Interview

Seven Questions With… Fern Brady

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Fern BradyHaving appeared on 8 out of 10 Cats and The Alternative Comedy Experience, and getting to the final of So You Think You’re Funny in 2011, Fern Brady has proven herself to be not only an able performer, but an exciting and versatile one too. Her material is homely, honest and personal, with occasional distasteful elements that delight the devil in all of us, and she will be bringing her latest stand up show People Are Idiots to the Edinburgh festival in August.
To learn more about Fern, I asked her these seven questions…

1) What is the oldest trick in the book?

Telling guys “Of course I’ve had a recent AIDS test!” then looking indignant and adding quietly “Besides… it’s not like I normally do this.” Works every time. Did you mean a comedy trick?

2) Are you particularly interested in politics?

I thought I was really into it but my boyfriend works in politics and listening to him read out all the different electoral seats in Scotland last night in a robotic monotone made me realise we all have different interpretations of the phrase ‘interested in politics’.

3) What quality do you most look for in others?

In friends: to have none of my unappealing traits. In lovers: openness to new experiences (e.g. threeways). In audiences: servile devotion.

4) Is there a noticeable difference between gigging in Scotland and England?

Nope, except when I die at gigs in England I try to persuade myself it’s cause they’re having trouble understanding my accent, which is a pretty big lie to sell given the hundreds of gigs I’ve done all over England where everyone totally knew what I was saying. I’d say the biggest difference is gigs in the north and south of England, I find I end up doing different types of material depending on where I am. 

5) Are you good at maths?

Not at all, I got kicked out of Standard Grade maths at school a lot, I was really wilfully bad at it cause I remember being in the top class then getting booted into the General level one, then eventually Foundation maths with the proper plebs. None of the maths teachers at my school were a great advert for maths though, they were all semi-literate nerds from Coatbridge and I gave up on them completely when they spelled my punishment exercises wrong.

I smugly told the head of maths I’d never need maths but at the time I think I thought I’d be a famous novelist and not the undignified clown I ended up being.

6) What is your favourite television comedy of 2015 so far?

Hmm. Well. There are so many great comedy shows but I’d have to say the thing that stands out is my BBC Comedy Feed Radges, which is about when I was in a pupil referral unit for mental teens. That hasn’t been released yet but PLEASE WATCH IT SO I CONTINUE TO GET WORK.

I generally prefer stuff on Netflix and Amazon Prime so my favourite recent shows are Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I know the first two aren’t sitcoms but I find comedy drama way funnier than a lot of sitcoms.

7) What is your proudest achievement?

Getting off with two women from the audience of one of my gigs. I’m basically the Hugh Hefner of the UK comedy circuit.

FERN BRADY WILL BE PERFORMING HER STAND UP SHOW, PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS, AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL (THE STAND) ON THE 6TH-30TH AUGUST

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Ed Gamble

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Ed Gamble

Ed Gamble (half of stand up and podcasting double act Peacock & Gamble) is a comedian that is fast becoming a regular face on television, with appearances on Russell Howard’s Good News, Virtually Famous and Sweat the Small Stuff. He is a regular presenter on Fubar Radio as well as co-writing the critically acclaimed Peacock and Gamble Podcast. Ed will be performing his second solo show Lawman at Canon’s Gait (1.15pm) at this year’s Edinburgh festival.
To find out a little more, I asked Ed these seven questions…

1) Hands for feet or feet for hands?

Hands for feet, definitely. I’m not a zoologist but I’m pretty sure that’s what chimps have and they have a brilliant life what with all the hanging out up trees and laughing. Also, feet for hands would make eating rather unwieldy and there’s nothing more demeaning than trying to hammer a load of mash into your mouth using a size 11. Especially up a tree. I’ve confused myself now.

2) Did you have any awful jobs before your career in comedy?

Not really- I’ve been quite lucky. I did have a job for a bit where I would have to get up at 4.45 am and go to an office to listen to a lot of local radio and note down every time a company was mentioned. To this day I don’t know why. I never asked either. I make a perfect unquestioning drone worker.  

3) Describe your perfect day?

