London’s slickest hub of unseen female talent is back

With another hilarious night of comedy

Hello ladies, first things first, where are you both from & where are you at, geographically speaking?
Olivia: I was born and raised in London and now live north-east of London, on the Hertfordshire border. Grace was born in Frimley, Surrey and is now based in Fleet (Hampshire) but spend a lot of time in London.

Hello Grace, can you tell us about your career thus far in the performing arts?
Grace: Hello 🙂 Absolutely! My career thus far has been such an experience. Over the past few years I had a real drive to create my own work and opportunities and I think this has had a big impact on the relationships I’ve made and the jobs I’ve been lucky enough to have. It’s been a mixed bag with regards to the work I have done. It’s been a mixture of musical theatre, plays and screen work which was really my goal from the beginning to float across the platforms – fingers crossed I can continue do this going forward. Did I just jinx that?!

Where, when, why & how did you meet Olivia?
Grace: So Olivia and I met totally by chance in an acting workshop back around the summer of 2017. It was in the Statford Circus in East London (which is where we would go for these workshops every weekend) and we met improvising scenes with a small group of other actors. We stayed there for around a year and then decided we wanted to partner up and do our own little mini showcases which now have evolved into Women Aren’t Funny!

Can you tell us about Blue Butterfly Productions?
Olivia: Blue Butterfly Productions is Grace’s first-born child. She set up her production company early last year, because she truly believes in giving people opportunities to create their own work. “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door!” in the words Grace Lewis herself (oh and Milton Berle. But Grace totally said it first). We produce PLUG IN under BBP because it encompasses the exact same values as PLUG IN does.

Can you tell us about PLUG IN?
Olivia: PLUG IN grew out of a combination of passion for and frustration with our beautiful industry! As actors ourselves, we were in need of a platform where we could perform, invite agents, mingle with other creatives and have a laugh! We noticed that a lot of our female-actor friends felt the exact same way. We were tired of waiting for opportunities, so decided to create some! On our PLUG IN journey, we noticed that a lot of pieces performed by the people on our stage were really funny and the audience were loving it! We decided to trample this ridiculous idea that ‘women aren’t funny’ by growing our event into a full-on comedy night, which proves the exact opposite!

You’ve got three famous comedians (dead or alive) coming round for dinner. Who would they be & what would you cook; starters, mains & dessert?
Olivia: Peter Kay every time. As well as, honestly, a fair few of the performers we’ve had at PLUG IN! I would serve my unbeatable Carrot & Orange Soup (don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it), a delish Cauliflower Steak with spices, pomegranate seeds and all sorts of goodness and would finish off the meal with Chocolate ganache and Pavlova. And now I’m really hungry.

Plug In have started putting on comedy nights called – WOMEN AREN’T FUNNY – how have they been going?
Grace: AWESOME! We literally did NOT expect the night to be so well received and to be honest, its totally down to the pure talent of our performers. We’ve been lucky enough to sell out the past two shows so no pressure on this one hey…! (Did we mention tickets are on sale 😉 ) All jokes aside, there is so much incredible talent in London and we’ve been so lucky to get these women and non-binary performers on our stage!Can you describe your working relationship with Grace in a single sentence?

Olivia: GRACE WORKS SO HARD AND IS REALLY NICE

Can you describe your working relationship with Olivia in a single sentence?
Grace: DIVIDE AND CONQUER.

With an all-female line-up, do you feel you are bordering the realms of sexual exclusivity, or are men thoroughly welcome to come along?
Olivia: Of course men are beyond welcome!! Our audience has always been a beautifully healthy mix of all genders! We welcome and encourage anyone from anywhere to come along to our event and we have always been lucky enough to have an incredibly supportive and diverse audience. Although we do have only female-identifying and non-binary comedians on our stage, this is purely to help with equality on the comedy scene. So many of our female acts have told us that they’ve performed at countless comedy nights with around 17 comedians, yet they were the only woman. We love that we can offer a different night. But hopefully, soon enough, we won’t have to fight against the bizarre idea that ‘women aren’t funny’ and will be able to sit back and enjoy brilliant comedians without having to specify gender.

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the streets of London…
Grace: Picture yourself laughing so hard you’re crying for a solid 90 minutes… You may even pee a little… That’s what we’re serving you up at PLUG IN! Why? Because WOMEN ARE FUNNY! And we will defy the ratio’s of male to female stand ups on stage if its the last thing we do!

