The state of teaching is so parlous, Jo D’Arcy says, that quitting to become a stand-up comedian felt like a sensible career choice.

“It cost me a fortune to train as a teacher,” D’Arcy, who now couples supply work at a Staffordshire secondary with stand-up work, says. “But it was so stressful that I left.

“Now I go up and down the country, playing to working-men’s clubs. But that’s a better option. What does that say?”

D’Arcy’s one-woman show, D’Arcehole, is one of a number of school-related shows being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year.

D’Arcy’s performance invites the audience into an ersatz classroom. “I wanted people to see what a lesson’s like when it’s taught by someone who’s got more energy, because they’re not a full-time teacher,” she says.

Nipple-tweaking

D’Arcy is somewhat unorthodox in her teaching methods, in art as in real life. “I can’t stand detentions,” she says. “All you’re doing is giving up your lunch to spend time with someone you don’t enjoy teaching, anyway.

“So I just go for a nipple-tweak, and they don’t do it again. I find it an effective behaviour-management strategy.”

This year, a considerable number of Edinburgh shows - D’Arcehole among them - offer commentary on the state of the contemporary education system.

For a full list of all education-related shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, see the 21 July edition of Tes. Subscribers can read the full article here. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. This week’s Tes magazine is available in all good newsagents

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