RSA Edinburgh preview: Rob Copland & Paddy Young
Two of the sharpest acts bound for the Edinburgh Fringe road-test their new shows at RSA House — an intimate preview before festival crowds.
Why we picked this
Catching a Fringe-bound show in a 300-seat London room before it hits the festival circuit is a different experience — closer, less polished, and often funnier for both of those reasons.
Every June, the RSA turns its John Adam Street rooms into a stepping stone for performers heading to Edinburgh — and the Preview Season is where you get the first look. Rob Copland and Paddy Young take the stage on June 11, each performing a set of their new work in front of a London crowd before the shows are road-hardened for the Fringe.
Rob Copland and Paddy Young are among the acts the RSA has selected for this year’s preview run, chosen for the quality and originality of their material. The two-hour format gives each performer a full hour-length slot to develop the rhythm and shape of a show that will go on to play the biggest arts festival in the world.
The RSA venue — an intimate Georgian townhouse steps from the Strand — provides a setting that bears almost no resemblance to a festival tent, and that contrast is part of what makes preview nights work. The show is still being built; the audience is close enough to feel it.