WOMEN AREN’T FUNNY

The Albany, 240 Great Portland Street

Thursday, January 9th (19.30)

Tweets by @plugingirls

www.plugingirls.com

Stephen Catling is coming back to Camden with ‘something that is both DIFFERENT AND GOOD’

Hello Stephen, first things first, where are you from & where are you at, geographically speaking?
Live in London but hail from Sheffield.

When did you first realise you were funny?
High school year 9 in my RE class my group wrote a parody of Noah’s ark , Noah’s Tardis – I played Noah’s son Bob who keeps dying and reincarnating as different animals both my teacher and class were in stitches. Mrs. Stafford described it as very “pythonesque” and asked us to record it for future students, so I think she might have liked it. I was also partial to doing voices e.g. Gollum and Stitch.

How did you get into comedy?
I Joined Lancaster University Comedy Institute (LUCI) in my first year at Lancaster. I did my first stand-up set in December 2012 and from then to 2017 I did it irregularly. I would come with a new 5 to 10 minute set to County comedy club every time (it was the society’s policy),we did not allow a performer on without going to the workshops making sure it was good. When I moved south in 2017 I started performing regularly and have not stopped since as I perfect the material from university and also write new stuff.

What are the creative processes behind writing your material?
I usually take inspiration from a film or have an idea that is a “what if?” “What would a social justice warrior say about Ghostbusters if they were defending ghost rights?” #afterlives matter – this then leads to me running with the idea. Other ideas may come from the weird nature of animals, particular invertebrates as their reproduction methods are from our perspective weird and wacky – like flatworm penis fencing (I did not make that up and probably learnt it from one of Dr Carin Bondar’s shows). Regardless of the idea, I follow a surreal and absurd idea and then try to take it to its natural conclusion. In the process though, there is a lot of trial and error, and initial ideas may not work but they inspire new ideas and so and so forth, as I work on those ideas on the stage. I have a very good memory but I also record nearly all performances, which I listen to and then work out what I am doing right and wrong, and where can I go.

Which comedians have inspired you; both old skool & contemporary?
Old Skool it would be first and foremost Billy Connolly as he was my first ever stand up , Monty Python due to surrealism and Bill Hicks for his frankness. As for more contemporary comics this is harder but I am going to have to say Bo Burnham, Auntie Donna (the Australian sketch group not my Aunt Donna, I don’t have an Aunt Donna) and Elf Lyons all due to their inventiveness.

Who are Whiskey & Mÿlk?
That would be David Anthony (resident MC for city club comedy club) and I as the respective roles, we wanted to do a double act where we combined our thoughts, perspectives and styles as an experiment; we did want to do a split bill but realised that whoever went on first would screw over the other over. David is a dark comic that talks about suicide, drug use, depression you know cheery topics and I like to do surrealist and absurdist set pieces with overarching story. We created something where I play Mylk a Gollum-esque creature that was not always so who is being interviewed by David as he talks on familiar trodden topics. What we created was insane and many of our peers have been curious because the combination is strange, unlikely and insane but despite odds we did create something that has legs (even if they are baby-legs).

You’re performing at this year’s Camden Fringe, what are you bringing to the table?
Something that is both DIFFERENT AND GOOD. There are things that I do in my own material that have not really been done before like an exorcisms. When a comedian with such a resume as the award winning Dan Antopolski says to you that your ideas are both bloody funny, silly and inventively twisted I think you are probably onto a winner.

You performed the show last year, at Brighton & Camden, what did you learn from it all & have you tweaked the show in the interim?
Between Camden 2018 and Brighton 2019 I doubled the length of the show and with the material that was transferred there were huge changes such as adding audience participation bits, music and more stripping, my answer usually is go more crazier even at university one of my dear friends Jack Maidment said he expects to find me one day in Manchester shitting on stage to rapturous applause because I can. From Camden I learnt not to do an 18:00 show as people are usually still working or just finished at work and this impacts audience size and that I could actually write and perform more than 10 minutes of material at one time and not have anybody die from exhaustion (my material is consistently high energy so it can get very intense and there were also concerns of diminishing returns). Brighton 2019 again taught that yes I can also do 45 minutes show (and likely and hour but not anytime soon) but also not to worry about the completeness of a show, I saw many other shows in Brighton Fringe some of them even the performers admitted they had not necessarily finished making changes to their own shows and so I need to stop worrying about everything being perfect. In addition to never ever take an early afternoon slot for my show because again it is too early even on a weekend for my target audience.

