Aim

Help Athanasia, musician and comedian bring her innovative interdisciplinary show "A different Kind of Heartbreak" at this years Fringe!

Hi everyone! My name is Athanasia Kontou, I'm a classical pianist, composer, and stand-up comedian. I am an Ivors Classical Awards nominated composer in 2023, and I won  1st Prize at Austria's Best New Comedian in 2025. I come from Greece, but for the past 8 years I have lived in the UK and Austria.

This summer I am so excited to be bringing my comedy music show "A Different Kind Of Heartbreak", at the Edinburgh Fringe. I will be performing it at the Bottle Room, Just the Tonic at The Caves, at 12:50, 6th-17th August. 

In this show I combine all of my skills in stand-up comedy, music, and singing-songwriting, to tell a story, resulting in a unique interdisciplinary work. What's the story you ask?

The story is about heartbreak. But not what you think, a different kind; this is the story of a life-changing heart surgery, and the long and winding road of recovering from it. It is not a story I made up, but one I experienced. So, yes, things will get very personal; I will play music to accompany recordings of my diary entries, sing songs about being in pain, and tell jokes about suffering from anxiety. But eventually this is an authentic, heartfelt, funny show is about embracing the vulnerability we all share as humans, finding strength in it. 

I am a freelance musicians and going to the Fringe this summer means I will have no income in August, and I will have to fund my Fringe participation myself. The money I raise from this crowdfund will go towards covering the cost of all things Fringe: hiring the venue, paying for accommodation and food while I am performing, travel to and from Edinburgh, hiring the musical equipment needed (I cannot fly with my piano!), and paying for promotion (flyers that I will be handing out all around the busy Fringey steets!)

A Different Kind Of Heartbreak is a passion project for me. I have worked very hard on it for two years, I am so very proud of it, and I want to share it with many people as possible to experience it. It would mean the world to me if you could contribute towards bringing it to life, and making it a Fringe success. 

Thank you for the bottom of my part-ox heart (watch the trailer to get the reference!)

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 24th July 2026 at 12:00pm