THE FUNNY THING ABOUT A PANIC ATTACK Makes Edinburgh Festival Fringe Debut

Author, poet, and dancer Ben Kassoy will bring poems from his spectacularly original book of the same name to life in The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack, a genre-defying solo show.

Making its international debut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack is bursting with humor, heart, and defiant wonder in the face of anxiety, using spoken word, dance, and physical theatre to reveal the connections between panic, poetry...and pancakes.

Coming off a sold-out preview in New York and earning at nomination for the NAMBA Splash Award for Excellence in Cultural Performance Arts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack opens a timely, courageous conversation about mental health, stigma, masculinity, and family, delving into the writer's journey with anxiety. While the story is personal, it's also widely relatable, inviting audiences to explore how all of us can find strength, healing, and a path forward after trauma.

Performance Details:

• ZOO Playground (Playground 3)

• Aug 2-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25

• 17:10 (45 minutes)

• Content Warning // Discussion and depictions of mental health crisis, mentions of suicide and self-harm.

• Buy tickets HERE

About Ben Kassoy

Ben Kassoy (he/him) is an award-winning writer. He is the coauthor of nine books, including the poetry collection The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack (Bottlecap Press, 2023). Ben's poetry appears in Ghost City Review, JMWW, Defunct Magazine, Pithead Chapel, Cobra Milk, Bodega, Sky Island Journal, Human Parts, and others. He has also written for the websites of Elle, GQ, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Details, Women's Health, AskMen, Bustle, Elite Daily, Well+Good, Brooklyn Magazine, and others. Read more at www.benkassoy.com.

About The Team

The Funny Thing About A Panic Attack is directed by Joanna Simmons, director of Mark Vigeant's Make Pleases You, which won the Hollywood Producers' Encore Award at the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival, and Best Man Show (2024 Hollywood Fringe Best Comedy). The show was choreographed by Emory University Professor of Dance Julio Medina and features music from Matt Lipkins of The Shadowboxers, which toured with Justin Timberlake and The Indigo Girls, and have been featured in TIME, Billboard, and many others.

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