Portsoy stand-up comedian Robin Grainger returns to the north-east with Aberdeen gig one year after viral Edinburgh Fringe fame

IT has been a whirlwind year for Portsoy comedian Robin Grainger, who took the Edinburgh Fringe Festival by storm in 2022 with a show that started with just one audience member. One year later, the comedian will return to the north-east with a gig at the Blue Lamp in Aberdeen.

The comedian, who is originally from Portsoy but moved to Edinburgh to pursue a career in comedy, made headlines last year after performing his entire fringe act on opening night to just one person. The unique show went viral and following his successful run at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, Robin is going on tour with a performance in Aberdeen on October 20. The Aberdeen show is also the day before Robin's birthday, making it his perfect birthday present this year.

One year on from his unexpected viral success, Robin's experience at Edinburgh Fringe was very different this year. He said: "It was like night and day honestly. Opening night in 2022, one person showed up, and then it went a bit mad. But on opening night this year, it was sold out, and then every subsequent show was sold out or nearly sold out - one show was oversold! It was amazing, I've been really, really busy the whole month. It was such a change from how things started the year before; it was incredible."

Reflecting on his journey from one audience member to sold-out shows, Robin said: "The feedback over the festival was amazing, so I want to try and get the show out to as many people as I can. A lot of people from Portsoy and Banff came to see me at the Fringe too; almost every day there was someone local there, which was phenomenal. So, I want to really try and take it a bit closer to home so people who want to can come and see it. The support from people from home is amazing and I'm very thankful for it."

Robin and his original one audience member Mike Cass, have also maintained a close friendship, Mike featured on his flyer for this year's show and even showed up to surprise him at the fringe. Robin said: "The show starts with me talking about last year, and I jump in and out of that story. So there's a bit in the show where I talk about Mike turning up to a different show by accident, and then Mike heckled from the other side of the room to go along with the heckle in the story. It was baffling. Everybody cheered and wanted their picture with him afterwords, and I was pretty speechless. He's lovely and we keep in touch, it's very wholesome."

While Robin is still based in Edinburgh, he travels far and wide to perform and regularly makes trips to Aberdeen and his hometown. On a recent visit, he even received some recognition from the village's ice cream shop. He added: "They took a photo of me and put it on their Instagram with the caption: 'World's best ice cream and world's best comedian.' It's great to be put on the same level as the ice cream."

Between the two Fringe festivals, Robin has maintained a busy schedule, balancing his comedy career with a job as a support worker. Following his viral success, he performed gigs in various cities across the UK, has performed on The One Show and has been recognised by people across the UK. He said "It doesn't seem to matter where I go; people have heard of it, its lovely but still quite surreal."

Tickets for Robin's show An Audient with Robin Grainger are available online at https://www.thebluelampaberdeen.com/

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