A lovely walk followed by a smashing breakfast and a very strong coffee. Fill time until lunch where I have a gigantic burger except it doesn’t make me feel ill or full. Then ice cream. Then I find £20 in my pocket and go and see a film which I am unexpectedly the star of. Fill time until dinner. Eat a giant steak for dinner. Then ice cream. Do a gig to people who all think I’m brilliant apart from one guy who everyone turns on. Eventually even he admits I am great. Then ice cream. Hit the hay at around 11pm. Get up at 11.30pm for ice cream. Back to bed for a strong 10 hours.

4) Who inspired you to become a comedian?

I went to see Steve Coogan live when I was 13 and left completely in awe. I probably thought about it ever since then. But honestly I don’t think I ever made the actual decision “I am going to be a comedian.” I just started doing it as a hobby and now I get paid for it. The lack of a true career plan will inevitably be my downfall but that’s the way I like it.

5) What is your favourite condiment?

I am a mustard guy but please don’t try and pin me down on which variety, as it differs day to day. Also I ain’t eating eggs without hot sauce (Franks Xtra Hot or Tabasco Chipotle if you must know).

6) Have you made plans for your funeral?

I don’t plan on dying until 2085 when I shall be cremated and have my ashes poured into the circuits of the robot assassin who took my life.

7) How important is satire to you?

Satire is hugely important, but not to me. Political comedy and satire is a necessary and integral part of the art form and as such I refuse to spoil it by trying to have a go at it.

ED GAMBLE WILL PERFORM HIS STAND UP SHOW, GAMBLETRON 5000, AT THE SOHO THEATRE FROM 7TH-9TH MAY

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Chris Coltrane

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Chris Coltrane is a stand up comedian who makes it his business to talk about activism and, in turn, makes a valiant attempt at inspiring his audiences to become more of an engaged and interested part of society. His material is often very political, which, unsurprisingly to some, I find incredibly important due to the relevance of politics in our lives and an apparent lack of it in comedy itself. But Chris can also be silly too, often bordering on surreal, which adds balance to the heavier, political material.
To find out more about Chris, I asked him these seven questions…

1) Are you a productive person?

Let me answer your question with another question: Yes? Here’s my typical day: I wake up at 6am. I then go immediately back to sleep, wake up at 10am, and read the newspaper. To save time I just read every fifth word. Apparently Prince Bodyguard is selling birth to her favourite crown this week. Got to be worth keeping an eye on that story.

After that I’ll put my “pen” in my “hand”, and do some “writing”. I’ll also occasionally email new romantic lyrics to Chromeo. One I thought of today was “Hey girl, you need a man that can respect you / A man to love and hug and kiss and sometimes sex you”. Chromeo usually pays £40 for a high-quality lyric like that. The afternoon is what I call my “special time”, and I’ll thank you not to ask anything more about that. And finally, in the evening I usually smash it at gigs like the Comedy Owl Sanctuary, the Comedy Burger, Tim Vine’s Comedy Sadness, The Alternative Frederick, The Comedy Surgery (where comedians perform comedy next to actual live medical surgery, despite the surgeons pleading with us to stop), and the unpopular Comedy Srjigwmf.

Chris-Coltrane-Photo

2) What would make Britain’s political system more effective?

I honestly think it’s time we gave dogs the vote. Haven’t they proven that they deserve it? They’ve been such good boys, yes they have, and they’re so cute and good aren’t they, yes they are, yes they are. Who’s a good boy? They are, yes they are. I had another idea that we could build “Democracy Pods” in each town, which members of the public can sit in for seven days, after which they’ll transform into a fully functional democracy. Like slugs do before they become butterflies or whatever. The pods would be large, and full of a special scientific slime to aid with the transformation process. I don’t think I need to explain to you the benefits that such pods would bring to British democracy.

3) Has being a comedian ever landed you in trouble?

No, although now you mention it, yes. I knew that all the swans belonged to the Queen – but no-one told me that it was treason to make jokes about swans on stage. Apparently it’s technically illegal to hurt a swan’s feelings. Bloody stupid law, if you ask me. Anyway, I went to prison for 50 years, and now I won’t rest until I’ve wreaked vengeance on the entire Windsor clan.

4) Which meal of the day is the best?

