Catherine Cohen on falling into comedy and acting dreams

When Catherine Cohen first came to the Fringe, she was flyering for other people’s shows.

Eleven years on, she is enjoying a month-long run in Edinburgh with her second comedy hour, she has a successful Netflix special, an upcoming album, and a growing acting career that will see her star alongside Hollywood icons Steve Martin and Martin Short next week.

“I came here in 2013, right after I graduated college, and I was here for the full month handing out flyers and partying all night. I was like, this is the best place ever,” laughed the Texan. “So when I moved to New York and got into comedy, I thought I should come back here.”

Fringe success

That debut, called The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous, won her a best newcomer award at the festival and it went on to become her Netflix special.

“It was so stressful doing the Fringe the first time – anyone who does the month for the first time is totally overwhelmed. I kind of sequestered myself and didn’t socialise or go out at all, so it was really nice to win the award at the end and it felt like I was being rewarded for all my hard work. I know that doesn’t happen all the time. I was just happy to have completed all the shows, so the award felt like the cherry on top.”

Catherine did a work-in-progress show in Edinburgh in 2022 and was due to come back last year, but a health scare forced her to cancel her run at the last minute and reschedule for this summer instead.

“I’ve been touring this current show for two years, so this will be its last hurrah. It’s a nice way to finish the run. After this, I’m doing one big show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London, and we also taped it in June as a comedy special which will go out on Veeps, Live Nation’s streaming platform, in October. Then I’m kissing it goodbye and starting to work on the next one.

“The first show was very much about my 20s and dating in New York, while this one is about me entering my 30s and being more settled down but still existentially unhappy. I talk about being in a long-term relationship and freezing my eggs.”

TV credits

Catherine says she had time during the pandemic to work on the second show but is wondering when she will have head space to come up with new material this time round, as she also has a growing acting career.

She has featured in acclaimed comedies like What We Do In The Shadows, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens and High Maintenance, as well as the Disney+ reboot of Home Alone. She will also be seen in the fourth series of Only Murders In The Building, the murder-mystery comedy starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, which begins on Disney+ on August 27.

“I can’t wait to see it,” Catherine smiled. “That was obviously totally surreal. I grew up a huge fan of Steve Martin and Martin Short, and of Molly Shannon, who I got to work with on it as well. I was so nervous, but everyone was so warm and they are masters of their craft. I was just a fly on the wall, happy to be there and play a small part in the world they’ve created.”

She added: “I started out wanting to be an actress and then I fell into comedy, and in a roundabout way that’s got me into acting, which has always been my dream. I feel I’ve grown so much by performing stand-up, so it’s really fun to go into the audition room with a lot more confidence.

“It was nerve-wracking when I first moved to New York, but now I go into those rooms and feel like I’ve got what they need. And no matter what someone else says, I know I can work on my own material as opposed to waiting for someone else’s permission to do things.”

Catherine Cohen: Come For Me, Pleasance Courtyard – Forth, Edinburgh, until Aug 25 (except Tue-Wed), 10pm