Following on from a successful run in 2023, when their show was billed “what Arthur Miller would write after getting kicked in the head by a horse”, Big Tobacco will return to the Fringe with their modern adaption of Pinocchio. Packed with adult jokes, wacky twists and the comedy group’s signature humour, the show sees Pinocchio face some harsh realities of life, before returning home armed with some life lessons.

We spoke to Big Tobacco to learn more about them and their show.

Monologues and Musicals: Can you start by telling me a bit about Big Tobacco’s Pinocchio?

Big Tobacco: Big Tobacco is a team of four comedians (Brad Beideman, Brian Fitzgerald, Lyndsey Kempf & Eli Lutsky) who met in college and were united by their love of comedy, theatre, and also a locket that they each had a quarter of. We’ve now been doing comedy shows together for over a decade in Los Angeles. Pinocchio is Pinocchio: the story of a puppet who is brought to life by a fairy. Big Tobacco’s Pinocchio is our (mostly) faithful adaptation of the story, written for an adult audience. Our goal was to reflect the constant barrage of insanity that is modern adult life and fill it with as many jokes as we possibly can get away with. This is not an exaggeration; there are so many jokes in this damn show. If you love joke dense comedies like Oh, Mary! or Wet Hot American Summer you’ll be laughing from the first scene till the next day when you realise we squeezed a life lesson in there too. 

Why did you choose to adapt Pinocchio?

Brian texted our group chat, “Guys, there’s no good reason why this would be the right thing to do but I can’t escape the thought that us doing a live action take on Pinocchio would be really funny.” That’s pretty much all it took. We are all very agreeable and we succumb to peer pressure. Then we watched Roberto Bengnini’s Pinocchio and thought, “Yeah, we can pretty much do that”. 

The show blends humour and sharp cultural comedy. How do you strike a balance between this?

We’re fortunate in that the balance tends to fall into place naturally for us. Our number one goal is always to write the funniest things we can think of, and a lot of times, the funniest option is the one that rings the most true. But we’re also totally open to turning our back on reality if it stops being funny.

Do you have any projects lined up after Fringe you’d like to share?

We’re always playing with some new ideas. Right now we’re in some early talks for a feature film…

If you could choose one song as the soundtrack for your show, what would it be and why?

‘Patches’ by Clarence Carter is top of mind. It’s a song about a son trying not to disappoint his father all while having an incredibly hard life, to the point that you’re like “Damn, can this kid just get a win for once?” Let’s just say it’s very thematically connected to our show.

Big Tobacco’s Pinocchio will be performed at theSpace @ Niddry Street from 7-29 August (not 16, 24) as part of Edinburgh Fringe.

Words by Ellen Leslie