Hello Adrienne, so where ya from & where ya at, geographically speaking?
Brooklyn, NY

When did you first realise you were, well, funny?
I made a joke when I found out my parents were getting a divorce. I was 6. Dark sense of humor started early!

What are the differences between the UK comedy scene & that of Australia?
The accents?

What does Adrienne Trustcott like to do when she’s not being funny?
I have a really deep affection for mowing the lawn on a tractor and that takes up more of my time than I ever would have imagined. But listening to and going to see music is a biggie. When I’m not on the lawnmower.

You’ve been washed up on a desert island with a solar-powered DVD player & three films. Which would they be?
Waiting For Guffman., Dr. Strangelove and Days of Heaven.

What is it about performing live you love the most?
Oh god, I may hate myself in the morning, but I feel like every time you go onstage, you learn a shit ton about yourself. But maybe that moment, after you’ve been doing material that you want to work so badly, but it isn’t quite and that moment in a show when it works and it’s usually because you did something that totally surprised yourself.

You are bringing your show ‘One Trick Pony’ to the Fringe this August, can you tell us about it?
Well, I brought it here before. I really loved the show but it got really bad reviews – from everyone! And so I thought a lot about it and made it better and that feels like what a fringe should be about – the possibility of failure and improvement. It’s a better show now, so I guess I have to thank those harsh critics for that proper bashing I got last time!

Why Andy Kaufmann?
I was always sort of thrilled and terrified by him. And, I love how hard he is to categorize him – he’s thought of as a comedian but I reckon he was really a performance artist. I’m thought of as a performance artist and sometimes I think of myself as a comedian. So I’m playing around with those definitions as well as, the way he did, with ‘what’s funny’. Plus, some of his material is that kind of material that you connect to so deeply and almost have a sense of mourning because you will never get to do that material – like you love it so much that it’s hard to bear that it isn’t yours! I also play around with stealing his material. Since you can’t really do it. But maybe you can?!

Can you sum up your show in a single sentence?
This show is a raucous ridiculous comical (and literal!) wrestle with what’s funny, stealing material, yourself, your audience and your critics.

What emotive responses would you like from your audience, & what do you expect?
I like them to laugh a lot in the room and think a lot at breakfast the next day. I don’t mind if they feel squirmy too.

How do you find performing at the mega-mash-up that is the Edinburgh Fringe?
There is nothing like it in the world and one of the best preparations for how to survive the life of an independent performing artist. It’s like a hilarious, wet, boozy boot camp.

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You can catch Truscott at the Fringe…

Aug 19/23/24/26 : The Hive (14.15)

 Polka Dot Dress and the photo with the Crow: photo by Allison Michael Orenstein  / Art Direction: Sig Olson 

Woops with Cat: photo by Allison Michael Orenstein