THE MERMAID to Make Edinburgh Fringe Debut with Eleanor Morton
THE MERMAID explores mythology, beauty standards, and womanhood, following Morton's BBC Radio 4 special.
Following her BBC Radio 4 show 'Eleanor & Pals', award-winning comedian Eleanor Morton returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a stand up show all about mermaids and why she wants to be one, even though she can't swim.
The Mermaid is a thoughtful, funny and personal show that uses mythology to explore how we're taught to be women, wanting to be beautiful, 2000s magazine sex tips, rat boyfriends, and James Cameron's submarine. Blending history and folklore with her own experiences, Eleanor plunges into the murky depths of fear-based sex education, medical gender bias, beauty standards and society's confusion around what it means to be a woman. Ultimately, The Mermaid is about claiming control over your own body and story, and finding freedom not in fantasy, but in refusing to suffer quietly.
Eleanor Morton is a stand-up, writer and actor from Edinburgh. She is well known for her online sketch characters like Craig the Tourguide, which have amassed nearly half a million followers, boast millions of likes and have gained her fans such as Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean and Taika Waititi.
Having started performing stand up aged 18, Eleanor now performs at clubs and festivals all over the UK and has provided tour support for Josie Long, Tony Law, Frankie Boyle, Stewart Francis and Lost Voice Guy. She has enjoyed sell-out runs and rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2014, with three of her shows now available to watch on NextUp Comedy and her most recent show Haunted House being awarded The Terrier Award. She is also a performer with the award-winning alternative comedy group Weirdos Comedy.
Eleanor's BBC Radio 4 special 'Eleanor & Pals' was broadcast in February 2026 and she has her own podcast Eleanor & Alasdair Read That revisiting kids books with Alasdair Beckett-King. She's appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio Scotland's Breaking the News and recorded a BBC Radio 4 stand up special, The Rest of Us about over-looked figures in UK history. Eleanor has also been heard on BBC Podcast You're Dead to Me and has written for The Newsquiz, The Now Show, Newsjack, Hypothetical and The Beano among other projects. Her first book Life Lessons from Historical Women, described as 'Maddeningly Funny' by Dawn French, was published in August 2024.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
VENUE: Monkey Barrel Comedy, Cabaret Voltaire 1, 36-38 Blair St, Edinburgh, EH1 1QR
DATES: 6th - 30th August (except Mondays and Tuesdays)
TIME: 1pm (55mins)
AGE GUIDANCE: 16+ (Restriction)
TICKET PRICES: £8 - £15
BOX OFFICE: edfringe.com
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