Welsh, working-class firebrands The Death Hilarious bring their debut hour to the Edinburgh Fringe. The Scum Always Rises houses a parade of otherworldly souls as daft as they are dark, portrayed by a duo whose references range from Cormac McCarthy to menus at seafood restaurants to that rambling alkie you sometimes see hanging around the bus stop.
Terrifying and joyous, satirical and utterly puerile, The Death Hilarious embody numerous distorted fiends: Creole exorcists, hapless businessmen desperately trying to monetize laughter, a homemade sex robot, the unlikely adventures of John Merrick, and probably most horrifying of all – themselves. This is character comedy that threatens to break out into a vicious fight.
Ambient music and film projections immerse the audience in their idiosyncratic world – imagine Little Britain directed by Ken Russell – as The Death Hilarious roam the aisles, holding people hostage or freeing them of the devil’s influence.
They never sleep, these boys. They are dancing, dancing. They say that they will
never die.
The Death Hilarious are Darren J. Coles and Glenn Wade. They began working together on a podcast series set in the South Wales valleys before forming The Death Hilarious and creating their peculiar brand of humour both in film and through their live work. They were finalists of the Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award 2015 and winners of the 2016 Sketch Screen Award at London SketchFest. Regulars on the Welsh comedy circuit, their previous appearances
also include BBC Radio 4, Machynlleth Comedy Festival and Knock2bag.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2 – 27 August (not 16), 10.45pm, Pleasance Attic
Tickets here https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/death-hilarious-the-scum-always-rises
