Stacie Burrows is no stranger to the Edinburgh Fringe. With a background in stand-up comedy and musical theatre, the Los Angeles-based performer returns this year with No Good Drunk, a deeply personal solo show that blends storytelling, original music, and archival film. But this time, the laughs are tempered with something more haunting.
“I began this endeavour doing stand-up comedy in New York City,” Burrows explains. “Then I moved to LA, became a mum, and had to pivot. That’s when storytelling started to spring up.” Her previous Fringe shows, Bulletproof Unicorn and Laughable, leaned into comedy, but No Good Drunk marks a shift. “This is a serious piece of work from a usually funny person,” she says. “Let’s hope I get a little bit of everything from this.”
The show traces Burrows’ journey to uncover the truth about her grandfather—“a no good drunk buried somewhere in El Paso,” as her grandmother put it. “We actually found his grave,” she reveals, “but he’s buried in another woman’s grave. The headstone was wrong. I had to do some digging to figure out why.”
That detective work became a road trip through family history, addiction, and generational trauma. “Everything I tell you is true,” Burrows says. “Mark Twain said, ‘History doesn’t always repeat itself, but it often rhymes.’ That’s the thesis for all the generations we visit.”
Despite the heavy themes, Burrows brings her signature warmth and wit to the stage. “I’m your narrator,” she says. “I always approach things with a little bit of lightheartedness.” The show features eight original songs co-written with LA-based songwriter Sam Small. “When I sing those lyrics—‘the whiskey would pickle his well-meaning heart’—it’s just so gorgeous,” she says. “Music is the best way to tell these stories. You can sing something tragic and get away with it without falling apart.”
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The music, described as “El Paso dive bar” in tone, draws inspiration from Southern Gothic storytelling. “There’s not a bop in this show,” Burrows laughs. “It’s dark, gritty, beautiful. Think Bobby Gentry, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson—stories set to music.”
Performing her own work brings both joy and challenge. “I’m not an actress,” she insists. “I’m just going to relay what happened. I’m not going to tell you how to feel about it.”
Returning to the Fringe, Burrows is excited to be working with the Pleasance for the first time. “It’s a dream situation,” she says. “I’ve been doing this a long time as an independent artist without proper support. I feel very lucky.”
And if you bump into her on the Royal Mile? “I’d probably ask, ‘Do you know any no good drunks?’” she grins. “Every story in this show was a love story—emphasis on ‘was’. It’s about broken hearts, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
No Good Drunk runs 30 July – 25 August (not 6, 13, 20) at Pleasance Courtyard (Attic), 12:50pm. The soundtrack will be released on Spotify in July.
