LINUS KARP WAS HIT WITH AN UMBRELLA Will Come to Edinburgh Fringe

Awkward Prods, the award-winning creators of Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, Gwyneth Goes Skiing and The Fit Prince, will return to Edinburgh Fringe with a more personal and introspective show (albeit still with their own brand of anarchic queer celebratory style): Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella. Performances will run 5th - 30th August.

For the first time, Awkward Prods will be tackling a true story, filtered through their distinctive blend of comedic performance, storytelling and theatrical invention.

In July 2024, shortly before taking Gwyneth Goes Skiing to the Edinburgh Fringe, Linus Karp and Joseph Martin - a couple of eleven years - were walking through London holding hands when out of nowhere, a man approached them, struck Linus across the head with an umbrella, and shouted disturbing homophobic slurs. Joseph chased the attacker, tackled him to the ground, and restrained him until the police arrived. The man was arrested at the scene.

Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella takes that incident as its starting point and follows everything that came after: the shock of the attack, the slow legal process that followed, and the emotional aftermath of being targeted for being visibly queer - and in London's Soho, a historically queer part of the capital. 

Now, with some distance from the event, Linus returns to that moment, to examine its lasting impact - from the immediate shock to the way it has shaped his everyday life as a queer person. The show explores the unease that can follow: around acts as simple as holding hands in public, and a heightened awareness of risk in spaces once taken for granted, alongside the more complex emotional aftermath of the incident, including the dissonance of processing violence whilst grappling with unexpected feelings of sympathy towards the person responsible. Linus also reflects on performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the immediate aftermath of the attack - stepping back onto stage and in front of audiences whilst still processing what happened. 

Moving beyond memoir, the final section of the show transforms the stage into a fictionalised trial, where the structures of justice can be reimagined, and the questions left unanswered in real life can finally be confronted. In putting the attacker theatrically on trial, Linus creates space to examine the realities of hate crime, the limits of legal resolution, and what it means to seek closure when no verdict ever came.

Despite its more serious subject matter, Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella remains rooted in Awkward Prods' signature style: witty, queer and distinctly theatrical, with audience-interaction and multimedia elements woven in. True to their work, the show blends dark humour with absurdity and playfulness throughout. 

In 2025, Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, a real-life couple of eleven years, made headlines when they became the first couple to legally marry on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the festival's official programme. This year, their work continues to share personal aspects of a queer relationship, looking at how to navigate through a traumatic hate crime. 

Performed solo by Linus Karp, with Joseph Martin as stage manager and creative collaborator, the show is developed with dramaturgy from Olivier Award nominee Haley McGee (Age Is A Feeling) and produced by Awkward Prods, alongside Eric Kuhn for Eric Kuhn Productions, and Doulla Croft and Sam Goodman for Side Hustle Productions and Chris Darby for Daddy's Money, with David Thomas Tao as Associate Producer.

Eric Kuhn is a three-time Tony Award-winning producer, marking his first collaboration with Awkward Prods and his first time presenting work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

Side Hustle Productions develops and produces work for stage, screen, and beyond - stories that foster empathy, build community, and endure. This also marks their first time presenting work at the Fringe.

Daddy's Money Productions invests in, develops and stages live performances spanning musical theatre to cabaret. They are driven by the desire to share new stories, elevate queer voices for all audiences, and create unique experiences.

Awkward Prods will also be performing their previous sell-out cult hit Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story during the final week of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Underbelly, Bristo Square (Ermintrude), 24th - 30th August, 10pm)). 

Biographies

Linus Karp is a queer Swedish actor, writer and director. He is the creator and performer of  Gwyneth Goes Skiing, Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story, The Fit Prince (who gets switched on the square in the frosty castle the night before (insert public holiday here)) and how to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit movie musical ‘Cats'.

Joseph Martin is an actor, writer and musician. Training: East 15. Previous credits include Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (Layered Reality), Sir Quentin Blake's The Green Ship (UK Tour) and Count Magnus (BBC). He co-founded Awkward Prods with Linus Karp in 2017 and has worked as a Producer for BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4.

Haley McGee is a writer and actor. Her solo show Age is a Feeling (Fringe First and an Olivier nomination) has played sold-out runs in Edinburgh, London (Soho Theatre) and Toronto and has been translated and produced in over 10 languages. Her solo The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale has been adapted into a book of the same name, published by Hachette.

Eric Kuhn is a producer of TV, films, documentaries, and theatre on the West End and Broadway. Eric has earned three Tony Awards, a Peabody, two GLAAD awards, a BIFA, and numerous other awards. Recent credits include: Grand Theft Hamlet (streaming on Mubi), Cats: Jellicle Ball (on Broadway), Born with Teeth (West End) and Invasive Species (Vineyard Theatre and The King's Head Theatre).

Doulla Croft has 28 years of experience in digital marketing and over a decade of experience investing in theatre — including Room (US Tour & Broadway), Six The Musical (UK & Broadway), Choir of Man, 42 Balloons, and What It Means. 

Sam Goodman leads the Theatre & Immersive team at Lee & Thompson, one of the UK's leading law firms for the creative industries. He has a practical understanding of how productions are developed, financed, and brought to life. 

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