It’s a meal that I invented, called Prµñşt. It’s happens at 2am, when you’ve had your dinner, and you’ve had a little bit of supper before bed, but then you’ve stayed up for another five hours by mistake and you feel really #sad. A cheeky Prµñşt helps to keep you going & stops you from dying. Typical things to eat at Prµñşt include: Toad In The Face, Angry Stir-Fry, Moustache a la carte, Immature cheddar cheese, Honey-glazed fear, Steamed ice in a water sauce, Ladyfingers, “Live Or Die” pizza, Sweet and/or sour butterfly, Lamb waffles, Some cakes, Supercrisps, Cock au vin, Sweet potatoes (1954 vintage), Knuckle sandwich.

5) Are you glad the dinosaurs are extinct?

Yes. Fuck dinosaurs. Creepy eight-legged bastards. Fuck dinosaurs, fuck their webs, and fuck their poison fangs. I’m glad they’re all dead.

6) When was the exact moment you decided to become a comedian?

Actually, I remember the exact day. In 1931, sometime in May (I forget when), I was watching an open mic in Germany, and a new act took to the stage, and told the audience that his name was Adolf Hitlers. I’m sure you can see where this is going! He did a 5 minute set which, to be fair to him, was technically perfect. Great stage presence, excellent timing, he really knew how to perform. And his set was structurally textbook. But the content – well, you can guess. Utterly hack. “Aren’t men and women different”. “What’s the deal with airline food”. “What’s up with self-service checkouts”. So boring! I knew I could do better. And that was the day I decided to become a comedian. Here we are, over 6 years later, and Hitlers has become known as one of history’s greatest monsters. There’s a lesson for us all about the dangers of lazy comedy there.

7) Is there something that the whole world seems to care about, apart from you?

Sports. Whether it be footsball, basketsball, rugsball, hockeying, sprints, badmanton, horses, tennips, keep-them-up, “John’s Game”, or a simple game of goals, nothing interests me less than the idea of sports. If I had one wish, I’d wish for everyone to stop caring about sports. And if I had two wishes, I’d wish for it twice, just to make absolutely sure that sports STAYED THE HELL AWAY from me and my seventeen awful daughters.

FOR INFORMATION REGARDING GIGS, PODCASTS AND TO VIEW CHRIS COLTRANE’S 2014 LIVE COMEDY SHOW ONLINE FOR FREE, VISIT HIS WEBSITE

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Iain Stirling

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Iain StirlingIain Stirling is an Edinburgh-born stand up comedian with a charmingly childish look in his eye and an aptitude for incorporating personal elements into his often quite silly anecdotal stand up style. Stirling was a finalist in the Chortle Student Comedian Of The Year competition in 2009 and has since gone on to work as a CBBC presenter and actor, as well as appearing on Russell Howard’s Good News and Sweat the Small Stuff.
I asked Iain these seven questions to learn a little more…

1) Do you care about the Royal family?

Not particularly, perplexed if anything. Should people still wear crowns in 2015? Doesn’t feel right.

2) How many wrongs make a right?

None.

3) Which comedians do you most enjoy gigging with?

Tom Webb, Joe Lycett, Steve Bugeja, Mark Smith, Liam Williams, Carl Donnelly, Joel Dommett, Romesh Ranganathan and everyone at The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh!

4) Do your parents take your comedy career seriously?

I have a law degree, I think that gives you a fair idea of their stance on the matter.

5) Something that makes you feel out of place?

Posh clothes shops.

6) Ever been responsible for the death of a pet?

No comment.

7) Can people trust you?

People yes, pets no.

IAIN STIRLING BRINGS HIS SHOW: EVERYTHING TO THE SOHO THEATRE ON 17TH-18TH APRIL

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Ray Peacock

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One half of stand up and podcasting duo, Peacock & Gamble, Ray Peacock is mischievous, multi-layered and an expert storyteller. He has appeared on Russell Howard’s Good News and worked as a warm up for shows including Not Going Out and The IT Crowd. He has also recently become one of the favourite presenters of Fubar Radio, regularly working with comedians Ed Gamble and Angela Barnes. Ray will be performing his latest solo stand up show Here Comes Trouble to the Soho Theatre from the 2nd-4th April.
I asked Ray these seven questions to learn a little more about him…

1) Is there too much stuff in the world?

