Touring and Future Projects

Hi, Richard Herring here. Thanks for downloading my podcast. Now you may have heard on the gown upp news that I've not been very well. I'm feeling fine I'm sort of in the middle of treatment C very minor cancer. It's not curable, but it's completely treatable. So please don't worry about me. In the meantime, if you want to become a badger, this is an excellent time to support us at goofaststrike. com slash badges. if you would like to buy a thank you Moriati t shirt from Rich and Alley's Craven News round, then head too fastter Stripe. com. and you should be able to find them on there. They're only going to be available for a couple of weeks print them all up at once when we find out what the demand is But if you enjoy that podcast, particularly, that's a great way to pay us back for that Look, I've still come to the Edinburgh fringe unless something that goes horrifly wrong in August I think that to the sixteenth and Go to ridichchain. comash for Hallispurg. you can see all the dates and the guests confirmed so far whoo are Mike Was't at Susie McCabe and Flo and Joan. there are some big names to come, I'm sure. I'm aiming very high with this And I will be giving some recommends of people you should be going to see at the fringe through interviews over the next few weeks as well Anyway, thank you very much Let's sit back. Thanks for all the lovely messages I've had from you guys and it's lovely to know how much these podcasts mean to you and that's worth more than money I mean, obviously doesn't keep us going, but thank you very much for the love you've been giving us I very much appreciate it and I'll do my best to carry on doing these until I get bored Anyway, sit back, relax and enjoy another podcast from the head and Mouth of AK Heric Hello, welcome to another studio Rellusta Pur. This week my guest is probably best known for playing Gorveeld in Goblin Solutions. You guess It's Laoraow Stream How was how was, uh ld was that had good parts? Yeah, it was a goblin. Yeah. ye. that was one of my first. It was a voice thing as well. was Yeah, yeah. And I did I remember going into the booth and they were like, o, just go go for something whatever you want and we'll do a couple of options to kind of find the goblin And I did my normal voice. and they were like, that's great. That's so good. That's so weird, you freak So I stuck with that. That was fun. Yeah. and the other Gblin was playaed by Nick Mohammed, so it was yeah that was pretty magic. Yeah ye. Well good So sometimes they just pick things because I liked the name of the character and that was the reason for that one. I'm afraid Iatch I didn't catch goblin solutions. Did you know? No It was only a taste. It was one of those blaps you know those bls? I could have probably found it and looked it up. You could yeah. should tried. It's a lot of effort I'm very busy man.' very busy. I've got stuff to do. D't be watching comedians all the time. Having said that, I have been watching a lot of your stuff. I't miss that when I'm listening to a lot of your stuff And I think where I want to start well, look, I'm really excited about you're the first SNL UK person I've had on the podcast I was meant to have one of the one of the actors on, but then they realise that they to rehearse. Yeah actors all relliable. So they pulled that the last minute and had to get someone else inide. But you are a writer on SNL UK. I am. didid you appear on screen? because they a lot of the writers appered on screen? Yeah, yeah. Well they just kept putulling us in. Yeah. I was a paramedic a high pointoint. I was a Victorian woman who was very offended Okay whichich somebody made a gifF of, which I was quite proud of U well else have I been all sorts of sort of people, you know, distressed people in a crowd? Yes as a hen on a on a Hen party night How is how' the morale amongst the cast and crew it seems high? Yeah, it was high because everyone was so negative about it beforehand. Yeah. I think if you really lower the bar then everything is just positive in comparison. I think we all felt everyone was being so rude and mean and bullying for the out this is going to fail. you're going to be it's going be awful joking that the tagline on the side of the buses should be SNO UK, why not want it to work? Why not give it a go? But morale is yeah very high now but we were very like we were stealing ourselves and just trying to get through it and make something that was funny. Yes. And I think honestly it was great. I've watched all but one of them I think and only because I was away U my w my wife But in which one? It' be about four episode four, I don't know, I can't remember That's it. But I've it seen all the rest. My daughter, who's eleven, loves it. My wife is a massive fan. So it's united the family we were very driven driven apart by that stage. I know, it's so great to see. I mean, you know, what's brilliant about it aspart from it being funny is u You