What is a Jawlesque?
The unholy union between the film jaws and burlesque /It is the offstage name I give to sharklesque which is where I dance with a shark mask to “the stripper” , it will not make sense to those who have not seen the show. A little back story behind it is that I often perform at cabaret/variety nights like cabaret lab (which 1st Sunday of the Month at the Caroline of Brunswick in Brighton) where I discovered different genres of burlesque such as boylesque (male burlesque), nerdlesque (nerdy burlesque e.g. someone dressed as Ripley from alien stripping to I have got you under my skin to reveal a chest burster) and gorelesque (I don’t think I need to explain that one) ; these terms and combinations delighted me and I somehow ending creating sharklesque.

You know a good show when its happened, what are the special ingredients?
The show must be more than just funny, what I think makes a show truly special is when the show has something unique to it, something only the performers in that show could do even if it is a different perspective on something but my preference is something that is inventive and immersive. I don’t really look for some big message and I think the worst comedy shows feel like ted-talks and/or are too predictable.

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the play to somebody in the streets of London, what would you say?
Either “I perform an exorcism on myself” and/or it’s like Harry Potter but if he was in train spotting possibly while wearing a shark mask or dressed as a demon.

What will you are doing for the rest of 2019?
Trying to get a better job that will fund Edinburgh 2020 and potentially other festivals which will likely involve taking training courses in cell culture, protein biochemistry, I recently did an internship in a malaria research lab so I might look for similar fields of research as I find parasitology and immunology fascinating. I will also try and take a course in clowning and/or join Soho young theatre company.

Stephen Catling vs. Himself & Other Monsters

2 Northdown

Aug 1-3 (21:00)

www.facebook.com/comediancatling

Tweets by @mooseface42

Glasgow Comedy Festival
March 30th, 2019

Material:   Delivery:   Laughs:   

Having seen Agnew headlining the fellow Glasgow Comedy Festival show Commissioned earlier that same week, I was delighted to be able to get tickets to his “Work in Progress” show at the State Bar. Throughout an hour of Agnew exploring the minutiae of Grindr dates and gay male culture in Glasgow, I was really impressed with the dynamism Agnew brought to the stage, and it reminded me why he is so highly-rated within the Scottish stand-up circuit.

Much like his performance that I covered in my review of Commissioned, as he balanced precariously on the tiny stool in the venue room of the State Bar, Agnew launched into a filthily funny take on life as a HIV-positive, self-described “poof” living and dating in Glasgow. Standing at an impressive six-foot, 5-inches with a heavy Glaswegian accent, Agnew’s insights into these areas of gay male culture were mesmerising, from his graphic description of getting laid in city centre alleyways, to chasing hook-ups on online dating apps. In one brilliant segment, he described how, after being enticed by a particularly impressive dick pic on Grinder, he took a taxi to sixty miles away in the hope of a hook-up, before revealing the inevitable, and absolutely hilarious comedown that followed.

Agnew took command of the room as he led the audience through these hilarious tales in revolting, delicious detail. His use of hand gestures was a clever element of his performance, moving his fingers cheekily like a sloppy pianist as he detailed the fleshly delights of an alley-way next to McDonalds. I couldn’t help but feel that some sections of the audience were a little taken aback by his openness, but I found the unabashed nature of his stories absolutely enchanting, and of course hysterical. Very quickly into his performance, I couldn’t help but feel like a character in some kind of corrupted fairy tale, in which I was being effortlessly transported to the back-alleys and sex parties of Central Scotland, a demonstration of Agnew’s story-telling chops.

As a comic who has spoken publicly about his own struggles with mental health and how this relates to his identity as a gay man, I felt that this is where the real magic of his stand-up lay. While managing to avoid leading the show into overt political or social commentary, the intensely honest nature of Agnew’s stand-up nonetheless felt subversive. Without being on the nose about it, his material at times suggested to me that he was clearly not just wanting to gain laughs out of his past sexual escapades, but intended to play a part in normalising his own personal experiences and struggles as a gay man to wider audiences by making a contribution to the incremental, progressive cultural and social transformations that stand-up plays a significant part in promoting. Overall, I found it to be easily one of the most polished and funny stand-up shows I’ve seen in years. As expected of a work in progress, the junctures between his bits were a little inelegant at times, but his commanding, confident style more than compensated for this between segues. Twenty minutes into the show, I genuinely did not want Agnew to get off the stage.