There’s too much stuff in my house, let alone the world. I go a bit obsessive about stuff from time to time and collect things to the point of bursting. The most cathartic thing I’ve ever done was a massive eBay sale in January just gone where I got rid of sooooo much stuff. I basically made a list of stuff in my house that I could remember without seeing it and anything that didn’t make the list went on eBay- it was amazing. I’ve also gotten into a mood where anything that makes me sad is gone- so there were a fair few items purged that way too. I’d strongly advise everyone to do it- hugely freeing. Oh and I learned you can’t put animals on eBay- did you know that? Or people. 

2) What’s the best thing about being in a double act?

I don’t even know if I am any more, I’ve not seen Ed since October! I think we both found at the Fringe last year that we felt a bit lost initially after sharing the Edinburgh stresses for three years on the bounce. The first night we went and had a coffee together and then parted to go to our respective shows- that was heart-breaking- just walking slowly in different directions. We both looked back. So that, I guess, just the company of it. Some of our best shows were when we were looking at each other on stage and smirking when audiences weren’t going for it. When you’re on your own there’s nobody to smirk at when the nights are a struggle. So, yeah, the company. And the sex natch.

Ray Peacock3) Who would you most like to punch?

I get less and less inclined to punch people as I get older. I’m actually a bit more sinister than that, and at any given time I am plotting exhaustive revenge plans on plenty of folk who have crossed me. The last person I would have considered smacking was Jon Gaunt when he came onto Fubar and started attempting to chuck his weight around, but I managed to keep my cool for most of that as he got himself into a tizzie. He was demanding we were sacked (me and Ed) and all this nonsense, but it was a weird one because if he had done even a second of research on who he had picked a fight with then he would have seen that it might be a little more challenging than he anticipated. It was like he had gone into a boxing title match and not even watched a video of who he was up against. Which is always risky as you may get caught with a lethal uppercut and end up on your arse. Which is metaphorically what happened, and also a nice answer given your original question.

4) Do you worry too much?

Not any more, over the last couple of years I’ve got a proper perspective on who and what is actually important to me and it turns out that I’d had all my loyalties in the wrong places- personally and professionally- so I was always worried about how certain situations might impact on other people. When this wasn’t repaid, I got myself to a point where I will literally shrug off anything nowadays, inevitability remains inevitable whether you worry or not. I am being hilarious in this interview don’t you think? I’d definitely go and see my show…

5) What’s your opinion on reality TV?

I was literally typing that I don’t watch it and then I realised that I watch The Undateables and I guess that’s reality TV right? I like that one. I won’t watch any of the Simon Cowell ones, or anything that is a competition. I find those ones very morally ambiguous and I lay the blame for increasingly rude and appallingly behaved live audiences firmly at Cowell’s feet. He has single-handedly authorised disrespectful and prickish audience behaviour to a point of Armageddon and come the revolution he should be first against the wall.

6) What makes comedy exciting for you?

In the last twelve months I’ve had an average running time on my tour show of 2hrs 15 mins (with an interval) – all just me. That’s the most exciting thing in the world to me just now, the idea that I am touring a show where I easily fill the whole thing for that length of time – it would have been unthinkable not long back, and it feels like such a huge achievement. I can remember panicking about filling an hour, and nowadays I panic about getting it down to an hour. At the Soho theatre run I am doing the original fringe show which is 60 mins and I honestly don’t know how that’s going to be possible. Maybe some of that worry is coming back now. No banter- no matter what. I don’t care what your job is.

7) Did you see it?

No, I was busy misbehaving somewhere else. I almost certainly have the better story to tell.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS FOR RAY PEACOCK’S SOHO THEATRE RUN

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Rod Woodward

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Rod WoodwardRod Woodward is a Welsh stand up comedian with a particular interest in sport, which adds an interesting and ‘niche’ dimension to some of his material. He has supported the likes of Paddy McGuinness and Russell Brand as well having performed at the ITV1 Royal Variety Performance in 2014. Rod will be at performing his latest show The Journey Starts Here at various venues across the UK during May and June 2015.
To learn more about Rod, I asked him these seven questions…

1) Should humans be trying to live longer?

That really depends on what kind of human we’re talking about. Good people should be brightening the world for as long as possible. Badduns should really have the decency to check out at their earliest convenience. In the words of the great Ken Dodd, “I hope to live long enough to see the end of the DFS sale!”

