Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedian left holding the baby as childcare falls through on his opening night

With most comedians worrying about first night nerves, Edinburgh-based Rik had a bigger problem to deal with on Thursday, no childcare.

With his wife ill at home and unable to do the nursery pick up, and their planned childcare falling though at the last minute, Rik had no option but to take his son, three-year-old Jonah, with him to the show.

Rik said: “My plan was that I’d collect Jonah, take him to the show and that he could sit in the audience with a friend who had rushed to the venue to try to help out.

“Unfortunately, after a long day at nursery Jonah was a bit overwhelmed by everything, so I took him up on stage with me at the start of the show, hoping that he’d go and sit with my friend as the show progressed.

“I’m not sure if Jonah liked being in front of the crowd or he just wanted some daddy cuddles, but he spent the entire show on stage with me and at least half of it in my arms.”

Edinburgh comedian Rik Carranza on stage with his young child on the opening night of his Star Trek Vs Star Wars comedy debate Fringe show. | Submitted

Rik added that Jonah was the perfect co-host, and was quiet and well behaved throughout the show, and that the audience – having had the situation explained to them before the show got underway – were fully onboard with an extra performer taking part.

He said: “I think that Jonah might be taking after me in terms of enjoying being on stage. His reports from nursery say that he enjoys making the other children laugh, so in years to come we might well end up doing a father and son two-hander at the Fringe!”

Now in its sixth year, Rik Carranza Presents: Star Trek Vs Star Wars is a Fringe favourite and is also in demand both on the sci-fi convention circuit and on Rik’s popular Twitch stream.

Every day Rik is joined by two comedians and fellow geeks from across the Fringe, who battle it out to discover which is the best franchise, Star Trek or Star Wars, in the ultimate clash of the fandoms.

 

Edinburgh comedian Rik Carranza has two shows on at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. | Submitted

This isn’t the only impact Jonah has had on Rik’s shows at this year’s Fringe. The three-year-old’s love of superheroes was the inspiration behind Rik’s debut Fringe show for children, Rik Carranza Presents: Marvel Vs DC which also began its run on Thursday.

As Rik explained, his decision to create a show aimed at young superhero fans was inspired by watching Jonah become interested in superheroes.

He said: “Seeing Jonah discover the superheroes I loved as a child, and still love, was pretty special for me. It was fascinating to watch him decide on his own favourites from quite a young age, and he has some pretty strong opinions about who he does and doesn’t like.”

However, seeing your son choose his own favourite superhero can be a bittersweet experience, as Rik discovered.

He added: “I’m a huge Batman fan, my wife and I even had a Batman themed cake topper on our wedding cake, and I must confess, I was hoping that Jonah would love Batman too.

“I even tried some subtle indoctrination in the form of dressing him in Batman romper suits when he was a baby, but it doesn’t seem to have worked and he's totally obsessed with Spiderman instead!”

With dad Rik on team DC and son Jonah mad about Marvel, the idea for the new Marvel Vs DC show began to evolve.

Rik Carranza Presents: Marvel Vs DC is an interactive and action-packed hour-long show, aimed at children aged eight and over and will see kids battling it out in fun-filled tests of speed, strength, and courage in defence of their favourite franchise.

Rik Carranza Presents: Star Trek Vs Star Wars, 1 – 16 August, 5.15pm, at venue 272 – Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters – Maggie’s Front Room. Show suitability age 12 and over.

Rik Carranza Presents: Marvel Vs DC, 1– 18 August, 11: 45am, at venue 170 – Laughing Horse @ The Counting House – Lounge. Show suitability age 8 and over. Both shows are ‘pay what you can’.