At one point in his performance, Agnew referenced the Billy Connolly murals that look over certain streets of Glasgow. Watching him, I couldn’t help but be reminded of just how impressively Connolly has transformed the nature of British stand-up into story-based monologues, and how comics such as Agnew have adopted and continued this lineage in the modern circuit. It also reminded me, like the Big Yin pioneered decades ago, how stand-up works best when it hits all the right notes between raw, painful honesty, balanced social and political exposition, pristine delivery, and of course, being fucking hysterical, a rare, comic stratagem. Agnew’s work is a beautiful testament to this; filthy without being derogatory, self-deprecating but not punitive, hedonistic but ethical. While at this point it’s a work in progress, I’m fascinated to see how Agnew transforms this material into an even more polished set. Having seen what he has to offer already however, I don’t doubt that it will be one of the best comic performances of any upcoming venue.

James Nixon

As you approach the Colosseum along the Via Labicana in Rome, one encounters a series of maps of the progression of the Roman Empire. The first one of these was just a dot on the map where Rome is, then the second shows its early expansion into the surrounding territories of Latina & Veii. This is exactly what is happening with Edinburgh’s Monkey Barrel Comedy, which has expanded from its tenancy at the Beehive on the Grassmarket, to opening its very own venue on Blair Street, right next to the City Cafe. Whereas The Stand is quite tricky to get to really, Monkey Barrel has placed itself like a knife at the jugular of a good night out, ready to slit our throats & let the laughter pour out until we lie helpless in fits on the floor.

It was The Mumble’s sincere pleasure to be invited by chief monkey himself, Rick Molland, the guy whose been working this particular comedy seam in Edinburgh for a wee while now, having complete faith in his mining abilities, & has now struck gold! A minor-owner in Monkey Barrel, he would be MC-ing a well-balanced & eclectic thrill-ride for a yet another sold-out audience.

The Monkey Barrel’s main room  – & its rows of old cinema seats – is directly accessible from the street, which leads to an open-entry bar where a TV shows whats going on in the main room. As we were guests, we found ourselves sat on the cusp between the two, which gave as an intriguing insight into what comedians are doing before their sets – basically studying the room.

We witnessed giddy opener Gareth Waugh, the drollosaur philanthropy of weegie-snarling Vladamir MacTavish; the bounce-a-along comedy bombast of the liltingly Welsh ‘I put the Jew in Judo‘ Bennett Aaron, & the quirky edginess of New Zealander, Sully O’Sullivan. Before, after, & inbetween, Rick deliver’d a pitch-perfect masterclass in working a room. My lovely wife, who escorted me on the night out, declared Rick to be ‘fuckin’ brilliant.’ He is a proper conductor of electrical energy into the room, a machine of perpetual comedy motion! Imagine a chef barking orders in a busy kitchen & you get somewhere near the vibe that Rick creates – but of course it is all quite hilarious. Sometimes you don’t even know why you’re laughing, but you’re doing it anyway – now that’s comedy genius!

After Sully had finished his smashing, headlining set, we hooked up with Rick for the wee walk along the frolic-infested Cowgate to the Grassmarket, back towards the Monkey Barrel’s spiritual home at the Beehive. Rick had invited us to his latest contribution to Edinburgh’s love of comedy – a late-night shindig in the Beehive’s ‘Attic.’ I mean, during the Fringe there’s comedy on until daft o’clock every night, so there’s deffinitely a market for such a slot. It cannot be denied that people laugh harder & longer & louder the more pissed they get – & the difference between the slightly sober crowd who Rick opened his night to at eight, & the one who he was winding things up to at 00:30 was markedly different.

On our walk to the Beehive, I asked Rick a few questions about how things were progressing since our last chat, in May 2017.

Hows 2019 looking for the Scottish Comedy Festival at the Fringe?
Rick: The Scottish Comedy Festival Line-up for 2019 is looking stronger than ever, we’ve got SCF favourites like Raymond Mearns and Gary Little returning, along with some amazing new faces like the award winning Rahul Kohli and I’m particular looking forward Gav Webster bringing his cult podcast The Comedy Results to us this year. This year we’ve expanded our scope a little bit. We’ve added Nightcap as second venue, so we’re just finalising the last couple of spots, we plan to announce the full SCF line-up in next couple of weeks.