2) Can you knit?

No. But I admire those who can. I read that the world’s longest scarf was knitted in my hometown of Cardiff and measures nearly 34 miles long. How many times would you have to wrap that around your neck?!  By the time you got it on, the winter would be over. I wonder how long the previous record holding scarf was. I have visions of some old woman calling the Guinness Book of Records and saying, “I’ve just knitted what I think could be a record breaking scarf. How long is it? Well it’s from here to Swansea!

3) Why is sport important to you?

My Dad was a sports writer before he retired so I was brought up on sport. He covered soccer and boxing. In boxing, I can never understand why they hug after the fight. Maybe if they did the hug at the start they wouldn’t feel so obliged to try and kill each other. That’s why they get in the ring in their dressing gowns- it’s cause they know they’re going to hospital after the fight. If you look in those kitbags, they’ve got Lucozade and grapes in there. My favourite sport to play is golf thanks to the handicap system where you can be rubbish and still win. Years ago they worried that the term ‘handicap’ was offensive to people with disabilities but they weren’t bothered. They said, “Handicap?! I’m not the one wasting five hours in the pouring rain dressed like a blind pimp!”

4) Do you watch panel shows?

I have stopped watching them as they give me flashbacks to a pilot for a sporting/comedy panel show I was involved with when I had to go head to head with Frank Lampard in a keep-up competition. I was allowed to use a football and Frank beat me… with a pickled onion!!!  I am still in therapy over it.

5) Would you say you’re a brave person?

You never know how you will react to a proper fright until you get one. The other day my wife told me she was staying at her friend’s house overnight but changed her mind and decided to go home. When I got back from a gig very late, the house was in darkness and I assumed my wife was out like she’d originally told me. Little did I know she was hiding inside the darkness. She waited for me to turn on the lights, make myself some tea and toast, switch on the TV and start flicking through the channels. Then she jumped out from behind the sofa and shouted “BOO!”. Embarrassingly, my spontaneous reaction was to throw the tray in the air and scream “GET AWAY!” I don’t know what effect I thought the ‘GET AWAY’ would have. As if an actual intruder would say, “No, fair play you are right… I shouldn’t be in here really.”

6) Which person on the planet scares you the most?

My wife (see previous answer. Incidents like that one are becoming a regular occurrence which makes me think she must have me insured to the back teeth). Last night she woke me up with a start and told me there was a noise downstairs and that I should go and investigate and flick the kettle on while I was downstairs. “Arm yourself,” she said handing me a backscratcher with a plastic hand on the end. “Great! If there is someone in the house let’s hope he’s an itchy burglar!”

7) Which comedian working today is the most admirable for you?

I am a huge fan of Jerry Seinfeld and was lucky enough to see him live at the O2 arena.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ROD WOODWARD’S 2015 UK TOUR

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Roisin Conaty

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Roisin Conaty is a stand up comedian, actress and writer. With her optimistic outlook and often silly sense of humour, Roisin is one of those comics that makes you feel happier, which is so much more than just making you laugh. She plays the hilarious layabout, Jo, in the fantastic sitcom Man Down, which will return this year (starring Greg Davies and the late Rik Mayall) and also wrote and starred in her own pilot GameFace. As well as this, Roisin is currently filming for a new comedy series, Taskmaster, which will be fronted by Greg Davies and Alex Horne.
To learn more about Roisin, I asked her these seven questions…

1) What makes you laugh?

Everything. Eventually. Life is pretty ridiculous really, I mean, we are spinning in a ball in space. Any part of it slowed down, held up and examined is equally beautiful, tedious, painful and funny.

2) How good are your timekeeping skills?

Ooof awful. It honestly feels like minutes sneak away from me, out of my pockets, under the door. They leave in groups of 10, silently, hiding my phone/shoe/keys on their way. The bastards. Then sometimes they have the audacity to show up when they are not needed, all pissed and slow, like when I am waiting for a night bus or dominoes to open.

3) What one thing could you not live without?

