LIVE FROM THE EDINBURGH FRINGE: Dan Tiernan & Compagnia Bellanda

Outcast World is back from its summer break — and we’re in Scotland for the Edinburgh Fringe. From now until the Fringe wraps up, Graeme is getting immersed in the biggest arts festival in the world, taking in the queer and queer-adjacent culture of Edinburgh and meeting some of the best comedians, artists, musicians and performers in town. And yes, Outcast has brought the campervan. We’ll be bringing you new interviews and special episodes from Edinburgh over the next few weeks, alongside some classic conversations from the Outcast Fringe archives. First up, Dan Tiernan. Gay, dyspraxic and ferociously funny, Dan has become one of the most exciting names in British comedy. We head back into the Outcast archives to hear what happened when Graeme caught up with him at the Fringe as his career was taking off. Then we meet Compagnia Bellanda, an independent Italian dance company from Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy’s far north-east. Founded by creative partners Giovanni and Claudia, the company takes Giovanni’s roots in breakin’ and hip hop culture and pushes them into contemporary performance. They’re in Edinburgh with *Il canto dell’assiolo* — *The Song of the Scops Owl* — a 45-minute duet using the haunting, repetitive call of a tiny Italian bird as a metaphor for intimacy, desire, tenderness, control and relationships that never quite resolve. It’s the first stop as Outcast World gets immersed in Edinburgh Fringe for the next few weeks. Comedy. Art. Music. Performance. Queer culture. Queer-adjacent culture. Old friends and new discoveries. Graeme is in Scotland for Outcast — and there’s a lot more to come.