Fringe performer Michelle Brasier without musical instruments as luggage lost on flight

A comedian heading to the Edinburgh Fringe has been left stranded ahead of her opening night after her airline lost all of her musical equipment.

Michelle Brasier, an Australian comic, is set to perform her new show Reform along with her partner and on-stage musician Tim Lancaster and backing musician Jordan White.

The show has already received multiple five-star accolades when it was performed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

However, their plans have been left up in the air after their luggage failed to arrive with them.

The pair flew in from KLM airlines from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on July 29, however their bags didn’t make it.

Over the last three days neither the airline or the airport have had any update on the luggage, which includes a guitar, a trombone, all of their clothes and costumes, guitar pedals, full electronic drum kit and a computer, a mixer which all in all add up to thousands of pounds worth of equipment.

AirTags show the luggage in Edinburgh Airport but they have been unable to access it by the luggage company Swissport.

The rest of the bags, are stuck, according to the AirTags, in a part of Edinburgh airport the public cannot access.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said ground handling firm Swissport was responsible for the distribution of baggage.

Brasier is a long-term collaborator with the Australian comedy group Aunty Donna and featured in both ‘Aunty Donna’s Big Ol House Of Fun’ on Netflix and new series, ‘Aunty Donna’s Coffee Café’ on ABC.

She also voices several characters in ‘Koala Man’, the new adult animated comedy series, alongside Hugh Jackman, Sarah Snook and Jemaine Clement.

Michelle said: “A lovely man who worked at the airport tried to help us but he didn’t have the authority to go and get our bags for us. Our AirTags were showing the bags were 50 metres from us.

“We begged, ‘please just let us go grab them, they’re right there! We just wanna do our little show!’ But he wasn’t allowed to, and wasn’t able to go and get anyone with more authority to help us”

She continued: “I absolutely understand that airport staff are overworked and stressed but our AirTags show our bags and instruments have been sitting there for 3 days now. It’s clear the staff on the ground at Edinburgh airport need more support.

“We have emailed, called, Facebook messaged, Instagram-ed – I even dueted the airline on TikTok to try to get our instruments before the show starts tomorrow! KLM keep telling us they will be delivered to us when they are found – but we’ve found them and they have been at the airport for 3 days!”

Michelle thanked all those who have supported her over the last few days.

She said: “People have been so generous. Local musos have come out of the woodwork offering us help where they can. The spirit of the fringe is so lovely. We feel really supported and just hope we don’t open the show tomorrow in our new Primark SpongeBob undies we just bought jet lagged and confused on our way home from the airport”.

Michelle is now scrambling to find alternative instruments in time her opening night of her show Reform which is on at the Gilded Balloon from August 2-27.

A spokesperson for Swissport said: “We are sincerely sorry to hear about these passengers’ experience and recognise how frustrating it is. We are in direct contact with Michelle and her team and are working hard to reunite them with their luggage.”

KLM have been contacted for comment.