The brilliant work of other women who ensure my safety, my rights, my voice. Women who have worked and continue to work tirelessly for progress and equality. Women who put themselves above the parapet, so they are seen and heard. The brilliantly funny and supportive women in stand up comedy who I need for inspiration. They are my sisters in arms. Basically women… oh yeah and men for kissing and sexing and stuff.

Roisin Conaty4) Do people talk too much?

No, sharing our stories & communicating with each other is how we feel connected. I think ultimately that’s all humans want, to feel connected to someone or something. It’s the motivation behind everything. Good and bad. Small talk is something I find hard, I think a lot of comics do. It has all the hallmarks of connection but you feel drained and deflated at the end. A really honest, intimate conversation about your fears, ideas, hopes and experiences with a mate can be better than a holiday in my experience.

Also, women speak on average 10,000 more words a day than men and I think that must be one of the reasons why we are not as violent… it’s a shame a lot of those 10,000 words are just us repeating ourselves, as men pretend they didn’t hear our great ideas the first time.

5) Would you eat insects for money?

No… well, how much money?… No… well, unless there were condiments involved. Boy, do I love a condiment. I have the best condiment selection I have ever seen.

6) What irritates you most?

Pomposity & shit pillows. Wait, that sounds like the title of a rubbish indie film, I mean separately. Pomposity in people and shit pillows wherever I seem to stay… Don’t get me started on shit pillows.

7) If you stopped working in comedy, what would you do next?

Country and western singer. DONE.

WATCH ROISIN’S COMEDY PILOT: GAMEFACE ON 4OD

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Rob Auton

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Rob Auton

Photo: Julian Ward

Rob Auton is truly one of a kind. He performs comedy, writes poetry, and is even an incredible painter. He once wrote an entire show based around the colour yellow which shows just how different his approach to the performing arts is. Auton plays with metaphorical concepts as though they are physical things, which opens up a whole new realm of incredibly thoughtful comedy. If comedy is to be considered an art form, Rob Auton is truly one of its leading young artists.
I asked Rob these seven questions to learn a little more about him…

1) When did you first encounter comedy?

I can’t remember. I guess it was when I was little I must have laughed at something. It was probably something such as a dog existing. Or the sun. Stuff like that was hilarious to me. Still is really. Comedy has to be something you find funny doesn’t it? I remember when I was about 5 or 6  I had a bike that was black and it was called a Raleigh Wildcat. It had a sound effects box on the front. In the village where I grew up there always used to be this old man called Bill who stood at his gate, when I went down the street pressing the sound effects he would shout “The Daleks are coming.” It isn’t that funny now but when I was a child I would nearly fall off my bike from laughing at him because I really believed he thought I was a Dalek.

2) Where in the world would you never go?

Paintballing in the snow near Newcastle. I went paintballing in the snow near Newcastle once and I remember looking down at my hand and it was dripping blood onto the snow. Someone had shot me from close range and the paintball had cut my hand somehow.  The paint from the paintball was mixing with the blood so it was like some sort of crap Damien Hirst spin painting that hadn’t been spun yet.  I would never go there again.  I always give the enthusiastic guys at the camouflage netted tables in shopping centres a wide birth when I see them.

3) Do you have any weird talents?

I’m quite good at making scrambled eggs in a pan in a kitchen and chicken drumsticks outside on the barbecue. What came first the scrambled eggs in a pan in a kitchen or the chicken drumsticks outside on the barbecue? I’ll start with the scrambled eggs. I don’t want to tell people how to suck scrambled eggs but the key for me is loads of butter in a pan, really low heat, put the eggs in and stir it for ages (3-4 days) put in loads of salt and pepper and take it off the heat before it is cooked as it keeps cooking on its own. With regard to chicken drummers on the barbecue the key is to get loads of that division one pepper powder. What is that stuff? The stuff that has been ground down into dust and put that on until you’ve got enough on and then put more on and then put salt on in the same way. Basically so the chicken drummer looks like a chicken drummer that you’ve dropped on a beach and the beach is made from salt and pepper. Quite a chicken themed answer that I’m afraid, sorry to the none chicken eaters. You can use the same techniques with any food really.

4) Something you wish you believe in?

Magic tricks. I would love it if a person could be sawn in half and then put back together and be perfectly fine.

5) What is the best item in a sweet shop?

The chewy bits in the middle of Cola Cubes.

