Two of Toronto’s best-loved gay comedians, Shawn Hitchins and Gavin Crawford, will soon pack their sassiest tartan G-strings and head to Scotland for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Hitchins has spent the last few months polishing his ginger-themed solo show, called Ginger Nation, which centres on his recent experience as a sperm donor. “I parallel that with trying to save gingers from extinction by making more of them, one lesbian at a time,” he says.
He’s excited that his hope of holding a ginger-pride parade in Edinburgh is on the verge of official approval: “On Aug 10, I’m going to try to rally 20 to 50 gingers to walk together as a community.” The parade will likely have fewer than 50 people, which is probably for the best, because gingers are like teens: one is fine, but a pack is terrifying.
Crawford, who recently won a Dora Award for his role as a 58-year-old British lady in Sky Gilbert’s A Few Brittle Leaves, gave Hitchins his first TV job years ago, on The Gavin Crawford Show. Hitchins claims not to have been very good but says Crawford was always very kind, and he’s thrilled that they’re going to Edinburgh at the same time.
Crawford’s performance, A Bummer Abroad, consists mostly of material from his live shows, including standup bits and character monologues. The punny name indicates his insecurity about performing for the first time at the notoriously overwhelming Edinburgh Fringe. It also prepares audiences for jokes about flouncy gay subjects, like gay sex, gay marriage and the homosexuality of Cole Porter.
“I don’t really know what to expect,” Crawford says. “But it’ll be fun to strike out internationally a little bit.”
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place Fri, Aug 2–Mon, Aug 26. edfringe.com
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