figure out a way of constructing a livable life, by which I mean someone who has a stable, happy existence where they make enough money to live in the place they want to live in but they also remember people’s birthdays and stuff like that. That just feels so

beyond my skill set as a person, so whenever I meet someone like that, it feels like I’ve met an angel or a magician. But, if you’re a person like me, who constantly feels like a failure, I hope the play shows that there’s maybe this quiet dignity in not being able to make your life work in the way you want it to.

How are you feeling about performing at the Edinburgh Fringe?

Well, from my experience of Edinburgh, if I go up and I’m not performing I get incredibly jealous of everyone who is, and if I go up and I am performing, I almost immediately want to fake my own death and move abroad indefinitely. So, all in all, good I think?

What advice would you give somebody who wants to pursue a career in theatre

and comedy?

Well, I really don’t think I’m in any position to be giving advice, but what I would say is: if at first you don’t succeed, try and try and try again and then swiftly give up, retrain and become something useful like a cat-sitter or a chemist.

And finally, why should I buy a ticket to see Brainsluts?

Well, our aim is to make you laugh as much as any sketch show/stand up hour at the Fringe, but on top of that, the show also has a lot of heart. I deliberately cast comedians, but as well as being fantastically funny, they also are great actors and bring so much tenderness to the characters. You will be completely

charmed by them.

Ticket Information and Show Times for Brainsluts.

Brainsluts runs until the 25th of August at the Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), Bristo Square, Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Show time is at 2:45PM. Tickets can be accessed through the Edinburgh Fringe website.