Having been to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2001 (Rubbernecker) and 2002 (first time as a solo act, with Bare Faced Ambition) Jimmy was back in August 2003 for this 3rd official attendance (not counting earlier ones, where he went as an observer). This was his solo tour Charm Offensive (not to be confused with the 2024-5 Charm Offensive Tour that he did with Jim Jefferies in Canada).
Written and performed by: Jimmy Carr
Edinburgh 2003 ran from July 11th to 21st.
No date on them but Shutterstock have half a dozen promo pics, taken in Edinburgh – here. And another one here.
The Oxford Mail wrote about how Jason Wood, Daniel Kitson and Jimmy had all been doing WIP gigs (work in progress, warm up, test gigs – whatever you want to call them) at the Old Oxford Fire Station.
In 2002 Jimmy had appeared at The Gilded Balloon and this Chortle story notes that the venue had been destroyed by a fire, over the New Year.
Having been in Montreal, Canada, in July (for Just For Laughs) Jimmy was at Edinburgh’s the Pleasance Courtyard (about 500 seats) for these dates:
- July 30th
- August 1st to 4th, 6th to 11th, 13th to 25th
At least 22 shows in all (he may have done 2 shows some nights, so it may have been 25) and he got 4 stars from The Guardian . This other Guardian article notes that, because Jimmy had been on TV, he is now considered a “star” and is therefore “too famous” to be considered for the Perrier Award.
On August 3rd he was at a Smirnoff Underbelly event, launching a promotional show (Smirnoff Comedy Mix). At this corporate event Fringe performers were chatting and serving drinks to punters.
On August 21st he was in the line up at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre (capacity around 1,900) for a Comedy Gala in aid of Waverley Care. The charity was founded in 1989 to create the first AIDS hospice (end of life care) and then expanded to also offer health support to people with Hepatitis C and HIV.
As I like to wrap some context around the comedians that Jimmy came through the trenches with – the comics seen at the Fringe 2003 included the ones below – with their show name indicated, where I could find it.
Note that lists like this are the people that have drifted in and out of Jimmy’s TV shows and career (and not just my favourites). As I’ve mentioned in other posts – when people wonder why these guys all appear on each other’s shows – they’ve known each other for 25+ years, bumping into each other at clubs and festivals. In no particular order…
- Bill Bailey (Part Troll)
- Mel and Sue
- Paul Tonkinson
- Bradley Walsh (From the Beginning to the End)
- Danny Bhoy
- Dave Gorman (Googlewhack Adventure)
- Daniel Kitson (A Made-up Story)
- Jo Brand (stand up show and play called Mental)
- Russell Howard
- John Bishop (Freefall)
- Sarah Kendall
- Dominic Frisby (Truth and Bullshit)
- Alan Carr (I Love Alan Carr)
- Frankie Boyle
- Adam Hills (Cut Loose)
- Tommy Tiernan (Tell Me a Story…)
- Alex Horne (Making Fish Laugh)
- Stephen K Amos
- David O’Doherty
- Fred Macaulay
- Reginald D Hunter (White Woman)
- Hal Cruttenden (To Hal and Back)
- Micky Flanagan
- Julian Clary (Natural Born Mincer)
- Andrew Maxwell
- Dara O’Briain
- Miles Jupp (Gentlemen Prefer Brogues)
- Andy Parsons
- Rich Hall (Without Roy Chubby Brown)
- John Oliver
- Rob Brydon (Marion and Geoff)
- Michael McIntyre
- Paul Foot (Most Wanted)
- Ross Noble (Unrealtime)
- Lucy Porter
- Paul Provenza (Myth America)
- Gina Yashere
Plus, an ad for an Amnesty event (Stand up for Freedom) was listed as including Ed Byrne, Dara O’Briain and Daniel Kitson.
The Fringe 2003 programme can be seen here and it’s worth a page through, just to see how different everyone looked.
The full list of Jimmy’s tours and links to posts can be seen here.
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