Interview: Aidan Sadler, ‘MELODY’

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Aidan Sadler about MELODY. 

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far?

I’m a cabaret artist originally from a grubby little town called Gravesend. I now reside in an equally grubby little town called London! I rose up at a relatively late age in the fringe circuit with my first ever show after the Pandemic - naturally the show was about mental health and healing (punctuated with 80’s synthwave music). Since then I’ve toured, done west end bits and gone international in the space of about 3 years. It’s been mental!

What is MELODY about?

So Melody is a show about surviving the end of the world (it’s a comedy, I promise). I wrote some hilarious songs with my band about the ever inflating price of a meal deal, staying inside so you can “just get on with it” and a ballad on being (apologetically) non binary. It’s a really fun night out and I’ve tried embarking on taking relatively serious topics and adding levity to them by being a big gay idiot.

What was the inspiration for MELODY and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

I actually wrote the original iteration of Melody in the 2-week leadup to the festival. I’d just quit my residency due to them not paying me and felt angsty and like making some cool anarchic stuff. Since then the music has been entirely reworked (by my band and our fabulous guest composers) to be as utterly offensive to the senses as possible. We’re now trying to cut the thing down, which naturally as someone who loves the sound of their own voice is soul destroying! 

What made you want to take MELODY to the Fringe?

As mentioned before, last year's fringe was a last-minute knee-jerk decision. Having only announced the show 2 weeks before the festival started (thus missing all the PR and marketing other shows had), we ended up receiving three 5 & 4 star reviews (and an award nomination). I figured the Melody needed the run it actually deserved and to break out of a cult following into a more mainstream one!

Why should people book MELODY?

As an artist I’m one of the last bastions of true grassroots fringe cabaret. My work doesn’t have some big budget or massive company behind me. Just a collaboration of cool, interesting artists who believe in making art for art’s sake! Also the 5 star reviews. And the award nomination. And because I’m good!

When and where can people see MELODY?

Melody is on at The Voodoo Rooms Ballroom from 2nd-25th August with no Mondays because mummy needs a rest!