6) Does being a comedian feel strange to you?

I don’t know what I am but whatever it is it feels strange sometimes yes. If you are calling me a comedian then yes it does feel strange to be called that. The idea of doing gigs feels strange but when I get up on stage and just try to say my piece it doesn’t feel strange to me at all. It feels good for me to try and get my ideas out of me and into other people.  Sharing them to see if other people like them or not. If I have an idea and it makes me laugh and I say it on stage and other people laugh at it too then it makes me feel like I am part of something and not completely crazy.

7) What kind of people do you surround yourself with?

It is very rare that I am ever surrounded but I try to spend time with people who aren’t going to walk past a fish tank without looking in.

ROB AUTON’S SHOW: THE FACE SHOW IS AT THE SOHO THEATRE FROM 5TH-7TH MARCH. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOW, THE WEEKLY STAND UP POETRY NIGHT HE RUNS AND HIS BOOK.

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Seven Questions With… Tiff Stevenson

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Tiff StevensonTiff Stevenson is a very diverse stand up comedian, actor and writer who also runs the Old Rope new material night at The Phoenix in London. In recent times, you may have seen her on shows like Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Mock The Week, and she’s even performed at the Hammersmith Apollo in 2011 for the final of ITV’s Show Me The Funny. Tiff is currently touring her latest show Optimist, where she discusses the harsh realities of adulthood while also trying to dissect her own personal outlook on the world.
I asked her these seven questions to delve a little deeper…

1) What is the strangest thing you’ve ever done?

It would be easier to ask me the least strange. Most of them in a professional capacity. Over time I have been a tequila shot girl, club podium dancer, street theatre performer, promo person, snogged Finchy from The Office (during an episode not just a random lunge), was the lead in a Dizzee Rascal video, I ran around the streets of Liverpool with Ellie Taylor searching for women called Michelle and I once swam with sharks during the Edinburgh fringe… actual sharks not Kate Copstick.

2) Do you attempt New Year’s Resolutions?

Attempt would be the best description. To be honest I’m on a self improvement jag most of the time 

3) What is the best gigging experience you’ve ever had?

Ok a few so here goes:

Reading Festival 2013 & 2014 – just my perfect crowd really. Young people with a dark/outsider slant and discerning older people with great taste in music. Full tent of 3,500 people. Leeds is often great too but Reading pips it. Also, playing places like the Apollo are pretty great as the laughter comes back at you in waves.

In terms of small intimate rooms then The Phoenix in Cavendish Sq is the nuts. It is where I run Old Rope every Monday, it’s absolutely the best comedy room and I’ve had some of my best gigs in there. So many! I did the Melbourne Comedy Roadshow and some of the theatres there are amazing, you are on a mixed bill with other great performers. Also Hannibal Buress runs a room at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn which is pretty hard to beat.

4) Which animal would be the worst pet?

A human called Tiff Stevenson. She would wear all your clothes and shit all over the carpet, but then she would do a funny joke and you’d have to forgive her.

5) What is the best thing to do on a Sunday?

Sunday morning is spent reflecting on how funny you are. Normally an hour or so in the mirror saying things like ‘You are the best’ and ‘Who wants a British Comedy Award anyway?’.

Then 4 hours of comedic sit-ups which is basically watching marathons of Buffy, Supernatural or this new show called Friends… don’t know if you’ve heard of it? It’s about 6 friends who live in New York and meet up in a coffee shop. It’s a period piece where they all dress in 90’s clothes.

Sunday evening is spent shouting at the cat and my boyfriend then sticking my fingers up to Nike by wearing their ‘Just Do It’ leggings whilst sitting on the sofa doing absolutely cock all.

Sunday late evening – I try to sleep then inevitably get all my joke ideas so stay up till 3am.

6) What is the best thing about being alive?

Serving my cat, I am merely a slave to his demands. Occasionally he rewards me by leaving a sick on the carpet or bringing in a pigeon that he has murdered.

7) Do you have any advice for new comedians?

Go buy tickets to see Tiff Stevenson on tour and you will learn everything you need to know. Also write, write more and get stage time.

TIFF STEVENSON’S SHOW: OPTIMIST WILL BE AT THE SOHO THEATRE FROM THE 25TH- 28TH FEBRUARY

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