Edinburgh Fringe beefs up bookings for Littlehampton comedian

Mike Shephard, of Littlehampton, recently finished his three-week stint at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Mike, 30, has appeared at the world famous festival on several occasions, but this year he hosted his first one-man show – which received a positive reviews from critics at the event.

He performed his hour-long show Everything that Happened in the 20th Century, Seen through the Eyes of a Liar.

Mike, a former student at St Philip Howard Catholic High School, in Barnham, says since his show, venues up and down the country have been quick to book him up.

“It’s been a really intense experience,” admitted Mike, who now lives in London. “The fringe festival is such a strange and surreal place.

“For the three weeks you’re there, it becomes its own little universe.

“But it was a great experience. My diary has filled up with gigs, which is really exciting.”

Mike said the highlights of his time at the festival included an invitation to appear live on the BBC stage, as well as receiving a number of four-star reviews.

“The great British public were very kind to me and I had some really nice reviews,” he added.

Mike originally started out with dreams of becoming a ‘serious playwright’.

However, when he discovered his material seemed to make more people laugh than cry, he decided to give comedy a go.

In July, he performed at the Arundel Jailhouse Screamers Comedy Club. Mike can now be seen regularly on the London comedy circuit and has launched his own monthly comedy night ‘History’s Greatest Monster’ with guests including the host of Channel 4’s Balls of Steel, Mark Dolan and charismatic sketch duo, Trodd en Bratt, who have their own series on BBC Radio 4.