You can't complete a night out with your friends unless someone has cried over their ex, you've made a new best friend in the toilets that you'll never see again, and you've done three laps of the bar looking for Lisa. Seriously though, where is she? Our friends are our chosen family.
From the happiest times to breaking up with friends, grab a pint (of wine) and Louise will recount some of her funniest memories. Hopefully we find Lisa.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show is?
Not a problem. So, I'm Louise. I'm a comedian originally from the delights of Hull. I like books, and good conversation but sadly do not enjoy long walks on the beach, due to a bucket and spade-related incident in the summer of '94.
Oh, and I'm doing my first stand-up comedy show at the Gilded Balloon's iconic Teviot venue this year. It's a very silly show looking at friendships and what they mean to us.
Tell us about the creative team and process involved?
So, the team consists of me and unintentionally my closest friends. After spending my life observing my friends' and my actions and documenting them, I thought "one day, I'll be able to showcase this in someway", turns out that day is August at the Edinburgh fringe.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
To be perfectly honest, I have mixed feelings. Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, so having a month to enjoy it is fantastic. However, participating in the festival for a month is both mentally and physically exhausting. Someone once described the Edinburgh fringe as Magaluf for comedians; it's an intense time where you feel like you're at a massive party that doesn't end, you're always on the go, and there's always one friend asking if you can split a fish bowl at 3pm in the afternoon. Very similar vibes.
There are over 3,000 shows at the Fringe. So, what sets your show apart?
Well, I'm only in this one and not any of the others, so there is that. And if nothing else, my hair is fantastic and definitely worth admiring for an hour. The truth is, I could make a case for my show that details all the stuff not in anyone else's, for the accolades I have that others don't, I could even tell you that I have a golden labradoodle that comes out halfway through and plays the Mamma Mia soundtrack on its front 2 paws - I don't, but that sounds appealing, doesn't it? Truthfully, I don't think that's the spirit of the fringe.
There are so many talented people doing amazing shows, all of them incredible in their own way. So if you want a comedy show about friendship when you're there, I'm your gal, otherwise, there is no doubt in my mind you'll find something equally awesome, that's what's so great about the fringe, isn't it?
Is there anything specific you're hoping the audience will take away?
If they could leave with their own rubbish and dignity, that would be superb.
In terms of an emotional takeaway, my honest hope for this show is that whilst I'm standing there talking about all of my mates, each audience member will be thinking about their best mate. The goal is for them to listen to my show, laugh, then realise they should plan a very silly friend date with their pal, and do something silly and fun together, just the two of them.
Your ideal audience is in attendance, who's watching? Or more importantly – who isn't there…
Now we're talking, an exclusion list of people I don't like, off we bloody go.
So, who I do want there is anybody who just fancies being silly, likes a laugh, and understands that a
chocolate Hobnob is in the God-level tier of biscuit.
Who I don't want there:
1) the bloke who was at one of my previews in Oxford, who had a face like a bulldog sucking a lemon
for the entire duration. He can get in the bin.
2) Anybody called Petunia; I don't like the name and anything flower related aggravates my
hayfever.
3) My next door neighbour. The guy is an A grade wally, with the charisma of a melted Fredo bar. It
is a no from me
4) The woman I saw coming out of John Lewis last week with a Poodle.
5) The Poodle mentioned in point 4.
I mean, I could go on….
It's an intense month, so where you're able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
My new holy grail for relaxing is watching all of the Golden Girls on Disney+; it's amazing. 7 Seasons, 22-24 eps a season. That will do me nicely for the month, thank you very much.
Other Fringe shows to recommend, my days, another endless list. However, I'll try and do some highlights:
Josh Baulf (Underbelly, Cowgate. 19:25)- The guy never misses. He just doesn't have a bad joke. If you don't believe me, check out his social media profiles, which are blowing up because he produces such incredible content. He's great, his show is great and you 1000% want to go see him. He's also my flatmate for the month, so if he randomly comes out with any Golden Girls references, you'll know why.
Fiona Ridgewell (Banshee Labryinth. 13:10) - Her show is hilarious, delightful, and charming, which isn't surprising since she's also all those things. I've already seen this show a handful of times in the preview season and I'm going to be going again, she's just awesome.
Kathryn Mather (Three Sisters. 12pm) - If you like intelligent, deadpan comedy, you'll like Kathryn. You can't resist quoting her stuff because it just embeds itself into your mind. At least once a week, I quote Kathryn's observations and jokes to someone, whether they were already talking to me or not.
Kuan Wen Huang (Gilded Balloon, Teviot. 17:40) - Just saying his name makes me smile. He is just so likeable and that comes across the moment he walks onto the stage. Watching Kuan's comedy makes you feel like you're on a top night out with a good friend, so go and have a lovely pre-night out watching him.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the world of the Fringe, of performance, and the industry?
I mean, this is a huge question and not one I'm fully convinced I can give the best answer to in a Q&A interview, whilst half eating a blueberry muffin, but I'll give it a bash.
In some ways, the fringe, and the industry as a whole, can be a paradox; one that preaches inclusivity while having so many exclusionary elements. The great thing about the arts is that it's a melting pot of voices, telling stories and observations in an array of different ways, so everyone can enjoy, learn and benefit. It gets somewhat problematic when it starts to become just one type of person, with one type of background, thinking they can speak on behalf of all these people instead of letting them speak for themselves. It's like a game of whispers but with artistic development. Talking about it and admitting it is a great first step.
However, I feel we've talked a lot, and I think we need to focus on pragmatism now. If we screw up, ok, but we can learn from that wrong and apply lessons learnt when we try again the next time. As an example, there's talk of the fringe starting a charity to safeguard the comedy awards, ensuring a set amount is raised every year for the awards. Cool.
What if we applied that principle to affordable, short-term housing? The money raised could rent multiple university accommodation properties for a month. It could then be rented out, at an affordable rate, to any artist, but with a key focus on any artist from a low-income background, and the money collected could be put back in the pot for renting next year, making it sustainable.
Again, I'm happy with having a discussion, great. But it's been noticed by pretty much everyone that accessibility is a big problem, especially when it comes to finance. We really need to start taking a more sustainable approach to dealing with it, rather than going year to year, handing out occasional bursaries if we have the money and hoping that's enough. Putting a bandage on a broken arm may seem like it's helping in the short term, but in the long term, you need something more.
No comments:
Post a Comment