Becky Umbers is an award winning comedian from New Zealand, a winner of Best Debut at New Zealand Comedy Festival in 2019. In the UK, Becky regularly performs at leading comedy clubs and was shortlisted for Chortle HotShots 2025. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Becky performed a split bill show in 2023 which saw her named a finalist in the 2023 Hoots Fringe Acts of the Year, followed by a 45-minute solo show in 2024. This August sees Becky return with her full-length debut show, ‘Put That Cat Back in the Bag’. We spoke to Becky about the show, her joyful approach to comedy, and her determination to spot an otter while she’s in Edinburgh.

Can you tell us about ‘Put That Cat Back in the Bag?’

This show is about being a weirdo and trying to keep it a secret so you can blend in with the normal folk at the office. The cat I’m referring to is your inner weirdness, whatever quirks that make you you. Once you get to know people you can start to let the cat out and show them how weird you truly are. But sometimes I have done it too soon and tried to wrestle the cat back into it’s flimsy bag. Which is near impossible.

I think we are told by all sorts of people to hide our weirdness away and not let the cat outta the bag. So this show is about embracing the weird but making sure you can still be a respected accountant at your corporate firm.

For those unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your comedy style and approach to performance?

My approach is one of joy. I find silly things that have happened to me or that I have noticed in the world and I like to laugh at them with my audience. If we can all laugh together at the quirks of the world and our own blunders, then I believe, nothing can really feel that bad. I like my audiences to just have a good time and maybe leave taking themselves and life a little less seriously. 

Your show is about embracing your eccentricities. Can you tell us one of your little quirks you may not discuss in the show?

I have a hype playlist that I play before gigs that has to be the only playlist to feature a large amount of 50 Cent and Taylor Swift in equal measures. I’ve been trying to train myself like Pavlov’s dog by playing it to myself after particularly good gigs so that my brain associates the songs with being good at comedy. Now when I play it before gigs I feel good at comedy and have a great show! I think I might be a genius. Also I talk in my sleep and the other night my boyfriend overheard me asking the Alexa a question in my sleep.

Who are your comedy heroes, the people who inspired you to get into stand-up?

Urzila Carlson was my stand-up inspiration, what a powerhouse. She was always so naturally funny and authentically herself. I had all her NZ Comedy Gala sets memorised.  I grew up on all the British comedy that my mum loved like Porridge and Red Dwarf. Big thanks to the Channel 4 YouTube channel who upload all the 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown episodes so we can watch them in little old New Zealand. Watching those guys was what made me want to get into comedy. They always made it look so fun!

‘Put The Cat Back in the Bag’ is your debut Edinburgh show. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?

I want to have a great time doing a show I love. If I can share this fun show with as many people as possible I will be happy – before I inevitably decide I am sick of all that material and avoid doing it for about six months. I’d like to make some new friends too. I’m still fairly new to this side of the world and the insanity of the Fringe really brings people together I think. I also do hope some helpful people see me and book me on their shows when I’m back in London. I’m very available!

Apart from your show, what else are you looking forward to (or even perhaps dreading) about the Fringe?

Finding an otter. I will be scouring the Water o’ Leith as much as possible but I do dread being disappointed and spending my dusks and dawns wandering the river only to come up otter-less every time. I am looking forward to making new friends but that is also stressful. Sometimes I get a bit of imposter syndrome and think, ‘I just saw their show and it was amazing, why would they want to talk to silly little me?’ But this year I plan to shut that side of my brain up and just believe that people would like to talk to me because I am a nice person.

Beside ‘Put That Cat Back in the Bag’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?

Yes I’ll be doing all sorts of random lineup shows. I love that the Fringe allows me to do all sorts of fun formats and kooky panel shows people have created. 

Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?

Yes, Hannah Campbell has been my Fringe comrade for the last two years and she is also doing her debut this year. We began our comedy careers together in NZ (although she is actually Scottish), and I am constantly in awe of how funny she is and how she commands the room. Abby Howells is also great. Abby’s a fellow NZ comic and she is so lovely and charming and clever.

Ray O’Leary is the perfect antithesis of Abby’s persona and another great NZ comedian, so you can do the two in one day. Then finish up your NZ day with Two Hearts, our power couple music duo. Their shows are so much fun they feel like you’re at a party. Except not many parties I go to are that funny and let me sit down the entire time.

‘Put that Cat Back in the Bag‘ is at Assembly Roxy – Snug Bar from Wed 30 Jul to Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 20:40