EDFRINGE 2025: MONKEY BARREL COMEDY
Molly McGuinness
slob
MONKEY BARREL COMEDY
Cabaret Voltaire - CabVol 2
SLOB
28th July - 24th August
Time: 14:55
Photo Credit: Drew Forsyth
JULY, 4, 2025
Molly is ready to wow audiences with her frank, heartfelt, and hilariously honest new show about what it really means to be a slob. As she hit 30, while her friends were settling down, having kids, and hosting dinner parties for fun, Molly found herself living a very different kind of life, one fuelled by buffets and belting out Meatloaf at pub karaoke. After contracting Lemierre’s disease, a rare disease that affects one in one million people, Molly was placed into a medically induced coma and spent weeks recovering in intensive care. Molly now brings her story to the stage with unflinching honesty and razor-sharp wit.
Hi Molly, thank you for being part of our interview series for Edfringe 2025, with this being your debut Edfringe, any nerves?
Of course! Gigging everyday is mad but I’m up for the challenge. It’s hard to tell what’s
nerves or excitement.
What does it mean to you to bring Slob to Cabaret Voltaire this summer?
It’s so special. It’s a story that really means so much to me. Although it’s about me getting a really rare illness (1 in a million chance) it’s also a very universal story for people in their 30’s I think.
Are you looking forward to seeing much during your month up at the festival?
Alison Spittle, Rachel Kaly, Fella, Frankie Monroe, Paul Campbell, the cheese man who eats loads of cheese.
Can you tell me a little bit about Slob, what can fringe audiences expect?
It’s an ICU romance that includes a free buffet. With chat about Meat Loaf, Beans and CeX.
Did you have any apprehensions about creating and performing a show that comes from such a deeply personal space?
I did at first. When I first started gigging after being poorly from Lemierre Disease, I was still very vulnerable both mentally and physically. My body was weak, I’d had to shave my head from hair-loss from the coma and I was crying at basically anything. It felt cathartic to talk about it and there was so many funny things that happened during that time that I wanted to share, but I was still so sensitive so when anything would bomb I’d take it really personally.
I’ve gotten a lot stronger now and the material has also gotten a lot better so i don’t feel like that anymore.
Has it been cathartic reflecting back at this time and finding the humour in this experience?
Definitely. It’s so nice to do the show because it really closes the chapter on that part of my
life.
How have your WIP been going, during your run up to the festival have there been any major changes to Slob?
Yes, well I was originally going to go to the fringe last year with a different show called Slob but I couldn’t go because I was so sick. I ditched a lot of that material after being in a coma but I found some of the stories still connected so Slob is a merge between both shows. It’s about me before and after the illness basically. The show is still changing now but that’s what WIPs are for I guess but it still feels a bit scary.
"I worked at Ann Summers and two comedians worked at a stall across the road and I’d told them I’d always wanted to try stand up."
What would you say have been the most interesting thing you’ve discovered about yourself and about the experience you’ve been through?
To always listen to your body and trust in yourself. I’ve always thought of myself as quite dramatic and a bit of a baby. I’d been told I had tonsillitis but I was feeling sicker than I ever had been in my life. I went to A&E three times and kept getting sent back home without having any checks because they presumed it was nothing but I had sepsis. So that was deffo worth a dramatic reaction! I also learned that fentanyl is awesome!
What does Slob say about you and the type of comedy you want to create?
Neurodivergent best mate chats your ear off.
I always ask this, bit of an annoying question I grant you, but before heading out on stage do you have any superstitions or traditions?
I don’t actually but I probably should! I always end up chatting to someone before the show and then suddenly realise the time and panic because I’m not in “the zone.” I think it works though because overthinking before always reminds me of that horrible feeling before you take an exam and you’re convinced you’ve forgotten everything.
How do you unwind after a show?
Usually by eating the leftover sausage rolls.
Where did your passion for comedy come from?
I’d say it’s was a mix between goofy American things like Spongebob and Jackass and British stuff like Caroline Aherne and Steve Coogan.
What was your first time like out on stage?
Oh God, I was pissed it was probably so cringe. I worked at Ann Summers and two comedians worked at a stall across the road and I’d told them I’d always wanted to try stand up. Turned out they ran an open mic and invited me. I changed my mind last minute but they basically dragged me up. I had no material and thought I could just tell some funny stories. Luckily the audience were really nice and supportive. It took me quite about a month until I realised I had to actually write material.
Sell Slob in three words (no hyphens).
Sick, Sex, Sandwiches
And finally, what message would you like your audiences to take with them from Slob?
It’s cool to be a slob! Life is short and the worlds ending anyway, so let’s slob it up!