The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Laura Lexx
© Richard Wood
Seven Questions With
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Spencer Jones (aka The Herbert)
© Jill Wooster
Spencer Jones is a stand up comedian and actor best known for his absurd style of character comedy, as The Herbert, where he utilises music, mime and props. Perhaps the true essence of escapism, Spencer’s stand up is ridiculous, illogical and childish, and The Herbert is a truly endearing character, with a cheeky glint in his eye that forces an audience onside within minutes. Jones has also recently been involved in Ben Elton’s latest sitcom, Upstart Crow, where he portrays the Shakespearean comedic actor Will Kemp. Jones presents two shows as The Herbert at this year’s Edinburgh Festival: Proper Job and Eggy Bagel.
To learn more about Spencer, I asked him these seven questions…
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Craig Campbell
Canadian-born comic Craig Campbell is somewhat of a force to be reckoned with, having teamed up with the likes of Tony Law and Dan Antopolski to produce Edinburgh shows in the past. Campbell has also dabbled in theatre, performing a one-man play at Edinburgh in 2008, and returns to the festival this year with a new stand up hour, Easy Tiger, which looks set to be as absurd and innovative as previous shows.
I asked Craig these seven questions to find out more…
1) How did you begin your comedy career?
Went onstage 27 long f’in yrs ago at 19, realised immediately the wonderment of making-believe for a living and never looked back!
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Susan Calman
© Steven Ullathorne
Susan Calman is a face you will almost certainly recognise from various panel shows including Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week, as well as being a Radio 4 regular. A self-confessed cat-lover, Calman is unafraid to turn the mockery in her own direction, making her comedy all the more open and silly, but with a sharp wit driving it. Susan Calman is performing her show The Calman Before The Storm at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
To learn more about the woman behind Susan’s, I asked her these seven questions…
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Rory O Hanlon
Rory O Hanlon is an Irish stand up comedian and writer whose autobiographical style of comedy, combined with an often light-hearted and silly demeanour, shows a willingness for self-ridicule and opens him up to be a very likeable performer. Rory is bringing his third stand up hour, You Are Where You Need To Be, to this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
I asked Rory these seven questions to learn more about him…
[Read more…]
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Beth Vyse
Beth Vyse is a stand up and character comedian who returns to the Edinburgh Festival this year with her 2015 solo hour, As Funny As Cancer; a refreshingly personal show in which the comic details her experience with breast cancer, embellishing with her trademark surreal humour. And Vyse’s absurdist roots are never far from the surface, with her character Olive Hands making an appearance in another show: All Hands To The Pump.
© Idil Sukan
To learn more about Beth and her comedy, I asked her these seven questions…
1) What made you decide to perform two separate shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival?
Well after last year’s “As Funny As Cancer” going so well and so many people coming up to me afterwards and talking so openly about their experiences with the disease, most of them for the first time, I somehow felt the show wasn’t over. Since last year the show’s been out to New Zealand, I feel it’s much better now, I feel more confident, that’s why I’m bringing it to a larger venue at Gilded Balloon in hope more people can see it.
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Geoff Norcott
© Steve Ullathorne
Geoff Norcott is a stand up comedian and writer, making a name for himself in recent years for being perhaps the only outspoken right wing comedian at the Edinburgh Festival, disguising thoughtful political comment within entertaining quips about Cameron, Corbyn, and the rest. Norcott has also written for many television shows including 8 out of 10 Cats and Live at the Apollo, and will be performing his latest show Conswervative at the Edinburgh Festival this year.
To learn more about Geoff, I asked him these seven questions…
[Read more…]
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Eric Lampaert
© Linda Blacker
Recognisable from television shows such as Impractical Jokers and The Midnight Beast, Eric Lampaert is preparing to bring his latest hour, Alien of Extraordinary Ability, to Edinburgh. This new show explores how the comic views his place in society, and the world as a wider notion. Lampaert’s act is a fascinating culmination of cultures, drawing on influences from different corners of the globe and performing in multiple languages.
To learn more about Eric’s comedy, I asked him these seven questions…
The Edinburgh Interviews: Seven Questions With… Stephen Bailey
© Steve Ullathorne
Stephen Bailey has been busy lately, especially given his recent support slot on Katherine Ryan’s latest tour. This comedian is cheeky, flamboyant and a prime example of someone who is destined to perform in some medium or other; his recent successes on the live stand up circuit prove this to be the case. Stephen is taking his latest solo hour, Nation’s Sweetheart, to this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
I asked Stephen these seven questions to learn a little more about him…
The Edinburgh Interviews 2016
The Edinburgh Festival is nearly upon us once again. Thousands of punters and performers are heading their way up to Scotland for anything from a couple of days to a whole month of arts, comedy and entertainment. And once again, MoodyComedy is there in spirit, singing the praises of projects that look particularly innovative and interesting.
But this year is a little different; in order to celebrate the diversity of artists and performers attending the Edinburgh Fringe throughout August, MoodyComedy will be bringing you countless interviews with those risking their emotional, financial and social wellbeing in putting together shows for your entertainment. The Seven Questions With feature is going strong, having already given around sixty comics a platform to share their comedy secrets, darkest confessions and silly musings, and soon we are to see this interview feature at its absolute best, as a means of bringing to your attention acts you may have never heard of before, as well as others who you may already be familiar with.
Over the next two weeks, MoodyComedy will be speaking to performers who are making their Edinburgh debuts and those who have been bringing shows to the festival since before I was born, with at least one interview every single day for you to enjoy. There are double acts, character comics, musicians, sketch actors, magicians, television panel show regulars, radio royalty and even the occasional past CBBC presenter. You will experience the flamboyant, the odd, the surprising and the controversial. We have political comedians, absurdist comedians, bilingual comedians. From Glasgow to Dublin, Manchester to Birmingham, France to Canada to Kenya. It’s fair to say that a lot of bases have been covered, with each of these comedians being able to shed insight into the lives of working stand ups, as well as provide many laughs along the way.
Stay tuned over the next two weeks to find out which comic practises driving in his mum’s Ford Focus; who has recently taken up cross stitch; who is desperate to be friends with Barack Obama and who has decided he just doesn’t care about anything. Here’s to another fantastic festival of creativity, community and laughter.