Three shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe will be shedding light on living with type 1 diabetes.
A stand-up set called Blizzard, a one-woman performance entitled Pricks and a show called Katie and Pip are set to take place during the annual Scottish event.
Jade Byrne, who wrote and stars in the show Pricks, has lived with type 1 diabetes for 28 years after being diagnosed at the age of four.
She drew on her own experiences, as well as other people who have diabetes, to make the show, which she is “really proud” of.
The actress said: “The show educates people about what it’s like to live with a lifelong illness like type 1 diabetes, its differences to type 2 and what it’s like for your family to deal with – but in a very funny and entertaining way. You’ll laugh and most probably cry too. It’s really about family and caring for each other.”
Katie and Pip tells the tale of a teenage girl and her dog. The story explores how people portray type 1 diabetes, an invisible condition.
Speaking to type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, the show’s writers Rob Gregson and Charlotte Berry of Tin Can People said: “We were inspired to make the show due to the misrepresentation in the media surrounding type 1 diabetes, to challenge the stigma around type 1 diabetes and to raise further awareness of this very serious condition and of invisible disabilities in general.”
Ed Gamble, a regular Fringe performer, is for the first time addressing having type 1 diabetes as part of his comedy show Blizzard.
“Approaching this year’s show I realised that there is a massive part of my life that, in my denial, I have never truly talked about on stage,” he said in an online article.
“I am very vocal about my condition, and have mentioned it on stage, online and at every family Christmas since 1999. But I have never truly and honestly talked about the details and the reality of being a type 1 diabetic.”

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