When did you decide to start late night comedy at the Beehive, & how’s it going
Rick: The Innis & Gunn Comedy Attic is the newest addition to the Scottish Comedy Circuit. We’re very much in our infancy, as we’re just four weeks old. The show is fucking crazy. Drunk acts and drunker audience members are a hell of a mix. Why do a late night gig? Basically, I fell in love with stand-up at late night Edinburgh Fringe gigs like Late & Live and Spank. These are the gigs that are the heart and soul of the festival. There’s never really been an attempt to see if something like that can exist outside of the fringe, it’s Punk Rock Comedy, a little bit edgier, anything goes but really fucking fun. We’re a month in and seems to be working, which is as much I could hope for. What Happens in the Attic, Stays in the Attic!

What is it about Edinburgh that makes it such a beacon for comedians & fans alike?
Rick: Edinburgh is amazing city, it’s relaxed, chilled and creative as hell. Comedy wise the fringe plays a big part in the reason it’s a beacon. But you can’t over look how strong the circuit is right now in Edinburgh, There’s the amazing Monkey Barrel Comedy, The Stand, Gilded Balloon and then there’s my crazy little gig in The Attic. It means that audiences can go an see a variety of top acts and have choices on the type of nights they want.

Rick was soon back on stage weaving his magic – it was a bit crazy actually; Sully opened, with Gareth Waugh in the middle, & guitar-wielding Harry Garrison to finish. The crowd was banterery and responsive & the whole near sold-out gig was really interactive. It was like the Monkey Barrel gig but turned up to 13. Really good fun. An audience with no limits, including quite a lot of banter with a nurse about the time she found a pen, a crisp packet and a dead bird in an old woman’s vagina! You had to be there, & I recommend that you do. Nice one Rick & keep up the good work!

LINKS

www.thecomedyattic.co.uk

www.monkeybarrelcomedy.com

www.scottishcomedyfestival.com

The miraculous comedy mind of Joz Norris will soon be winging its way into Glasgow…

Hello Joz! First things first, where are you from & where are you at, geographically speaking?
I’m from here, there and everywhere, really. I lived in a small village called Petworth for a bit, where I lived in a hunting lodge belonging to a man called Lord Egremont, which I didn’t actually know until quite recently and I think is kind of gross. Spent my whole life thinking I was a sort of leftie social justice warrior, and it turns out I was part of the establishment. Then I lived in London for a while, then Salisbury for a bit, in the pre-novichok days when there was really nothing to say about the place, then Norwich, and now I’m back in London. I should just say I’m from London, it’s simpler.

When did you first realise you were funny?
In a way I’m still waiting to realise this.

How did you get into stand-up?
I knew since I was tiny that I wanted to write or act, or ideally both. I wanted to be like Pierce Brosnan, but also like Terry Pratchett. When I went to uni I wrote a few comedy scripts for the student radio station and Jon Brittain, who is now one of the best writers in the theatre biz, said they were good and I should try stand-up at the comedy club he co-ran. It just immediately felt right. It sort of combined the things I like doing in exactly the right way. Not saying I was immediately great at it, it took me a long time to figure out what I was doing, but I could immediately tell it was what I wanted to do with my life. Make up funny things and try to communicate them to people somehow.

Which comedians have inspired you; both old skool & contemporary?
As a kid I remember loving Lee Evans. We had a VHS of him doing a show in Edinburgh which opened with him doing the “Lee Evans Trio” bit, where he mime-performs all three members of a jazz trio, and I was captivated by it. Then when I was a teenager I got really into TV sitcoms and worshipped Coogan and the Boosh and the Garth Marenghi bunch and Julia Davis and all those guys, who aren’t all comedians necessarily but massively informed my sensibilities. These days I’m most inspired by my peers because I get to see them regularly and I get to really understand how their brains work and how their imaginations manifest onstage – John Kearns, Lucy Pearman, Michael Brunstrom, Ali Brice, Holly Burn. Loads and loads of others.

What is it about being funny in front of other people that makes you tick?
I think it’s the fact that it’s a doomed enterprise that I love. You keep going back to it again and again because it never quite works. I think all art is the process of scooping out the contents of your own head and hoping somebody who sees it connects with it, which is a fundamentally impossible thing to do. You can’t ever really communicate how it feels to be you, and the most anybody else will ever get is a tiny glimpse of it. Comedy’s my favourite version of that because it’s inherently ridiculous, it’s all about failure and being stupid and getting things wrong. I love that feeling. The feeling of being onstage and thinking “I’m trying to show you how it feels to be me, and that’s an utterly ridiculous thing to try and do, but isn’t it a funny thing to attempt?”

