Daft laughs and character comedy parodying a TV show that hasn't been on the air in 15 years. TV Presenter Donald McGinty sets sail with his award-nominated show (Best Poster Design - Brighton Fringe 2024). This show has everything; a surprisingly earnest bit about the environment, a vaguely satisfying dramatic arc and a very niche reference to the TV show Neighbours.

It's a light hearted, light entertainment show that's surprisingly dark for its time slot, with jokes about the seaside, seagulls and c-list celebrities. Watch this and Donald promises you'll never drown again. Just don't forget the McGinty family motto "whin adventure beckons be daein' yer business afore ye leave the hoose!"

"McGinty proves an affable captain of this enjoyable pleasure cruise." Chortle

"It’s about as meta as it gets. It’s also very funny." Buxton Fringe 2026

Edinburgh Fringe Audience Reviews 2025:

"I had so much fun! Brilliant jokes and great connection with audience :) from now on every time I see a seagull I laugh."

"Great way to start the day. A must see for anyone who has watched the TV programme Coast."

"Smart and silly."

"Absolutely hilarious! Go see it!!"

"Great show thank you! Clever and funny yet some thought provoking messages in the background! Thoroughly enjoyed this and deserves to be seen."

August 11, 2026   The Edinburgh Reporter

Fringe 2026 – Donald brings the seaside in

Answer the call of nature and set sail for daft laughs as Going Coastal with Donald McGinty comes to the Edinburgh Fringe.
It’s a light-hearted, light entertainment show with some surprisingly dark bits, with jokes about the seaside, seagulls and c-list celebrities. Donald is here to celebrate our coastlines and tackle timely environmental concerns the only way he knows how. Just don’t forget the McGinty family motto “whin adventure beckons be daein’ yer business afore ye leave the hoose!”

It’s a very personal show for Donald, exploring all that is good about the Great British coast but also showing how Donald got over his fear of the sea after a series of TV mishaps. “You’d think that a fear of the sea, in someone who presents a programme about the sea, would be something of an impediment,” laughs Donald. “And you’d be right.”

Some have said Donald is brave for telling such a personal story at the World’s biggest arts festival. However, Donald is keen to stress, “I’m not brave for telling my story. No, brave would be an English character comedian doing a Scottish character at the Edinburgh Fringe.”

Instead, Donald is eager to use this show to promote seaside safety and care for nature. “I know The City Cafe is quite far from the coast and up a hill, but with climate change who knows what will happen a year from now.”

The show reflects Donald’s growing concerns about the state of the nation’s waters, whether it’s pollution or the environmental cost of AI. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency have recently advised swimmers not to take a dip at Edinburgh’s Portobello beach due to ongoing issues with pollution. Donald, who denies the pollution was a deliberate stunt to make more people pay attention to his show says, “The main intent of the show is to make people laugh but I do have some pollution solutions that are definitely worth considering and aren’t just there to make journalists read the the press release.”

As well as an earnest bit about the environment, there’s also a quiz, a very nice picture of a puffin, a vaguely satisfying dramatic arc and a very niche reference to the TV show Neighbours. As Donald says, “Something for everyone.”

Delighting audiences across the UK, this very silly show – which some have likened to the old BBC show Coast – also picked up an award nomination when it debuted at the Brighton Fringe. “It was for best poster design,” Donald clarifies. “But it still counts.”

Don’t miss this very silly character comedy show when it comes to Laughing Horse at City Cafe on 6th-16th August at 11.55am. To guarantee a seat, you can book a Pay What You Want ticket in advance starting at £2.50. Alternatively, audiences can make a donation at the end if they can afford to do so. Donald promises that all proceeds will go to a very good cause, “paying a parking fine I got when we were filming in Morecambe.” Click Here For Article

July 13, 2026   Buxton Fringe Official Reviews

Going Coastal

Do you enjoy long-running, cosy, geography-based television shows? Are you keen on relentless punning? Perhaps you have a soft spot for seagulls or a sub-par Billy Connolly accent.

If so, get yourself down to the Underground Venues at the Working Men’s Club. Donald McGinty is the man for you. Admittedly, his cosy, geography-based television show has hit a couple of hitches lately, as indeed have the seagulls. But no matter, McGinty keeps on keeping on in the face of multiple challenges.

Sean Mason has created a show about a show that references a lot of other shows. It’s about as meta as it gets. It’s also very funny. There are nostalgic reference points aplenty to satisfy Gen Xers and Millennials. But it’s also bang up-to-date. There’s a loose narrative arc which doesn’t matter all that much and a very genuine message behind the whole thing (which does matter but which is never allowed to distract from the relentless punning). Donald McGinty himself is not remotely cosy but a tragi-comic anti-hero, cast in the long shadow of Basil Fawlty or Mr Bean, perhaps.

Not convinced yet? Come for the 1970s public information horrors, stay for the bad taste jokes about seals, regional accents and cremation. You have one more chance to meet Donald McGinty. Next Thursday, 16th July at the WMC.

Reviewer: Anna Girolami Click Here For Article

May 13, 2024    Chortle

Talk about commitment to the idea. Post-lockdown, Manchester-based comedian Sean Mason made just over a dozen episodes of his spoof travelogue Going Coastal, most about ten to 15 minutes long, even though most of them attracted well short of 100 viewers on YouTube.

But he clearly believes the idea, presented in the guise of his Scottish alter-ego Donald McGinty, has (sea) legs and has now created a live spin-off, too.

It has the slight feel of a sketch idea that’s got too big for his boots, but the appeal is that Mason has created a whole, credible world around this mild-mannered character. The videos certainly evoke the endless genre of personable presenters walking towards the camera in scenic UK locations, with quirky ideas such as a ‘save our seagulls’ campaign – as if they need saving – giving things a twist.

The suggestion that something awful happened during filming provides some cheekily dark asides, while there’s a recurring story about McGinty being reunited with his seafaring grandfather for added plot. It’s all nonsense but Mason presents it with a good-natured adherence to the fiction that encourages the audiences to get on board, too, from trying to learn semaphore to applauding small triumphs.

It’s mildly silly rather than raucously laugh-out-loud, but the lapping tide of gently amiable parody is quietly cheering while McGinty proves an affable captain of this enjoyable pleasure cruise. Click Here For Review