Irish comedian and writer, Marty Gleeson is fast becoming a well known name in the UK comedy scene. Based in London this dry, surreal, sharp young comic was a BBC New Comedian finalist, Channel 4 Sean Lock finalist, Pleasance Reserve alumni and was crowned the LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the year. With over 40 million views online Marty has done tour support for Vittorio Angelone, Killian Sundermann and Shane Daniel Byrne. She has also worked with Sky Studios and written for BBC Radio 4. She brings her debut ‘Dog Ear’ to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. We spoke to Marty about the show, her unpredictable comedy brain, and managing Fringe FOMO.

Can you tell us about ‘Dog Ear’?

‘Dog Ear’ is a show that focuses on the importance of detail in the work we put out into the world and how we experience things. Should ever one be considered? It’s also about time travel.

For those who might be unfamiliar with you, how would you describe your comedy and your approach to performance?

My performance style is unpredictable, off beat. I like to get involved with people in the audience and there’s also storytelling. I use the bodhrán (the drum) to kind of be involved with who is in the room with me in the moment and to kind of play but it’s also considered. There’s a lot of flips and turns and misdirection. It’s kind of like an erratic conversation. There are non-sequitors that lead into things you weren’t expecting. But it’s also grounding, human and raw. I try to cultivate a space that allows connection and a sense of being a human being. It’s also really, really funny.

It’s a month until the Fringe begins. Do you have the show locked in, or do you continually tinker and revise it?

No – the show is still very much in the works and it feels like that’s not too dissimilar to how we are as people. We’re always constantly working on ourselves and editing and adjusting and fixing and realigning and taking a minute to figure out where we stand now. I’ll constantly be working on the show throughout the fringe to see what I can find with every different audience, but the shape of it is there. It’s like a toddler that’s trying to walk but it just wants to scale buildings or lie on its belly, and that’s fine by me. I’m willing to let the show lead me where it wants to go. But it’s also bringing up a lot of things in my own life continuously throughout this year and I’m looking at those things and it’s nice for it to be this symbiotic relationship. It feels very alive. It feels like those cordyceps mushrooms that invade the brain of an ant and make the ant move and do what it wants to do, and ultimately the ant kills itself but that’s not what’s going to happen here. But it does feel like it’s controlling me but every now and then I take the reins and move it around as well. It’s a constant push and pull the whole time. I’m trying to follow a thread and see where it leads me.

‘Dog Ear’ is directed by Abby Wambaugh. What has she brought to the show?

Abby has shown me how to trust myself more and trust the audience more. To see it as more like, ‘Yeah I’ve written the show and I’m leading it,’ but also having more faith in the audience and being like. ‘Yeah, this is something we’ll all enjoy.’ She’s also taught me that I can do this, and she’s helped me find the joy and the heart and the play in what I’m doing – that’s been magnificent. It’s helped me go into this other space of performing that is more like an actual connection and being not so removed and precious about certain things but allowing for spontaneity to come into the space. But also has allowed me to lean into being even more silly and real.

She’s gotten me to look inside to see what I can say about myself in a way that feels true and honest to me and is a way to show the audience that there’s a connection there, a fondness, and that if we’re all in it in the same hivemind we can all enjoy it. I just need to trust in the moment. She’s also taught me to honour the skills and time I’ve worked on the show by myself. She’s been very supportive. That’s been a huge thing in terms of making decisions on how you want to perform with the show. That’s when you kind of throw the confetti into the air and see where it lands. She’s helped me believe in what I’m doing.

You were part of the ‘Pleasance Comedy Reserve’ in 2024. How was that as an experience? Do you have any particular memories, good or bad, from that run?

It was incredible getting to perform at the Fringe for a month and having fifteen minutes a day to just perform. It’s lower stakes than paying loads of money to do it and also it’s not your hour. You’re just performing and seeing what you can find and finding your voice and figuring out what you like to say on stage and how you like to be on stage, which is basically what you are as a performer. It was also amazing to share that space with three other people who, outside of other people who have done that, are the only people who know what that felt like and holding each other up. I think it taught me to not take any performance space for granted because the audience changes all the time and while you might have solid input from people coming every day it doesn’t mean they’re all going to be the same. The bad stuff was kind of the same, in an odd way. Learning that audiences aren’t the same all the time. It was a good bootcamp for working out how you can take care of yourself for a month and what’s involved in doing something continuously.

