Seven Questions With… Suzi Ruffell

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suziruffellSuzi Ruffell is a popular name on the British comedy circuit, having travelled the country with two stand up hours (most recently with her show Social Chameleon which explored themes involving family, adolescence and identity). She has recently supported the likes of Romesh Ranganathan, Kevin Bridges, Josh Widdicombe and Alan Carr on their UK tours and is currently writing her next show.
To find out more, I asked Suzi these seven questions…

1) What is your plan for the day?

It’s 10am and I have already been to yoga so I am feeling quite smug. I have a tea and some porridge in front of me. I’m sat on my sofa, the news is on in the background, the cat is staring at me and I am trying to write. I am currently working on what I think will be a new show for Edinburgh next year. Later I am writing with a friend then off to a gig.

2) Are you avoiding anything right now?

Bread. It’s really hard though as I love sandwiches.

3) What makes you sad?

Injustice and bad coffee.

4) What is it that appeals to you the most about stand up comedy?

I love being a comic. I enjoy life on the road. I have toured loads, I love doing the support for bigger acts, seeing little parts of the country that I never would have otherwise. I also really love playing great comedy clubs like the Glee’s or The Stand. I also really like not having a boss and that every day is different. Also I am a massive show off.

5) Who was your role model when you were younger?

My dad’s pretty good. Mum is too. Neither are comics. Comedically, Victoria Wood, in particular Acorn Antiques, French and Saunders, and Lily Savage. I found her hilarious, I remember seeing Lily on Parkinson and just thinking she was the best.

6) What animal would you like as a pet?

I have a cornish rex cat, she’s really good. Probably better than any other cat in the world, ever.

7) Do you aspire to perform comedy in the biggest venue possible?

No. My favourite venues are old fashioned music halls, I love ones that feel like they are bursting with history. It feels exciting to play somewhere that feels like it’s full of stories.

SUZI RUFFELL IS CURRENTLY PERFORMING AT VARIOUS VENUES ACROSS THE UK.

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Ask The Expert: Carl Chapple (Artist)

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Carl Chapple is an artist based in South Wales, particularly renowned for his portraiture work with subjects including actors, dancers, poets and musicians as well as comedians. He can often be found at events such as the Edinburgh Fringe and Machynlleth Comedy Festival, painting subjects in their own environments.
To learn more about the job of an artist working with comedians, I asked Carl a few questions…

When did comedy and art meet?

I started painting my comedians series in early 2013, though it was only after a few months, when I painted Lloyd Langford, that a joke made it into a picture.

Lloyd sat (horizontally) wearing the banana suit from his recent Edinburgh show, and somehow went straight into a Classical pose associated with the goddess Venus. I’d been about to start a small monochrome painting on panel, but happily had a large canvas to hand, so changed my plans. The combination of the Classical reference, the daft costume and Lloyd’s deadpan expression made me laugh out loud several times as I worked.

david trentSimilarly, David Trent had some suggestions (demands) for his sitting – namely that I provide him with a lawnmower and he pose wearing only Speedos. As it turned out, David wasn’t happy with the mower I’d got for him (a Flymo), but he gallantly went ahead with the session with hardly any complaints. I painted this picture in quite a dark and dramatic style, as befitting a portrait of such a serious fellow.

Have you found painting comedians to be any different to painting people who are not comedians?

Performers in general – or at least those I’ve worked with – may be a bit more physically self-aware and comfortable being looked at than some other portrait sitters (I’ve never had a performer overcome by a fit of the giggles at the start of a sitting, for example), but that’s about it. It’s been a lovely mix – some people arriving with clear ideas about how they’d like to present themselves, and others who work it out on the day, sometimes going for quite traditional, formal poses.

In a lot of cases sitters came to my studio as they were passing through Cardiff on tours. This was great, in that I was able to work with people I might not otherwise have been able to, though a few times it was quite challenging in that they could only spare a couple of hours. This brought an urgency to the work, which was always fun, though the results may have been a little hit and miss.

Where is the strangest place you have had to work?

