Entertainment
Comic Strip Presents… At The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Before The Young Ones, before Absolutely Fabulous, before alternative comedy became mainstream – there was The Comic Strip…
In August 2025, the trailblazing comedy collective returns to Edinburgh for the first time in 44 years with The Comic Strip Presents… Live at the Fringe – a five-show-only retrospective featuring exclusive screenings of their funniest and most iconic cult-classic films, followed by Q&As with original Comic Strip writer and director Peter Richardson and a different special guest each day all hosted by Robin Ince, the Sony Gold Award-winning co-host of The Infinite Monkey Cage.
The event marks a rare chance to see The Comic Strip Presents… on the big screen, as the team reflect on the movement that reshaped British comedy from the inside out.
Peter Richardson:
“It’s incredible to be bringing The Comic Strip back to Edinburgh over forty years and 40 films later. We started out pushing boundaries and causing trouble – and we’re still at it. This is a chance to celebrate our favourite moments that we’ve done, share some stories, and hopefully make people laugh all over again at the world’s greatest arts festival.”
In 1980, two double acts – Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson (20th Century Coyote), and Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson (The Outer Limits) – took to the stage at London’s Comedy Store alongside compere Alexei Sayle. A year later, Richardson struck a deal with Soho’s notorious Raymond Revuebar to start a new kind of comedy night in the Boulevard Theatre – and invited the same four performers to be the core of the show, with Sayle returning as compere.
He also brought in Arnold Brown, whose calm, laconic delivery came from an older generation of stand-up but whose material never relied on the racism or sexism that alternative comedy was pushing back against. Not wanting to create just another boys’ club, Richardson put out a call for women to join the team – and was answered by two brand-new performers who had barely done a handful of gigs: Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, who quickly became crowd favourites thanks to their sharp writing and fearless performances.
It quickly became the hottest ticket in town. Audiences were amazed by Alexei Sayle’s explosive energy, loved what Richardson and Planer were doing with their surreal double act, and couldn’t get enough of Mayall and Edmondson, whose wild, unpredictable chemistry lit up the stage. The queue stretched round the block, and even Jack Nicholson and Robin Williams turned up to watch. The Comic Strip was born.
After a sell-out tour (including a stop in Edinburgh), they landed a landmark TV commission: The Comic Strip Presents… which debuted on the opening night of Channel 4 in 1982. The first episode, Five Go Mad in Dorset, caused a media storm with its irreverent satire of Enid Blyton – but it paved the way for decades of boundary-pushing comedy.
Over the years, The Comic Strip would go on to create more than forty films, two feature-length movies (The Supergrass, Eat the Rich), and launch some of the biggest names in British comedy history. Actor Keith Allen joined the group for the television films, quickly becoming a much-loved regular part of the ensemble with his uniquely energetic and often anarchic performances.
Now, they’re back. For five shows only. ‘The Comic Strip Presents… Live at the Fringe’ offers fans old and new a chance to revisit the films that made them laugh, gasp, and occasionally write angry letters to Channel 4. With never-before-heard behind-the-scenes stories, rotating special guests, and a legacy that’s still shaping the comedy landscape today – this is a must-see event for anyone who cares about where British comedy came from, and where it might be going.
The Comic Strip Presents… Live at the Fringe
Dates: 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 August
Time: 13:30 (150 minutes)
Venue: Just the Tonic
Info: www.thecomicstrip.tv
