Returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year after a successful debut, Athena Kugblenu presents Follow the Leader at the Underbelly from 1st to 27th August.
With most knowledge only a finger click away, how come there is even more stupidity? Trump is president but Athena can’t blame people for choosing him, because she too has a history of choosing the wrong men in her life. Surely someone must have cottoned on to the fact that Athena is doing this so society can learn from her mistake? No? Well, she’s doing a Fringe show to explain just that.
Athena has found a new way to talk about politics, race, class and identity in a time where there seems to be little middle ground. If you want refreshing, insightful comedy with bellyful of laughs then look no further than Athena Kugblenu.
Athena’s intelligent and thought-provoking material was given the BBC Radio 4 seal of approval when she was invited to write for The News Quiz and The Now Show. She has also performed in Funny Kind of World for BBC Radio Scotland. On screen, Athena featured in a BBC3 Future Films production and was invited by Astronauts Wanted (the super producers of the internet) to guest in their series Girl on Girl. She has also appeared on various podcasts and radio shows including regularly on Global Pillage (Deborah Frances-White), Kitchen Table (The Pool), News Thing (RT), Will Gompertz’s Art Club (BBC Radio 5 Live) and has previously co-hosted The Guilty Feminist with Deborah Frances-White.
She was also a finalist in 2015’s BBC New Comedian of the Year competition and 2017 saw her travelling to perform at the invite-only Johannesburg International Comedy Festival, where her set was filmed for broadcast on the continent-wide TV network M-Net and performing her debut show KMT at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to critical acclaim. She was also nominated for the 99 Club Female Comedians’ Bursary.
