Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Don’t Disturb the Driver

Don’t Disturb the Driver, theSpace, 12 to 24 August (except 18) 6:10pm, £10/8 (£8/6 concessions)

Velvet Trumpet presents the world premiere of this intimate Welsh comedy exploring the difficulties of finding fulfilment with life behind the wheel.

Set in a Welsh bus station, the story unfolds on the morning of the big drive with Will trying to reconcile this career milestone with the lack of achievement in his personal life. Bombarded by the absurd enthusiasm of hapless coach inspector Clive and the indifference of everyone else, Will struggles to keep his real feelings in check and get through the day.

The play is written by Thomas Jones and Nikolai Ribnikov. Along with production manager Samuel Gregory, these three Welsh exiles formed Velvet Trumpet in 2012 in South London. With an eye for finding comedy in the seemingly most mundane of settings, Jones & Ribnikov relish delving into the humour and pathos of unexplored occupations and unexamined lives.

Their offbeat approach to storytelling is mirrored by the company’s inventive fundraising efforts. Jones and Ribnikov walked 200 miles from London to Swansea in December to raise money for their play. As if the physical challenge wasn’t enough, they decided to document the walk in character through video diaries in order to showcase more of their comedic writing.