What does Joz Norris like to do to kick back?
I love jelly beans and I love Dr. Pepper and I love 70s prog rock. 70s rock in general, in fact, and some 70s folk. A bit of 80s art rock. Not much 90s stuff. A little bit of 70s jazz fusion, or 80s post-punk. And anything released by a 70s or 80s prestige artist in the 2010s. I also like to watch those Satisfying Video compilations on Youtube and read Vonnegut novels. Then I’ll go for a walk round Brockwell Park and talk to myself. Sometimes I interact with other human beings and do things that sound less tragically lonely than everything I’ve just listed. But you’ve got to be in the right mood for that. The rest I can do any time, any day.

You’re quite a stalwart in Edinburgh every August – can you tell us about Heroes of Fringe?
Heroes of Fringe is the BEST. Bob Slayer set it up a few years ago now as a model to challenge the way the Fringe is structured, and to redirect the flow of money so it goes directly to the artists instead of lining the pockets of big companies. I did a paid venue once and the show did ok but I lost money. Since doing Heroes I’ve made big profits every single year. That was sort of what it was set up to do, and it does it really well, but the more important thing about it is that it feels like a big family. I genuinely love every single person involved in Heroes, and I feel more at home there than anywhere. It looks after its people and it makes sure they’re happy so that they make good art.

Can you tell us how your comedy wound its way onto NextUp and Amazon Prime?
The NextUp guys are doing great work, they’re preserving shows which might otherwise disappear into the ether and maintaining this incredible archive where you can go back and watch things you might have missed. I think it’s going to become a really important resource in years to come. You often hear stories of these incredible shows that big name comedians did years back when they first started out, and there’s no way of going back to watch them, but now because of places like NextUp, you have this big resource. They scout out lots of shows at the Fringe and film the ones they enjoy, and they were kind enough to film mine back in 2017. Really proud to have a good record of that one, I think it was a great show.

You’re also big on making screen entertainment – ‘The Girl Whisperer,’ & ‘The Baby,’ spring to mind. How do you find balancing comedy & film-making, & do they influence each other?
I fell in love with comedy mostly by watching it on TV – Boosh and Partridge, like I said, and Peep Show and Marion & Geoff. So a big part of my brain is in love with the idea of making comedy onscreen. I think you can do a lot more with it than you can onstage – a comedy film can be sad and slow and awkward in a way that a live show maybe can’t (or maybe it’s harder in a live show, or something, but I certainly think it’s different). And I think you can include moments that are smaller and subtler, more based in the quiet, odd ways that people can be funny just in the way they express things, or the way they slightly miss one another in conversation, and so on. I also think you can push the boat out more in film in terms of indulging in surreal imagery – we had an amazing time on The Baby making it look and feel creepy and weird and slightly wrong. I think with a live show you can play with tone and feeling a lot, but with a film you can actually play with texture and colour and light and all these things that you have more direct control over. I think they’re both great, and do different things.

You’re performing at this year’s Glasgow Comedy Festival; can you tell us where & when?
I can! I’ll be doing a new show called Joz Norris Is Dead. Long Live Mr Fruit Salad. at the Vacant Space on Friday 29th March at 8pm. It’s been curated and promoted by the amazing Pax Lowey, who runs ARGComFest down in London, which is a brilliant festival and is beginning to branch out to other festivals in other cities, like Glasgow. Very excited to be part of the lineup for it.

What is the show all about?
The sort of pretentious and vague answer is that it’s about disguise and anxiety and the failure to communicate. And the idea, which I mentioned above, that everything you do to try and make sense of your life and fit it into a pattern, is doomed to fail, but that’s ok. More specifically, it’s about a character I created last year to get myself back into performing, as I’d given up for a while due to personal reasons. This character is called Mr Fruit Salad and he is basically rubbish, but he’s decided to put on a solo show to get to the bottom of who he is. He doesn’t exist, so he’s got lots of existential trauma to work through.

What do you think of Glasgow as a city?
I really like Glasgow. I don’t know it as well as Edinburgh as I’ve spent less time there, but the last time I was there I tried to get to know it and explore it a bit more, and walked round the Kelvingrove Park, which was beautiful, and then the old observatory and the botanical gardens. They’re the things that spring to mind now when I think about Glasgow. I think they’re all lovely.

