Jacob Hawley: The Edinburgh Interviews 2018
© Avalon
Who? Jacob Hawley
What? Howl
Where? Just the Tonic at The Mash House (venue 288)
When? 15:40
Are you prepared for what this year’s Edinburgh Fringe has in store for you?
I hope so but its quite hard to tell isn’t it. Last year was the first time I’d done the Fringe properly, I did a 40 minute show on the free Fringe, and despite basically getting everything I wanted from the run (nothing huge happened but I achieved what I set out to at the start) I still ended up getting really down without actually knowing it at the time. But I’m hopeful for this year. I’ve got a big old poster which will calm the nerves, no doubt.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
It’s my debut hour so the premise is to basically present who I am and where I came from to people who wouldn’t have heard of me or seen me before. I talk about my family, my home town and where I am now, and how I feel about stuff. Its about class in relation to politics and there’s some stuff about death, a bang on description of ketamine-induced-mania and it’s funny.
What was the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Stand up is really, really hard. All of it is subjective and intangible and no one is naturally inclined to sitting and listening to another person speak for 50 minutes (my show won’t be a full 60 minutes because I’m not a fucking psychopath) so you have to overcome that. And the World Cup is on at the moment so whilst I want to dedicate every waking minute to making this show as good as it can be, every pore in my body is screaming at me to watch the football and drink cold continental lager.
Who would most enjoy your show?
I’d like to think it’s pretty universal, although some of it is about politics I think my stuff appeals to people who wouldn’t usually go to see political comedy. It’s probably more social than political observations. There are, however, 6 policemen who came to see a preview of this show in London (I will never know why) and they hated it so much that their response gave me a bit of a nervous breakdown. So long as you’re not one of those policemen, this show is for you.
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
My flatmates, Rob Oldham and the sketch group Moon, good honest men who would all go to their death for the values they have sworn to uphold. Heidi Regan is a genius so that’ll be great. And big papa Phil Ellis is doing a show about how he is ready for the big time, which sounds hilarious.
What is your favourite thing about Edinburgh as a city?
Mosque Kitchen.
What are your plans for after the festival?
In all honesty I’ve just had a massive break up so I wont have anywhere to live or anything, so I’ll basically just start a fresh, find somewhere new to live and start building a life again. EXCITING!