know, it's all this new. I mean to the to the to the public world at least this new talent and you know, coming up with something really great. And I think it's know, it's good, isn't it that no one there was no apart from the presenter, the hosts, but there was no sort of stars. Yeah. previous stars in there. Well, I think that's what's been so strange is that so many of us have like been cutting our teeth on the fringe Yeah for years Yeah and on as well and just having nowhere to go. There's been nowhere for weirdos to go. That's why so many of us have started doing stuff online because it feels like you know democratized in a way So it was yeah, a load of new talent, but people who'd been working really hard just not no one knew of us really. Yeah to varying degrees. Yeah. Yeah. I think for TV to take a chance on it and I really I mean my hope is that this will mean TV gets a bit more adventurous generally speaking becausecause you know, there is all that, you know, that and and it really is within the, you know, you look at the writer's room If you know about comedy and if you know the industry as well as any comedian would you go well that is an incredible writing room. uness you know, the cast is great as well. But it's, you know, to Do know I just have something that's written Yeah, same. I remember being in Uni, which was really recently because I'm very young. and being like, I want to do comedy. I was doing improv at the time. I went to Edinburgh Uni, so I was doing a lot of comedy at the fringe. And I remember looking at the industry and being like, I can't be a comedian because I have to write fleetbag. That's all they want for me. And then when I came out of Union and then started I started doing some journalism, but then alongside I was started doing a little bit of comedy. And I was like, okay, how do I sort of mine my identity? Do I have to write a sitcom about being a depressed bisexual woman? And I was, I don't want to do that. I want to write like a nonsense sketch and stupid stuff. So I think hopefully it's going to also Yeah encourage like younger people to like, follow that weird and not just write comedy dramas and Yeah Yeah well you know, personally because I always lo doing sketches and when I was doing sketches it was it was started when we didg we did get on TV did a sketch show just about. But you know, it start to become quite unfashionable and then it became very unfashionable. And I think you, but I always loved you know what I love about your stuff I mean, I've just watched the trailer for your for your upcoming tour and there's just little clips of these sort of, you know, you behind a newspaper and you with long arms and it's very it's clearly very silly, but it's very funny straight away, you know, but it's just that's just J you know, I really love just when people can just do something silly, but also that they I mean you've got a little bit of a clowning background as many people do. you did the Pth ye ye as everyone did. But as what a lot of people did, but it's, you know, I think you can sort of see see that, but it's it's I mean, you're you do a lot of characters, right? Yeah. I really I like do characters because I because I love playing pretend and like just being a kid again and sort of being larger than live because I feel like if you're going to watch somebody live, It needs to not have been an offensive podcast. It needs to be like you need to be animated or the chance to see somebody that you that you love in the purse in the flesh. And if I'm not like playing character like going beyond myself, then I feel like I'm not giving know I'm not giving my full self and Like I think of my stuff as like the living cartoons, like like beyond u So I like doing that to kind of get into those zones. but I also just love I love gags, I love jokes. love I love entertainment. and like a lot of the comedy that I grew up with was like fully just entertaining from start to finish and like the young ones was my favourite show when I was growing up, which wasn't obviously not my era because I'm really young. It's myera. It's your era. But my dad showed me And I was just transfixed by the music element of it and just just sort of always having your attention and grabbing your attention So that's kind of what yeah why I went into like sort of less into the stand up world and more into the characters But then also when I started out, I started doing characters on the stand up scene. So I very quickly was like, oh, I need jokes. I need jokes immediately which I think is a big problem with some clowns that graduate from Golio and etcetera. is they they can't write or they don't try and write. So they just they just stick a banana in their mouth and like sort of like insinuate sucking it off or they like put their finger in your nose or whatever. and it's like, o, you are charismatic and strange, but I do need to laugh and I don't know where the The left points are. Yeah So yeah. so I think