I recently painted a portrait on bus for the Wales Millennium Centre’s Ar Waith Ar Daith project (commemorating ten years of the WMC), though so far all but five of my comedians paintings were made in my studio in Barry.

Of the others, four were made in a theatre space in Edinburgh (thanks to Sweet Venues) and one in Rhod Gilbert’s front room in London, so nothing particularly strange there – just unfamiliar light and the need to take everything I might need with me, which was harder than I expected (in the case of going to paint Rhod, I forgot to take a palette, which was a bit ridiculous).

Top tip for portrait painting during the Edinburgh Festival: don’t make it the final week. People are tired. Heroic Nat Luurtsema battled exhaustion throughout her sitting, nodding off a couple of times.

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Which comic would you most like to work with?

Too many to list, though Bec Hill and Marcel Lucont both modelled for a portraiture workshop I ran at this year’s Machynlleth Comedy Festival, and were brilliant. I envied everyone else, with their easels and charcoal, and wanted to join in. Also the excellent Jordan Brookes – ‘He has a beautiful face’, as my mum rightly observed recently.

What would you like these paintings to convey?

If I can convey just a little of the warmth, kindness and exquisite good looks of comedians everywhere, then it’s all been worth it.

CARL CHAPPLE’S PAINTINGS ARE AVAILABLE TO VIEW AND PURCHASE FROM HIS WEBSITE

MoodyComedy Is Two

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Today, October 11th, marks exactly two years since MoodyComedy came into existence. And in the beginning, I guess a year makes a lot of difference. It’s strange that I can’t actually remember the exact moment I decided to set up a website, or even what sparked the decision, but it has since become one of the most pivotal decisions of my life so far and it makes me proud to see how far the site has progressed since the last post I wrote of this nature.

As I’m sure some of you will remember, only a couple of weeks after my last birthday post, I was offered the chance to interview my comedy idol Noel Fielding for the British Comedy Guide. As well as teaching me the valuable skills involved in professional interview-conducting, this experience has enabled me to meet my favourite comedian and talk to him about my work. Noel Fielding knows about MoodyComedy and that is quite an achievement, in my eyes. This time last year I had also just launched my Seven Questions With feature, posting interviews with Lost Voice Guy and Angela Barnes. This month I hit the milestone of having interviewed 50 comedians, including the likes of Harry Enfield, Josie Long, Katy Brand and Harry Hill. This has lead to another interview series in recent weeks, where professionals working behind the scenes in the world of comedy are interviewed for Ask The Expert.

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In January of this year I began writing for The Velvet Onion, which has already proven itself to be a very educational experience as I have been able to approach new subject matter as well as work with different writing styles. It has been eye-opening to see how much of the limited free time these people have is spent on producing such top quality material, enabling The Velvet Onion to reach a following of over 12,000 people. These reporters have a real passion for the artists they write about, and their positivity and ambition is infectious. I’d like to thank the team at The Velvet Onion, Paul, Mog and Helen, for all of their encouragement over the past ten months, as well as Mark and Aaron at BCG and all of the people who have enabled the Seven Questions With feature to become what it is today.

And of course, I have to thank you, readers of the site, for the retweets, shares and kind words. This is a hobby and though it is very time-consuming with looming deadlines and daunting challenges, I still absolutely adore writing for you, and hearing your feedback validates all the hours I have spent labouring over my writing. Without the support of creative people like you, MoodyComedy would hold far less value than it does. This next year will see a lot of changes for me, and for MoodyComedy too. In just under a year I will be heading off to university, meaning that I will be living in a brand new city, and I am very excited to absorb a new comedy scene as well as meeting more like-minded people. I hope I end up studying in a city as vibrant as Birmingham, which I have been lucky enough to grow up in. So here’s to another year of hard work, good friends and lots of laughs. I hope you will join me.

