Get "Spectacle" to The Edinburgh Fringe

Hi, I'm Jake and I'm a stand-up comedian and writer from Newcastle Upon Tyne. I'm raising money to fund my brand new comedy show "Spectacle" which I intend to take to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2024.

When I was born in 1993, my Mum realised quite quickly that I couldn't see very well. I was eventually diagnosed with an unusual form of Retinal Dystrophy which makes me visually impaired. I am not blind, I can see well enough to be independent, but my life is significantly affected by my sight-loss every day. The difference between blindness and low vision/visual impairment is not very well understood by most people, and that's what I want to change with this show!

"Spectacle" will be a stand-up comedy show that explores the experiences of people with low vision, and educates audiences on the reality of visual impairment, as well as invisible disabilities in general. It will feature stories from my own life, material about other famous and non-famous VI people, as well as elements of magic and music to create a show that really is a SPECTACLE!

A key USP of the show is that audience members will be invited to wear special glasses which simulate various visual impairments and experience the show through these, as a VI person would, in order to further educate sighted people on issues around accessibility in arts and theatre.

I've been writing and performing stand-up comedy for 12 years and have been a professional comedian for the last 3. My previous shows at the Edinburgh Fringe have been nominated for awards and received critical acclaim, but have always flown somewhat under the radar due to financial restrictions meaning I could not afford a professional venue or to hire a technician.

This year, I want to build on the success of my last show and take my first show to one of "The Big Four" venues at The Fringe, such as The Pleasance. This is likely to cost in excess of £5K before I even take into account accommodation and living costs. Your donations via this GoFundMe will help me to afford some of these costs, and will go towards paying a sound/light technician for their time (£20 per show for 27 shows = £540) and towards marketing costs such as posters/flyers/PR (the remaining £460).

Thank you for your help and I hope to see you at a show sometime soon!