Catherine Bohart: The Edinburgh Interviews 2019
Who? Catherine Bohart
What? Lemon
Where? Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs (Venue 33)
When? 18:00
What are your feelings as you enter into this year’s Edinburgh Fringe season?
I’m really excited for the Fringe this year. Lemon is my second show so I don’t have the same levels of fear that I did last year that I wouldn’t be able to write the show or that I couldn’t make it through the month. Of course, there are new reasons to be anxious (it wouldn’t be any fun if there weren’t), I want the show to be better than last year’s and truer to my comic voice but mainly I’m looking forward to it. I just want people who come back to have a good time and for people who’ve never seen me before to get a clear sense of who I am. I think the show is funnier than last year’s though and that’s a good place to start. I say ‘the show’, I obviously mean the crumpled, tea stained notebook I carry everywhere.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Lemon is about sex, relationships and love. It’s mainly jokes about societal expectants of those things and how they are perceived when between two women. I’ve dated men and woman and though I don’t buy into a gender binary in any strict manner, I hope the show is a fun exploration of how those experiences have differed and compared for me. It’s pretty smutty, I didn’t mean it to be but it seems that all that tea has been making me kind of rude.
What is the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Scheduling time for crying. Big part of my process.
Has your attitude towards the Fringe changed at all in recent years?
I’m more positive about it than I have been in the past. I mean, sure it’s hard and long and expensive. But also, all your friends are there and you get to perform everyday to people who meant to see you (this may change this year as another comic has the same show title as me), and you see some of the best comedians in the world every day. Whereas before I was quite scared by it, now though I am still terrified, it feels like a fun goal for the year rather than a looming spectre. Most days… I think… yeah, let’s say that.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Oh yeah, so many! Ahir Shah, Laura Davis, Sarah Keyworth, Chloe Petts, Liza Treyger, Lou Sanders, Helen Bauer, Sophie Duker, Ed Night, Larry Dean, Rhys Nicholson.
Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
Answering Q&As for my Edinburgh Fringe Show. I like to set achievable goals.
