Baby Wants Candy

Al Samuels: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019

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Thrones! © George Eckart
Who? Al Samuels
What? Baby Wants Candy/Thrones!
Where? Assembly George Square Studios/Assembly George Square – Gordon Aikman Theatre (Venue 17/8)
When? 20:00/22:30

What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?

Nervexcithuasted. That’s a portmanteau of nervous, excited and exhausted.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

We have two:

  1. Thrones! a musical parody of Game of Thrones. This will be our fifth time at Fringe with Thrones, and we update the show each series, including the 8th and final (and controversial) season. We just finished a month long run at the Sydney Opera House and the audiences there seemed to really enjoy it and the ways in which we beat up the last season.
  2. Baby Wants Candy, a completely improvised musical with a full band (that’s mostly Scottish!). This will be our 14th Fringe, and I just love performing this show. We take a bunch of titles from the audience of a musical that’s never been written and performed. The audience votes on what they want to see that night, and we make it up in front of their eyes. Some of my favourite titles in recent years from Fringe have been Kanye West Side Story, Mary Poppins has Ebola and of course, I F*cked Your Mom. Fringe audiences are pretty high brow. What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Money. It costs a lot to bring shows from overseas to Fringe.

Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?

Hmmm. I think I just like it more and more every year. One of my favourite things to do ever.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Catherine Cohen and Zach Zimmerman. Both hilarious and wonderful.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?

Getting ready for Edinburgh Fringe 2020 and hopefully toasting that Trump got arrested before the election.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR ‘THRONES!‘ HERE AND ‘BABY WANTS CANDY’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2019

Baby Wants Candy: The Edinburgh Interviews 2018

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Who? Albert Samuels
What? Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical
Where? Assembly George Square Studios (venue 17)
When? 20:00

Are you prepared for what this year’s Edinburgh Fringe has in store for you?

No. Our show is improvised brand new every night, so the show is brand new to us too. Also, we’re a group from the States, and if Trump hasn’t blown the world up by then, I will be pleasantly surprised that the Scottish don’t try to murder us in our sleep for being American.

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

We take a bunch of titles from the audience of the title of a musical that’s never been performed before. The audience votes on the title they want to see and we make it up on the spot. Some previous titles we’ve performed: “Tinder in the Animal Kingdom”, “Fake Newsies”, and “Centaur, Put That Down!”. Of all the audience we play for around the world, the Scottish give us the cleverest, and usually the most demented, titles. Fun fact- most of our band are local home-grown Scottish musicians. They’re the true talent.

© Robyn Von Swank

What was the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

Keeping updated on just about everything in pop culture, history and musicals, since the audience can and does yell out just about anything. We performed an improvised musical a few years ago at Fringe based on the suggestion “Kanye West Side Story”, so we had to know a ton about the Bernstein/Sondheim musical, the Kanye/Taylor Swift feud and be ready to improvise a lot of raps.

Who would most enjoy your show?

People who love musicals… and people who really hate musicals. 

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

Daniel Kitson. And Thrones! The Musical Parody.

What is your favourite thing about Edinburgh as a city?

I have been to Edinburgh 12 times before for Fringe, and it never feels small. It always feel fresh and new. 

What are your plans for after the festival?

Not sure. You have an extra room?

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR BABY WANTS CANDY: ‘THE COMPLETELY IMPROVISED FULL BAND MUSICAL’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2018

The Edinburgh Interviews 2017: Chris Grace

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Chris Grace is going to be a very busy man during this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. He is set to perform as part of improv group Baby Wants Candy, one of the longest running improv shows of the fringe; in Julie Shavers’ comedy play Mary Go Nowhere and also in the Game Of Thrones parody: Thrones! The Musical. 

1) What excites you most about the Edinburgh Festival?

The chance to perform for the best audiences in the world, and see a hundred wonderful/awful/silly/amazing shows.

2) What was /is your first Edinburgh show about?

I first came to Edinburgh with Baby Wants Candy in 2012. It’s a super-fun musical improv show with a full rock band that is still a blast to this day!

3) Does your comedy attract a certain type of audience?

It seems to be a diverse group: we have people that love improv comedy, and hate improv comedy, and people that love musicals and despise musicals!

© Garrett Palm

4) What is the worst experience you’ve had with Edinburgh accommodation?

The time when I thought I’d treat my partner and I to a night in a hotel, which was absolutely lovely and modern and clean, and also had no fan, air conditioning or windows that could open, and we gradually heated up the damp room with our existence, and then we finally fell asleep, and then at 3 AM the fire alarm for the entire building went off so we stood out on Cockburn St with the rest of the patrons of the hotel like sad tourist zombies.

5) What is your most treasured memory of your comedy career so far?

Shepherding “Thrones! The Musical” from an idea in someone’s head to a show that makes people laugh and cry and cheer.

6) What show will you definitely be seeing at the festival this year?

“Domesticated”, a show by my hilarious friend Christine Holt at Paradise in The Vault.

7) What do you hope to gain from the Edinburgh Festival this year?

I’d like to see as many old friends as possible and make as my new ones as I can!

8) What do you imagine your last ever show will be about?

It will probably be a one-man show performed in the cafeteria of the nursing home that I’ll be living in. It will feature a scathing critique of that week’s bland menu and the fact that the older residents won’t let me participate in their mah-jong game. Admission will be free but you have to bring me a newspaper and a medium-sized container of Chinese roast pork.

BOOK TICKETS FOR THRONES! THE MUSICAL AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2017