Edinburgh Festival show in which comedians go head-to-head in boozy moots has run extended amid stars’ desperation to have a go
A courtroom-themed show that has been put on at this year’s Edinburgh festival by a law graduate has proved a huge hit not only with audiences and reviewers, but also comedians.
‘This is Your Trial’ — the creation of Leicester University law graduate Dave Allison — pits comedians against each other in the role of barristers in a mock trial of an audience member.
It began featuring relative small fry from the comedy world, but, as word of the opportunity to have a go at being a barrister circulated around Edinburgh, the show has attracted bigger and bigger fish. To date, Marcus Brigstocke (pictured), Phill Jupitus (pictured below) and Al Murray (pictured above) have all donned wigs and participated.
Yesterday, the organisers announced on their Facebook page that they were putting on an extra show because of “comedians who can’t get enough”.
Here is a full list of participants to date.
Among a host of favourable reviews, The Mirror has described ‘This is Your Trial’ as a “noisy, boozy and very funny hour” that is “very much the essence of the Fringe and is where the anarchic, un-corporate spirit of the festival lives on”.
All in all, not a bad way for Allison to combine his twin passions for law and comedy. Of the show — which has been partially bankrolled by Scottish law firm Inksters — Allison reflected:
“This is a show inspired by law, I studied it, love the practice of it, but love comedy a little bit more. Somehow I’ve found a way to combine the two. For a change, lawyers can come do jury service in our audience, poacher turned gamekeeper, or is it the other way around?”
A clip of some of the action is below.