The Reserve was a good tapestry for following a thread and trusting your instincts. There was safety in it. If you were having a difficult day you had the reliance of three other people to keep the balloon of the show in the air. It was a good vote of confidence to have people back you and choose you to do something. I have really fond and pleasant memories of doing the Reserve. I’m so happy I got to do that and grateful. I feel extremely lucky. It’s helped me get to where I want to be now.

What are your hopes for the show? What would constitute a successful Fringe for you?

I just would love to be feeling grounded and kind of have that mental space to be exactly what I am and not feel like I’m going to edit myself. Obviously there are adjustments you make, but I want to feel like, ‘this is my house’, when I’m in it. I want everyone to get your shoes off and be comfortable and relaxed but also excited and surprised and delighted by what’s unfolding in the room. Including me! I want to be enjoying all parts of the show, and even if I’m not enjoying all the parts, be feeling in that moment that I’m connecting to people. My hope is honestly and truly to just have a show I’m really happy with.

By the end of it I want to leave Edinburgh and go ‘I did the best I could,’ and have lessons I learned in the show resonate with me and stay there and not float away. I want to feel slick and cool. I want to feel like you know in the movies, like Oliver and Company where there’s this cat in a scary neighbourhood and a dog on the streets showing the cat around being like ‘This is it, kid.’ I want to be that dog. Peacocking around. My little dog ear flapping up in the air.

At the same time I also want to feel like the cat, a kid, like I was scared about this but now I’m integrated into a new place and I’m in a big musical number. I’m integrated into the new, fun feeling of performance.

It would be a successful Fringe run for me if I feel like I’ve done everything I could without running myself into the ground. If I don’t look at any reviews and, obviously people will compare each other, that’s fine, but I hope I don’t get pulled into that stuff and I just focus on the art of it all and the fun of it all. While we all put so much work into it, it’s still comedy you know?

Some of those lessons will be hard but I’d love to look back and be like “fuck yeah, I did that thing”. Something where the eight-year-old me is like, ‘Wow that’s so cool!” but I can still go out and play with her, you know?

What for you are the best and worst things about the Fringe?

The best thing is getting to see all the different shows that are going on by people you know and what they’ve come up with. And being surprised by someone in terms of you’ve never heard of them before and you stumble across their show and it’s unreal. Also the conversations you have with people. It’s a small talk heavy place, but it’s all cemented in something you’re all driven by so it’s not draining. We’re all really passionate about it and it’s fun to talk about.

Seeing friends, obviously. Having people come to see you that are in your life outside of comedy is really incredible as well. Getting into the rhythm and routine of it is really exciting, being pulled into this world. It’s a magical independent eco-system.

The bad stuff is managing time. It’s quite difficult there, it seems to go faster. Remembering to eat well and sustaining yourself and not getting psyched out by different conversations and the social aspect, as much as I just said it’s great you’ve got to really manage your FOMO because there’s going to be something happening all the time. All in all it’s a class experience.

Besides the show, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August; guest spots, compilation shows, etc?

I’ll be doing a number of spots throughout the Fringe to promote the show and also to just get involved in the Fringe and have fun outside of my own show and enjoy the practice of doing spots. I’ll be doing the Tartan Ribbon Benefit in aid of Waverley Care, to raise money for people with HIV and Hepatitis C. I’ll be doing Late and Live and ACMS and some other alternative nights. But I’m trying not to book too much so I can focus on the show and exercise.

Are there any other shows/ performers at the Fringe that you would recommend?

People I’d recommend: Harriet Dyer, Jonathan Oldfield, Em Humble, Li Jin Hao, Hasan Al-Habib, Roger O’Sullivan, Zoe Brownstone. There’s loads. I’m really excited to see David Correos. Sapphire McIntosh. All really different comedians in their own right but no matter what you’re into, you’ll enjoy these people. It’s good to go in and out of what you’d usually go and watch. See different people’s perspectives. I’m also looking forward to seeing Mac and Cheese Pie. Big time.

‘Dog Ear‘ is at Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker One from Wed 5 to Sun 30 Aug 2026