Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#132): S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger, SLUGS

As anticipation builds for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, we’re catching up with a range of exciting creatives preparing to bring their work to the world’s largest arts festival this August. In this series, we delve into the stories behind the shows, the inspiration driving the artists, and what audiences can expect. Today, we’re joined by S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger to find out more about SLUGS.

1. Can you begin by telling us about your show and what inspired it? 

SLUGS is an electro-punk/comedy/puppet duo, who in the muck of 2020s have devised a perfect show for our time, a show about nothing.  An absolutely nothing of a show for an intense something of an age.  Armed with synths, pitch correction, a live feed camera, an army of tiny puppets, and a well-worn gag reflex, they are coming to give you the greatest nothing of your lives.

It is inspired by our love of electronic music, dancing, and clown shows that make you feel like you witnessed a vanishing wonder, like a raccoon washing candy floss in a river.

2. What made you want to bring this work to the Fringe this year?

This is our third time coming to Fringe, and despite sounding incredibly cliche, the festival is one of the most unique arenas where you can make comedy/theatre/performance that throws all the traditional ideas to the wind in the hope of finding something fresh and current.  In a sense, the perfect place for SLUGS.

3. How would you describe your show in three words?

Outrageous, Gross, Loud

4. What do you hope audiences take away from watching your performance?

Joy! Laughter!  A reprieve from despair!  It has been an increasingly pessimistic few years and finding the energy and drive to keep going is hard.  It's brutal. It’s been on our Sluggie minds quite a lot. 

5. What’s your top tip for surviving the Fringe?

Take days off.  Get out of the sea of posters and reviews. See a film in the cinema. Call a friend back home. Not an exhaustive list, but they will all make you feel like a human being that is worth more than the festival.

6. Where and when can people see your show?

21:15 - Red Lecture Theatre, Summerhall, 31 July - 25 August (not 11, 18).  It’s gonna have everything: plush-seating, air conditioning, a table to rest your beer, and a plethora of animal ghosts to follow you home and meet you in your dreams.