Pindos is former Cambridge Footlight Milo Edwards’ debut hour at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Meaning ‘The American’ in Russian (even though Milo is English, he points out that anyone west of Poland is viewed as American by most Russians) Pindos examines the fleeting nature of celebrity, traversing different cultures and languages, global politics and sending dogs into space in the name of Communism.
A jam-packed stand-up storytelling hour unfolds
It transpires that Edwards is famous (in Russia). He’s even been on tour (in Siberia). Edwards is quick to point out that these facts are less impressive than if he’d achieved fame in the West – that his level of fame in Russia is akin to being on Geordie Shore over here or life as a hot girl online; you get a lot of creepy messages on Instagram. Getting famous in Russia was not what Edwards had in mind when he did stand up to ex-pats in bars. He’d moved to Moscow with a view to becoming fluent in Russian and some TV producers happened to see him perform and invited him onto a stand-up TV programme. A linguist, Edwards studied Ancient Greek at university and is fascinated by language, human interaction and misunderstandings. This comes across in an intelligent, thought-provoking hour as Edwards regales us with tales of increasing absurdity, interwoven with his unique and somewhat controversial observations on key political events past and present.
Despite maintaining an upbeat and energetic stage persona, it turns out that for Edwards this Fringe has been tinged with tragedy as his father unexpectedly passed away from kidney cancer on the 5th of August. Edwards postponed two shows for two days while he returned to London to be with his family before making the decision to continue his run of Pindos. The news was shared online but most of Edwards' audience are entirely unaware of the sad truth he’s carrying. Edwards returned without any alterations to his material other than to include a moving tribute to his father that replaces the traditional ‘bucket speech’ given in the final few minutes of the hour. The courage Edwards displayed in the name of comedy – and in honour of his father – is admirable. No-one would guess the grief he's dealing with as a jam-packed stand-up storytelling hour unfolds with smart set up and punch lines littered throughout this unusual and entertaining narrative.
