Mixtape bring Edinburgh Fringe preview to Tyneside

Comedy theatre outfit Mixtape is to preview their Edinburgh Festival show in Newcastle next month, before heading to this year’s Fringe.

The Newcastle-based group, who perform bite-sized sketches inspired by music, will be making their festival debut with their part theatre, part pop quiz show at Edinburgh’s Underbelly in August.

But before they head over the border, Mixtape will be previewing a selection of their best sketches on Friday 24 July at Newcastle’s Live Theatre.

During the show, performers known as Mixtapers turn song lyrics into mini comedy sketches, with each show during the Festival’s run inspired by a different music genre. Themes due to make an appearance at Cowgate’s Belly Laughs venue include The 80’s, Brit Pop, Girl Bands vs. Boy Bands, Solo Stars and Rock ‘n’ Roll Jukebox.

The show’s rules state that only the lyrics from the song can be used to form the script, and the running time of the sketch must not be longer than the track that inspired it. The lyrics can be reordered and repeated in any way that the Mixtape writers choose, but no additional words can be used to form the play’s script (bar the occasional improvised ad-lib).

Audiences are encouraged to play along, and every night punters have the chance to win the highly coveted Golden Mixtape; providing they manage to correctly guess the songs and artists that inspired each short sketch. During the show’s Fringe run, there will also be prizes for the best musically inspired audience costume.

Conceived by theatre director and writer Melanie Rashbrooke, Mixtape’s cast of writers and performers also includes guests such as Traverse 50 writer Alison Carr (Fat Alice, Traverse), Lee Mattinson (who won the Royal Exchange’s inaugural Hodgkiss Award in 2014) and Nina Berry (Rendezvous, Live Theatre).

• Mixtape: Edinburgh Festival Preview, Live Theatre, Newcastle Friday 24 July, 7.30pm. Tickets: £8 full price, £6 concession, available online or from the Live Theatre box office on 0191 232 1232.
• Mixtape: Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Belly Laughs, at Underbelly Cowgate (venue 61), Thursday 6 – Sunday 30 August, 10.20pm. Tickets: £11 – £7 full price, £10 – £7 concession, available online or from the Underbelly box office on 0844 545 8252.