yeah, gags. I mean, it's sort I don't know. is it on the stand up circcus? Certainly when I started, I think it was a period where characters became more doable. When I started, I was very frustrated because I really wanted to do characters and it was very hard to do characters in the early in the nineties I think you know, evenless you massively committed, Simon Mony did some brilliant characters I stand up But it was I think it's a very difficult I mean, I think your stuff's pretty bold. and I think it's, you know, you're committed and you know, you come on and you're the character. but in a night of stand upp, it just depends on which clubs you're playing, I guess. Oh yeah I would most clubs. like it's so rewarding when when you do a club and you come on so brazen Yeah and everyone hates you. And you're dressed like I've got this character that's a spy. That's why I've got a newspaper f My face is in the hole and then I reveal the newspaper and my face is fully through the hole. And when you've done that in a club and everyone's sat there like, who the hell are you? That is It's humbling, but like that's living, isn't it? That's why we're alive It's a very important part ofoming a comedian is to go and try and say stuff and die on your down on your assouse. I mean, that's my main memory of my first years to stand up in the early nineties and then stopping because I was mainly just trying when I was either trying something too adventurous and failing or trying to do what I thought people wanted and failing. Yeah. And so it's, you know, it's a very difficult thing to do and then to have the confidence to come on and I think you know, just go this is what I'm doing I want to do And this is just come along or don't come along. And that's when I started again in two thousand four is You know, it was very much like, okay, I'm just going to do what I think is good now. Yeah. And people love that and respect that. And then there's also sometimes hate it.ometimes say yeah,tenate. But there's like there's an element of them laughing as well at you for you wanting to do that wanting to say that. and there's so much humour in there of sort of metah humor of them sort of being like, o she thought that was a good idea Oh my gosh, you thought that was a good idea and that sort of I don't want to use the word cringe but like laughing at you. Yeah, I think is really freeing I think that's fine. I think that any laugh is fine, any kind of laugh is fine. As long as you can cope with it afterwards and even if you can't cope with it afterwards for a bit. it's still, you know, it still I cry on a lot of plane train platforms before I made it as a comedian. Look, I mean you and it's been kind of what you've been going professionally four or five years something like that and you've won Seemingly like a basket full of awards. Yeah, I've won loads of awards. Not I've won an award in a while so I'm waiting for one this year. But yeah, that's also really funny isn't it? G get aw for comedy that's so stupid. What do you mean I'm the best of the worst? Well B of big an idiot. It It was that funny thing I was listening to your recording that you did with Joe Aamp Waters and he was talking about this of a lot of like hype and going up to the fringe and I won funny womomen, but I won two awards at the fununny Women Awards. I won I made a video and I won the live award. So everyone was like, o, she can do it both. And then to then go before I went to Finge, I sold out most of my shows. I' like you haven't seen my show. This is so stressful U but I u yeah, it's always nice to be liked, isn't it? But I think it also there is something You know, you you come to someone's work and you can see, you know, and Joe's a good example as well where you just go and you see it the first time you go Yeah, this is even if you can sort of see where some of the ideas might have come from what the influences were I think you just go, okay, this person does have it, I think I've really been enjoying listening to timeime of the week. Thank you, which I've just had running on my my iPod and my phone every time I'm been going out for dog walks and stuff which I think oes a little bit on the hour perhaps. yeah, a little bit Just a little bit But actually I think it's but you know, but you can sort of see that that's but it it's still It's still really different in its own thing and and and I love when that happens when you mean, obviously, I was involved on the So it's nice to it's nice to see, you know, thirty Is it forty years? It's a long time. Yeah. fifty hundred years not you know, but isn't it amazing that something you know one has done that someone else is g, Hey, that was interesting. Let's do something with that. So so you explain what timeime of the weeek is. So Time of the Week is a satirical sketch weird silly surreal sort show Parody of women's hours I used to work W women's hour. Do you work on it? Yeah, ye that's how you. It's a very strong