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Ask The Expert: Sian Harries (Writer)

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Sian Harries is a comedy writer and performer who has recently worked on television shows such as Man Down and Never Mind The Buzzcocks as well as writing and performing in the radio sketch show Here Be Dragons. Sian is currently working on a new sitcom project with her husband, comedian Rhod Gilbert, and has recently announced that a third series of Man Down is also currently in the works.
To gain insight into the career of a comedy writer, I asked Sian a few questions about her work…

What is the biggest perk of being a comedy writer?

Getting to laugh a lot every day with some of my favourite people. My husband Rhod and I are writing a sitcom together and last Friday we were in a meeting discussing it with Henry Normal when he said “isn’t it wonderful that it’s Friday afternoon and we’re laughing about dirty underwear and this is our job?”

It also means I am never bored as I can find the funny in anything. I think it was all those years spent going to church as a child and being forced to sit and do nothing but be in my brain for an hour. I’d make up relationships between the vicar and the old ladies in the choir stalls; affairs, scandals, you name it. By the time it was over it was like I was watching an episode of Dynasty.

How was your experience writing for Man Down?

Writing a sitcom is hard. I think Greg once described it as “trying to do a jigsaw designed by Satan” and I’d take it one step further and say it’s like “trying to do a jigsaw designed by Satan, that you’re trying to finish in record time as your mother hoovers around you.” There were days where I thought I’d be sick with laughter making up hosts of funny characters and acting them out with Greg and Steve; other days where all we’d done was drink far too much coffee and written down the phrase “oh Bobby!”

Rik Mayall dying was such a shock. We’d written for him on the first series and he was our childhood hero. The day of his funeral we all abandoned our work and drove to Brighton, in a car with no roof, playing The Smiths very loudly, got smashed and went on a log flume. I don’t know why but it seemed rebellious and a bit Rik-like I suppose. It was extra difficult because a few weeks later Greg’s real life dad died as well. So that Christmas Special episode was incredibly poignant for us and we knew we had to address Rik dying. You can’t not mention the king is dead. To us he was irreplaceable.

Here Be Dragons

The cast of Here Be Dragons, with Sian Harries (3rd from right)

Are there any unexpected differences you have found between writing for TV and writing for radio?

I love writing for both TV and Radio. With TV I love how you can have a small visual gag happen in the background to undercut something a character is saying e.g. in the first series of Man Down I wrote a scene where Dom the guru is giving a motivational speech whilst in the background several ornaments are being knocked over by his enormous bottom.

Radio however, is far more freeing, you aren’t limited to what can happen within that little space. The audience have to use their imaginations so you can set radio comedy pretty much anywhere you want without spending any money. Furthermore, because less money is being spent, it also means there are fewer people in nice jackets telling you what you can and can’t do.

Would you rather be performing or working behind the scenes?

I think the dream for me is to write something I think is hilarious and then to perform it the exact way I imagined it being done. Although there are plenty of times I’ll write for someone else and I’m blown away with how funny they make it themselves. I have no interest in doing stand up. I far prefer it when I’ve learnt a scene off by heart and I’m working with people I find funny and I can mess around with. I would hate to be recognised in the street like Rhod is, it’s not for me. I enjoy leaving the house looking like shit too much to go back to having to think about my outfits. It’d be like being a self-conscious fifteen year old again. I also love eavesdropping too much, listening out for funny bits of dialogue or exchanges, and you can’t do that if you’re recognised.

Who would you most like to write a role for?

The ideal person I would write for would be Judy Dench as I think her comic timing is impeccable. I saw her in a brilliant  play called The Vote and I think she said the F-word and it brought the whole house down. She reminds me so much of my wonderful late grandmother and it’d be a dream to have her play a character I’d based on her. There are so many women I’d love to write for though; Julia Davis, Jennifer Saunders, Emma Thompson, Celia Imrie, Alison Steadman, Sharon Horgan… far too many to list.

ASK THE EXPERT…

September: Comedian Of The Month #20, Sarah Kendall

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Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

Australian stand up Sarah Kendall, one of the nominees for this year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, is the epitome of a child trapped in the body of an adult, in the most entertaining of ways. Bringing a lack of self-consciousness and an upbeat demeanour to the stage, Sarah’s words often seem to ring true, even if they are absolutely ridiculous throwaway comments. This is a result of her charming confidence that assures audiences that the slight possibility of derailment is in fact totally controlled, but the possibility that it might not be is enthralling.

