Aim

We're taking our shows Defective Inspector: An American Odyssey and Defective Inspector: A Stitch in Time to the Edinburgh Fringe!

Who are you?

Hi there! We are The Defectors, a comedy company composed of Harrison Cole (Writer and Performer), Daniel Hemsley (Performer) and James Darby (Producer). An associate company of the Bread and Roses Theatre, we collaborate with like-minded artists to create fresh, punchy comedy that is open to anything and anyone, especially through our regular Scratch 'n' Sniff comedy-variety nights. With the expert direction and prop building of our incredible director Shannon Fox, and the top-notch acting chops of our fellow cast members Francesca Eldred and Ellie Church, we are heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with our two Defective Inspector shows: An American Odyssey and A Stitch in Time!

How exciting! Tell me about the shows!

If you insist! The shows are a pair of fast-paced, multi-faceted comedies in which a failed Detective novelist is trying to stage his first ever theatrical productions, based on his 'real' adventures.

Defective Inspector: An American Odyssey

Prepare for a hilarious hour of (unconvincing) romance, (sloppy) action and (tenuous) espionage! Don't miss the debut whirlwind comedy from The Defectors. Richard P. Cooper, an eccentric ex-detective, presents his (heavily embellished) exploits on the stage (with mixed results)! He guides the audience through his journey to the USA, grappling with assassination plots and three-legged dogs, while three hapless drama students embody every other questionable character. This laugh-a-minute romp is sure to elate and baffle in equal measure! 'An utterly endearing romp through the clichés of crime drama... irreverent and irresistible' **** (LostInTheatreland.co.uk).

Defective Inspector: A Stitch in Time

The latest chapter in the theatrical saga of ex-detective Richard P. Cooper, who now finds himself sucked into a time-bending sci-fi caper! In an impromptu trip to the future, Richard learns about the horrors of an evil empire founded by his canine nemesis, Mr Fluffington. Richard and his allies must go on a mission to the past to prevent its uprising, culminating in an epic kerfuffle spanning thousands of years, with the fate of all of history at stake! 'No timeline is too sacred, and no sci-fi reference is too far-fetched' **** (LostInTheatreland.co.uk).

How will you use the money?

We are seasoned fringe performers with years of experience: The core Defectors team have been involved in writing, directing, producing or performing (and sometimes all four!) six critically and commercially successful shows over 4 Edinburgh Fringes. However, this is our first time at The Fringe as The Defectors, and it's not cheap! We need to cover accommodation costs, Fringe registration and hire fees for our venue (the lovely theSpace Triplex Studio), publicity costs... the list goes on. Truthfully, we want to raise as much as we can to offset all these costs, and hopefully enable us to break even, or maybe even turn a small profit we can split amongst our hard-working team! Anything you can give to help us reach this goal would be greatly appreciated.

This project successfully funded on 26th June 2024