It's a very strong parody. It's cl close Mixed reviews from the producers Wan's Hour. Oh really? yeah. And Sharn Clifford is playing this sort of host, this woman basically when I was working Woman's Hour I and desperately wanted to do comedy but not being brave enough to give it a go I u was looking around and just being like, you know, I was working as like a really junior producer and I'd meet like Hillary Clinton and then then the next minute I'd be talking to a woman from like Basing Stoke who was talking about the menopause and her experience the menopause. And just looking at all these different characters and being like, this is so weird. Firstly to have a space that is all women. and then secondly to have this space that is just this meeting of different yeah backgrounds. I just thought it would be a really good place for a sketch show. I'll hold on to that And then after Funny Women, I met with the producer and was like, was this anything? And then yeah, it was a really good grounding because also at that time skketch was again so unpopular in to commission sketch and there's no room for sketch to grow because it's so expensive and what can it But like we were all fans of all these sketchos that came beforehand that were allowed to like where you cut your teeth. So we were like, how can we disguise a sketch show in something? And I guess it was the parody Another big reference for us was look around you and series two, we didn't understand series one because it wasn't a reference to something in our lives. But we yeah, parody I think is a really good way of letting people into weird stuff because it's so accessible to begin with and then and then then you can go off on tangents and silly and strange and kind of been my niche and Alabt is having an IP and then being able to go off U weird and sur. Well that's one of the main things I liked about SNL was how it lack, you know, it was There were the weird, the weird sketches were really It was great that you were allowed to just have a go and and it was great to see them actually be the most popular ones as well. So because there's things you can do with sketch which are bit obvious and there's things you can do with sketches that are unexpected and you and and I think as you say, the preconceptions of what SNL and UK would be were probably somethingomething different than it turned out to be. But what I was really glad about was that you were able to some of them I didn't like, but I just thought I'm glad You were to do that because that was weird Yeah but I didn't get it. I never then youd look online everyone loved it and then but there were loads that I really did did love like that as well. And I think with the woms it is such a good It's such a weird thing W women's hour because it's it doesn't It doesn't well like it's both sort of archaic but also it's sort of ridiculous that it's there. But it's also ridiculous that there isn't there'n more you know to go you have an hour I mean you can have an hour day. And when I was there, it was only forty five minutes they had a drama that they had to throw to, which they all really resented. And then whenever Barlet took over, she said we're getting the flour at least it was the hour. But the whole point of the program was so I think it's you said, it's really important that it exist and there's so much femMa news that doesn't get covered.. But How can you have a programm that appeals to all women? That's nonsense. So we like a big group of us are like in the writers room, I think nearly everyone is queer in it, at least bisexual. and it's all women and then just one man because we wanted to sort of like flip the old sketchs used to be. And a big thing that we sort of believe gender is so silly and it's something our generation is really grappling with. but gender is obviously so it's so ridiculous what they ask you when you're a little girl and want they ask you to be when you're a little boy. but it is so relevant in our world. like even my nephew is like is obsessed with football and I don't understand because none of his family are and I don't know how that's happened but his school and stuff. So he sort of wanted to yeah sort of really like put gender underneath the silly sort of lens. And another thing I think for me was that It was still when we when we started doing that, it was only four years ago when we started thinking about it, it was still that sort of era of Oh, Lora, you're going to have to write a show about being a depressed thirty year old woman and what that life is like. And I wanted to be a cowboy or write about like having long arms. So we sort of like leent into the woman thing with the woman's hour a blanket to then be able to do anything and something weird. Like we've got a I think one of the sketches that I wrote that I liked was they interview the first woman to ever put her whole forearm in her mouth. and it's a really serious interview played really, really seriously for