'It’s basically a month-long bubble bath...': Edinburgh Fringe Q&A

After making her Fringe debut in 2022, Bella Hull returns to the festival this year with her latest hour, Piggie.

This year, she’s looking at appetites and our lack of control over them, as well as authenticity.

Here, Bella answers our festival questions…

How are you feeling ahead of returning to the Fringe?

I feel totally relaxed and in control. I have never felt this relaxed about anything! Everyone else is really relaxed too. It’s basically a month-long bubble bath!

What’s your show all about?

My show is about catatonic chihuahuas, fruitcake, and the legacy of Jesus Christ. I wanted to do a really relatable show this year. I wanted to write the most relatable show of all time. I think I have!

How pleased were you with the response to your debut show, and what have you learned from it that you’re bringing to this year’s?

My debut show was the most successful project the Fringe had ever seen. People were giving me standing ovations even before they’d sat down. It’s going to be really tough to top that this year, but I’m going to try, mainly with pyrotechnics and bullfighting (live). I’m really grateful to be able to be more authentic as a performer now that the pressure of my debut is out of the way.

You recently started co-hosting the Rats of the Roundtable podcast – how much have you been enjoying that?

It’s been great fun. There don’t seem to be any other podcasts that are just two friends talking about stuff, so we really managed to fill the gap in the market. We’ll be recording some episodes during the Fringe too, hopefully – so keep your eyes peeled for that! There’s due to be a bin strike during August this year, so there will already be lots of rats, but I hope two more won’t hurt.

If you were in charge of the Fringe, what changes would you make?

I’d clone Phoebe Waller Bridge a thousand times and release all of her clones onto the streets and then film it as a documentary. I think that would be really interesting from an anthropology perspective 🙂