Not all stand up comedy in this world is completely enjoyable to watch; comedians are constantly working hard to challenge audiences in terms of their material and general performance features, because that is what makes comedy successful, innovative and exciting. However, what is even more exciting, for me at least, is to find a comic who ticks all of those boxes in terms of creating original, intelligent material, but who is also continuously fun. Sarah Kendall’s energy rarely dips and her enthusiasm on stage is truly enjoyable to see.

Footage from Sarah’s performance on Russell Howard’s Good News in 2009 could easily be mistaken for content from a recent series. Her material feels timeless in a way similar to that of absurdist stand up Paul Foot: topical cultural references are not necessary here and it seems that Kendall might be making a conscious effort to avoid them. This comedian strikes a chord with audiences due to the blend of a sweet and relatable personality with a certain subverted weirdness that works under the surface, shining more brightly when she plays up to surreal scenarios. Sarah Kendall is rapidly becoming a big name in the UK as well as in Australia.

Read more about Sarah Kendall here and follow her on Twitter.

Seven Questions With… Harriet Kemsley

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Harriet Kemsley is a delightful stand up comedian with an undeniably sinister edge. With her endearing, almost-childlike delivery of material that expertly blends the silly with cutting, bitter and sarcastic elements, Harriet is rapidly crafting a distinctive comedy persona. She has recently been supporting the likes of Katherine Ryan and Stewart Francis on their UK tours as well as appearing on The One Show Edinburgh Showcase in August.
To learn more about Harriet, I asked her these seven questions…

1) Are you at all similar to your parents?

I have inherited the best of both worlds. I got my Mum’s overwhelming anxieties and my Dad’s massive head.

2) Do you write your material down?

Yes. Because otherwise I would forget. I have to write everything in my life down or I won’t remember. I write very basic things I have to do on my hand and then I wake up with them smeared to my forehead and I go about my day.

harriet-kemsley-edinburgh-fringe

3) What did you most enjoy about university?

I really really enjoyed the last day. I found Uni unnecessarily stressful, but I did enjoy having my rent paid for by my student loan.

4) What kind of people do you like making friends with?

I particularly like fun people. They are my absolute favourite. Big idiots that can laugh at themselves. If I was to go on friend Tinder I would swipe right for big fun honest idiots.

5) Do you pay much attention to detail?

Awlays. I am completely paranoid about everything so I have to read an email about 3000 times before I send it just to check I haven’t subconsciously written something like YOU’REABIGIDIOT in the middle. It’s the same with everything. It took me ages to wrap presents last Christmas as I became paranoid I was going to wrap dirty knickers up with them.

6) Which comedians inspire you most?

I am in love with Amy Schumer and Maria Bamford and Sarah Silverman and Katherine Ryan. They are all just perfect and I want to marry them.

7) Do you know what you want?

I think so. I really like doing comedy and I really want to get great at it. I would really like a proper home as I live in squalor with disgusting boys and one day I would really like to wake up to the sound of birds singing and not someone masturbating in the shower. And I would also like a little dog.

HARRIET KEMSLEY IS SOON TO BE PERFORMING HER DEBUT SHOW ‘PUPPY FAT’ AT VARIOUS VENUES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Comedy Circle #1 Who Watches Satire?

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It has been virtually impossible to miss the recent, yet of course not fully reported, news story regarding Lord Ashcroft’s account of David Cameron’s Bullingdon Club days and the antics he and his chums got up to. Waking up to the storm of excited social media was made all the more interesting given the fact this doesn’t seem to be a hoax, but I guess we can never know for sure. I doubt the Prime Minister will ever admit to it, if it does happen to be true. Since the news broke on September 20th Charlie Brooker has been inundated with comments that reference the parallels of Cameron’s pig plight with National Anthem, the first episode of Black Mirror, which aired in 2011 and it got me thinking about the role that satire plays in our society.