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the street…
This is the only show at the Glasgow Comedy Festival performed by somebody who doesn’t exist.

What will Joz Norris be doing for the rest of 2019?
Well this show will also be playing festivals in Bath, London and Ivybridge, and maybe a couple of others before going up to the Edinburgh Fringe in August. I’ll also be taking up a sketch double act show with Ed Aczel, with whom I’ve also made a sitcom pilot-type thing about petty criminals which should be coming out quite soon. I’ll also be launching a podcast about therapy, making a couple of short films, and developing a new scripted thing for TV about the gig economy. I’m also going on holiday to Morocco, turning 30, getting back into swimming, and working on a secret project for my best friend’s wedding. I like being busy.

Joz Norris Dead. Long Live Mr Fruit Salad

Friday 29th March

The Vacant Space (20:00)

Tweets by @JozNorris

www.joznorris.co.uk

Lewis Doherty… working on a follow up to Wolf… thank-you Comedy Gods!

Hello Lewis, so what did you get for Christmas?
Hiya! I got some ridiculous hot sauce called Mega Death, which was a highlight(?)

Last Fringe was quite a dramatic inception for Wolf. Were you surprised by the public reaction?
Yes and no; Its a show that I’m really proud of and I knew once people saw it and started talking about it in Edinburgh then it would snowball from there. One thing that did surprise me was just how accessible the show was. I really thought it would have quite a niche audience but since doing Edinburgh I’ve had people bring their kids, mums, grandparents (who love it!) So that’s been a great surprise so far.

Last August I had the pleasure of bumping into you personally. I found the real Lewis a pleasant, rather humble man – a far cry from the character on stage. How did you manage to create such a restless, ebullient stage persona?
Awww shucks! Thanks! I suppose I just love performing, so there’s a part of me I present on stage that enjoys doing it.

Will you be touring Wolf in 2019, & if so where?
Yeah, absolutely! I’m currently touring right now! I’ve just finished a run at the Birmingham REP and I’m at the Nottingham Playhouse 15th, 16th Feb – then we hit up Leicester Comedy Festival on the 23rd, over to Waterside Arts Centre on the 28th, then Exeter Phoenix 10th March, and finishing up at SOHO Theatre 21st -23rd March! Its been amazing so far – I’m hoping that I can reach a wider audience this year with the show and tour again next year – so If you do miss it or it isn’t coming to a city close enough, keep your eyes peeled!

You have been working on something new, can you tell us about it?
Sure! I’ve been working on a new show called BOAR (another animal themed title) its a medieval action epic tale about two bounty hunters who end up being sent on a quest to defeat an evil dragon and save a princess

For someone who saw Wolf, will they be experiencing a generic sequel
or something quite different?
I’m trying to keep the skeleton of the show (WOLF) intact but I think its really important to keep creating and experimenting with new elements, that’s why I’ve decided to switch genre and go with a completely different set of characters – I’m still trying to develop this “one man show language” and I want to keep it engaging for audiences as well as myself – otherwise its just WOLF with different packaging.

Was Boar easier or a more difficult creation than Wolf?
Tough question; It was easier because I’ve already done WOLF so I feel like I understand what it takes to develop a show like that, and what works with audiences. Also harder, because the genre I’ve decided to take on is typically more epic and has a lot more story strands to it, so the development and creation of BOAR has been a very different beast to the first

You will be performing one show at Vault Festival – how did you get
the gig & why?
I’ll be doing BOAR at Vault Festival on the 6th March, 9:15pm. I applied basically – its a fantastic festival with some interesting things going on and a great platform to showcase work.

Have you performed at Vault before?
Yep! I did the first ever showing of WOLF there – it was 30minutes long and I’ve never been so nervous in my LIFE! Everyone that came to the gig that night was great though

I know you like to catch other acts – is there anything in particular
at Vault you fancy?
There are so many things! Here’s a list off the top of my head of stuff I’m trying to get to:

Bottled by Hayley Wareham
Thrown by Living Record
Police Cops
The Wrong Ffion Jones
Alcatraz by Right Mess
Jack Barry WIP
Spencer Jones WIP
WOOD by Adam Foster
See-Through by Claire Gaydon

Will you be bringing Boar to Edinburgh?
Hell yeah, and maybe even a cheeky couple of WOLF shows too!

Boar

March 6th, Vault Festival, London

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