Tom Ward: The Edinburgh Interviews 2018
© Steve Ullathorne
Who? Tom Ward
What? Popcorn Lung
Where? Just The Tonic @ The Mash House (venue 33)
When? 19:30
Are you prepared for what this year’s Edinburgh Fringe has in store for you?
I go through waves. In February I was ecstatic, chomping at the bit, texting triumphantly to people. Same in May. Now June is here, the curtains and drawn and I’m watching documentaries about serial killers and cults that went bad, and haven’t spoken to anyone for 32 hours.
What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?
Perspective, and how it changes constantly. The result is that nothing feels real, it’s just stories we have for that particular thing at any given moment that’ll do for now. I am constantly discovering that everything I thought I knew is wrong. Lately it’s meant drawing the curtains to get a rest from that!
What was the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?
Deciding how honest to be. It’s always tempting to skim off the top layer of truth in the interest of keeping things nice and jolly. But I’ve got a bit tired of that.
Who would most enjoy your show?
Erm, people who feel unsettled I guess, or that life is not what it seems, or perhaps that things aren’t don’t feel quite right… or that there’s more to life than what middle England seems to strive for, however miserable it makes them (marriage, panel shows, car, kids that play the system). It’s all bollocks. Death is coming. Why waste it?
Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?
Roisin and Chiara, they’re bonkers sketch act with a nice slab of mania and sexiness in equal measure. Fin Taylor, guaranteed to be explosive.
What is your favourite thing about Edinburgh as a city?
It’s gothic but with a strangely light touch. Every way you turn it feels cinematic, precise, weather driven, oh and the skies are just insane. The way the clouds drift across the moon. I can’t believe how pretty it is.
What are your plans for after the festival?
Rest for a week, get some sun somewhere, await the dreaded anti-climax of it all!