Satirical comedy is a genre that seems deeply ingrained in the British psyche. At its best it can be revolutionary, but at its worst attempts become lazy, stereotypical and therefore ineffective. Yet regardless of whether it hits the mark or not, it seems that we can’t express ourselves thoroughly without it. Satire is now an underpinning part of our media consumption, with the implications and effects of this being incredibly promising in terms of freedom of speech. It has been proven that comedy, and practically any form of communal laughter, is an immediate way of uniting a group of people in a positive, reinforcing manner. It may even be so that with some of the most popular and accessible satirical humour that is broadcast on television in the UK, this sense of togetherness is multiplied due to the age-old addition of human pride that comes about when discussing things that make us feel clever.

Intelligence is anyone’s game now. Education is now accessible to far more people than ever before, and increasingly so, meaning that satirical comedy is no longer an exclusive thing. It makes people like me, a seventeen year old female with a Midlands accent and very little in the way of a plan for the future, feel as though my opinion is valued and important. Regardless of whether I agree with the satirist or not, the crucial point of it is that the individual is permitted to broadcast an opinion. Though at times this branch of British comedy can feel very smug and male-dominated, it is encouraging to see it being opened up to more people as time progresses.

So if more of us are watching, absorbing and reflecting the satirical sense of humour, are those that are being criticised watching it too? Of course there are countless targets of countless jokes from all different backgrounds, and for all kinds of different reasons. Nobody is safe from mockery, or at least they shouldn’t be. I can state with relative certainty that each person reading this has been a part of a collective that has been criticised by a comedian on television or radio, whether that be the teenage generation, the middle classes, the working classes, the One Direction fans. You name it, it’s probably been ridiculed. But do we take note of the message behind the comments, when it is our own values that are being attacked, or is it in our nature to defend our position in order to deflect any criticism?

Is comedy still relevant if the people you are satirising are unaware of the irony? Does it matter if David Cameron never watched Black Mirror?

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Seven Questions With… Andy Hamilton

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© Steve Ullathorne

Andy Hamilton is an award winning comedy writer and stand up comedian, perhaps best known for co-creating and writing Outnumbered, who has recently been working on satirical television shows such as Ballot Monkeys and the comedy film What We Did On Our Holiday with fellow writer Guy Jenkin. Now he is back on the road with a new stand up show: Change Management.
To learn more about this fascinating comedian and writer, I asked Andy these seven questions…

1) Which piece of your satirical writing are you most proud of?

That’s a difficult ask. A lot of what I’ve written I’ve now forgotten. But I’m very proud of Drop the Dead Donkey, Old Harry’s Game, and a TV film called 11 Men against 11. And there is quite a lot of craftily-hidden satire in Outnumbered.

2) What frustrates you most?

I find frustration very frustrating, so I try to avoid it. Sadly, however, I have to use the tube every day. So I tend to bypass frustration and go straight to rage.

3) Do you like to plan ahead?

Not really. As a freelance writer, my life is dictated by the decisions of others, so I go with the flow and see where I wash up.

4) When was the last time your job got you in trouble?

When a van-driver greeted me in the street as “Satan”. It caused a bit of a stir. I got away in the end.

5) Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

Antarctica. My boyhood hero was Captain Oates. No, I’m kidding. I’ll go anywhere there’s room service.

6) What were you most afraid of as a child?

Mr Rayner. A teacher who thought kids were percussion instruments. I’m probably safe from him now.

7) Can comedians say anything?

Yes, unless they’re mimes. And provided that what they say is funny and not just saying stuff.

ANDY HAMILTON IS CURRENTLY TOURING HIS NEW SHOW ‘CHANGE MANAGEMENT’

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Fred MacAulay

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Fred MacAulay is a name known to many a Radio 4 listener having appeared on The News Quiz, Bridget Christie’s Mind The Gap and The Unbelievable Truth, to name just a few. The Scottish comic has also featured on episodes of QI , Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week and is currently touring his first stand up show since 2012 named Twenty Fifteen. MacAulay clearly has a great deal of experience working on the comedy circuit, having performed at the Edinburgh Festival 27 times in his career so far.
To learn more about Fred, I asked him these seven questions…

1) Are you glad that comedy wasn’t your first job?

