With only six months to go until this year’s Fringe, the Mumble thought we’d take a look at some of the stuff we’d miss’d at last year’s Fringe. With the word, right now, on the streets of that London saying Candace Bryan is well funny, we thought we’d start proceedings with her ‘Communist Dad.’ According to the British Comedy Guide, the show display’d “a keen studied intelligence” and was “ruthlessly edited for maximum laughs,” being, “one of the better statements of intent out there on the Free Festival.” Alrighty, then, let’s have a look (video below).
Set in the Hollywood Room at the City Cafe, the focus of the show is, of course, & quite interestingly, her childhood upbringing in a single-father’d, highly politicised atmosphere. Beginning with an introductory preamble swelling with immediate approachability, she introduc’d a cheeky ten minute ‘floor spot’ by, on that day, Hasan Al-Habib.
“It’s too early to flirt with the audience.”
Reassuming her performer face, Candace returned, with switchback creativity energiz’d at all times charged by a supersoft Memphis lilt. With ever-infectious enthusiasm, she slic’d a hot-butter-knife path thro’ her many, subjects; rang’ing with heady giddiness over such topics as the American love of ancestry.com, her dating-like-a-legend sexual adventuring in London, & her bad-boy appreciation of the war crimes of GW Bush.
“Any single dads in – course not, they’re too busy!
There was plenty of art there too; lots of set ’em up, knock ’em out stuff, alongside some excellent introducing of themes & the later tying of them all together in clear & funny bows. All-in-all, Bryan us young, her punchlines possess’d by snappy flips of thought, & after such a cathartic journey through her abandonment issues – her mother was a MILF, a Mother I’d Like To Find -, a month in Edinburgh laughing about it all has to have been some kind of rehab, right? Anyways, now her soul has undergone a good dose of Chronic Fringe Irrigation, her next show should be a classic!
An Interview with Candace Bryan
Hello Candace – so where are you from & where you living today?
I was born and raised in Memphis, TN! Then I lived in New York and Los Angeles for some years before moving to London in 2020.
You brought your show ‘Communist Dad’ to last year’s Edinburgh Fringe – we’ve just watch’d it & it’s well funny – how did you find the experience?
Thank you! It was a fun process developing the show. Obviously, it’s deeply personal and I touch on some subjects that aren’t necessarily light or relatable. Figuring out how to write about these things in a way that was engaging and funny, without alienating the audience, was a big part of that process. But also over the last year, I’ve really worked on developing my persona, and I’ve really found that adjusting my stage presence in certain ways has had a huge positive impact on how the show is received. What I think a lot of people don’t realise about stand-up comedy is how much even ‘where you place your feet’ or ‘where your focus your eyes’ can impact the way an audience perceives you and reacts to your writing. And it was an honour to bring my show to Edinburgh. Performing every day for nearly a month proved invaluable to me as a performer, I learned so much about the craft and continued to edit my show a bit each day based on audience reactions and new ideas constantly flowing.
Has your dad, or any other members of your family seen the show, & if so what did they think?
My sister and my adoptive mother have both seen it, and they liked it! We all make fun of my dad in real life, so it was very familiar territory for them. My dad has not seen it unfortunately. He couldn’t make it to Edinburgh for the festival, but if I bring it to the U.S. I know he’ll be there first to buy a ticket. I think he’s portrayed quite lovingly in the show, despite me taking the piss out of him, so I think he’d enjoy it!
In the show, you talk about being raised as a communist, which some people might be politically sensitive to. Do audiences ever react negatively to that subject matter?
Part of the reason I gave the show such a straightforward name is for this exact reason. If you come to a show called Communist Dad, you’re probably on board with hearing about it. Also, I think my dad having that political identity in the extremely Republican American South is so inherently absurd, that even someone more politically conservative can hopefully find it entertaining. In Edinburgh, I actually more often found the opposite of a negative reaction. Many audience members would come up to me afterwards and say “My dad is also a communist!” A few times younger people actually came with their left-leaning dads, and they obviously enjoyed it.
What got you into comedy in the first place?
I used to be a writer for places like Vice and Cosmopolitan, but I didn’t enjoy the fact that I could only write what other people wanted me to write about, or having others edit my work to fit the voice or standpoint of a corporate publication. I wanted creative independence. Plus, I felt there is a lot about the human experience that you can communicate through comedy and performance art that doesn’t really come through simply reading a straightforward article or essay. I studied Performance Making at Goldsmiths, and there I learned a lot about how to write and design for the stage, but I was still attracted to the simplicity—and the artistic challenge—of merely standing on a stage with a microphone and trying to hold people’s attention.
If you weren’t a comedian, what would you be?
Lost.
Why did you bring your comedy career to the UK?
The UK comedy scene is really unique and special I’ve found. In the States, comedy is very often just someone on stage reciting jokes. There are far more opportunities in the UK creatively to combine elements of theatre and storytelling. In fact I think audiences in the UK relish it. Comedy feels truly more like performance art here.
What’s the difference between a Fringe audience & a London crowd?
I found they were way more up for things. My career is relatively new, I’m not famous nor have I been on TV. But almost every day for my show in Edinburgh, the audience was full to the brim simply because people saw my poster or flyer and decided to take a chance on an unknown. It’s such a lovely spirit of openness I wish we had more about art.
And finally, what is your advice to anyone wanting to be a stand-up comedian?
Don’t start until you’re 30.
Mumble Comedy 