Yes. And I’m equally delighted that it’s my last job. Can’t see me doing anything different ever. Maybe acting. Maybe singing. But they’d be sidelines. Comedy first.

2) Which time of year is your favourite?

Toss-up between summer and winter. I love the fresh crisp winter days when the hills are white with fresh snow, but I love the summer mornings when the sun is streaming in through our front door to greet me as I come downstairs to feed the dogs. If you could give me one such winters day with 16 hours of sunshine I’d be a happy man.

3) What motivates you in life?

I’ll be honest with you… I like earning, it’s not the sole motivation, but when I was a boy I was envious of the rich kids who had great skis and the best ski boots. I had wooden skis and lace-up boots, and I was determined that one day I’d be able to have the good gear. Having said that, I was doing very well in my previous occupation, so the REAL motivation is that in work terms… I get to do what I love to do. Simple as that. Ask anyone who does that and you’ll find a degree of satisfaction that is missing from people on jobs they ‘make do with’.

4) What attribute do you wish you had?

Wisdom.

5) What are you bored of?

TV shows like Cash in the Attic or Shit in the Loft or whatever it’s called. Surely there’s NOTHING left for the BBC to evaluate.

6) What is the most frightening thing about performing comedy, for you?

That I’ve no idea what the next routine is. Or even worse, the end of the current one. The former has happened, the latter thankfully, never.

7) Are you at peace with the world?

Most of it. I’m not as forgiving as I should be, so there are a few people I’ve got issues with. Given the chance to settle scores, I probably wouldn’t. I generally avoid hassle and direct encounters.

INFORMATION ABOUT FRED MACAULAY’S LATEST TOUR IS AVAILABLE FROM HIS WEBSITE

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

TV Review: Doll & Em, Series 2

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Airing in June of this year, series 2 of Doll & Em has been a relatively long time coming, but it was worth the wait. The premise is simple enough: Dolly and Emily are best friends and have been since they were children. Both women are British, but Emily has since become a considerably successful Hollywood actress, as well as marrying an American and having two children. Dolly, on the other hand, currently has less going on in her life. The beginning of the first series saw her break up with her long-term boyfriend and move to LA to become Em’s personal assistant. Since then, Dolly has proven that she is not personal assistant material and now works with Emily, rather than for her: the pair are writing a play which is inspired by their long-lasting friendship.

© Sky Atlantic

© Sky Atlantic

An interesting aspect of Doll & Em is that it feels as though the writers (Mortimer, Wells and Azazel Jacobs) feel no particular need or desire to have their audience fall in love with the core characters. It seems that all viewers, women in particular, can identify elements of their own personalities, their friends, their sisters, their mothers, reflected in Dolly and Emily.

There is a great deal of skill present in the writing that has enabled Wells and Mortimer to tackle serious topics like marriage problems, friendship issues and creative disagreements whilst maintaining a definite bright and airy feel to the whole production, perhaps presenting a more natural representation of how people deal with struggles in their lives whilst getting on with whatever also needs to be done. Here we have a British sitcom that is entirely binge-watchable. It isn’t a psychological drain to watch too many episodes in one sitting,  unlike many other cringe-style comedy shows such as The Office, Peep Show or Lead Balloon, making Doll & Em feel almost of its own genre altogether.

Doll & Em is a comedy about what is important, to the writers yes, but also to people in general. It considers what it is that makes us continue to invest our energy into certain things, whether that be friendship, family or a creative process like the crafting of Doll and Em’s play. It shows life as a string of incidents, of positive and negative experiences that make up who we are. The laughs are not riotous, but they are certainly there. They are not forced, manufactured or pitiful; they are honest. This is a comedy that truly warms the heart.

SERIES TWO OF DOLL & EM IS AVAILABLE ON SKY.