real Be because on those on women's hour, they always have like the first woman to climb Mount Everest. It's like's we're really like lowering the bar of like what's left for women to be the first ones to do But yes and that was just like a silly sort of the humor was surreal but stupid. and They just happen to be women. Yeah. And the other episode I was just listening to was with was one of the early ones, but it's where the old presenter comes back. The original presenter comes back and there's sort of the batle between the older than new and they both hate each other and it's so well done and it's but it been brilliantly acted as well, but it's also You know it's so interesting because the, you know, it does have that whole That whole argument about what being a woman is and the original presenter is a bit of a bully and you know Yeah what gender be like? Yeah. But back back when I first started it was Jenny Murray and Jane Garvey and they would still have items about flower pressing on the show and you'd go from like something like you'd go from like the women run around to flower pressing and'd be like, what are you how are you making this 's when I was there, I had so much cake because they'd always get nids later on to talk about Nidl later isn't even a woman. And he'd come on and I'd have his cake. that was a good day for me. but it was never I don't know what it was doing for the plight of women. But yeah, that old guard mixing and Oh yeah yeah, you know, those whole BBC presenters It's really's just very well observed. you know, but also I think it's great to have as you know, as you sort of the point you're making about it being a largely female cast It's great to have women who you not you're not like you're not having to you know they're flawed women. they're not having to they're not having to be an archetype to hold up and go this is you know both of those characters in that particular thing are both fairly horriifble and Sean Clifford's characters a very vain and unpleasant woman really who you do still like, but it's but it's, you know, but it's It's fun to find the comedy in it right rather than thinking whilst you are making points or I think, but without without having to be paradigms and Yeah, we never I never I want it to be funny first. I never aimed for it to be clever or it's written It's a really enjoyable show. It's all on BBC Sounds. If you want to catch up on that if you hat if you haven't heard it as I hadn't. so you know, I'm very I was very glad to be introduced to that I don know, and it is it is ex And again, I think suppose SNL UK is sort of helped with that is that you sort of realize how much and because comedy is so huge now there's so many people doing comedy and so many different arenas to do comedy in And so there are people that you're aware of and there are people that you're not aware of. You know, there's so much stuff out there. and then when when I have someone and I'm going to call you newer, I know you're not you're a newer comedian you know, you sort of and then you look at what they've been doing, you kind of go, wow, this is, you know, this is there is there's there's places out there where people are doing really interesting stuff within the parameters of where to do things. And it's really interesting because radio obviously is so cheap because you can make whatever. but SNO, having a budget is insane. goingo from like sitting and development meetings for like six, seven months, being like, do the commommission is like this? No, maybe this, maybe this. And then being able to just write something on the Wednesday and then it and then it So I wrote a sketch of the first episode that was a parody of Hamnet and the premises that Shakespeare keeps going to London and when he returns, he gets Cuier and counti. So he gets it count little earering, which is actually true. That is historically accurate. but then he comes back and he's got countuy little shorts and the full Pa mascle and then he comes back the last time and he has just completely swapped out for Jack Shep and full Co. And have you heard the word Cuo on your podcast? I' not know who the why on the end. mean it doesn't crop up that's probably the most that's been said within a minute I'm pleased with that. I'll take that. And that sketch costs only like twenty thousand pounds. That's crazy. That's crazy money. That's crazy money. And just the ability to yeah, write yeah, write something Yeah, and then have it fully produced. One of the funny things that happened with that as well is I had the set design in mind. I had the costumes in mind. I co wrote it with a girl called Ellie who's an amazing writer. And we were like, we were thinking about this sort of set this sort of costumes, to the costume designer. and the costume designer who's an incredible woman, she went Oh yeah, and I showed her the Black Ader costumes from the Elizabethan period. She went, Oh yeah, I did that. And I went, What Yeah, I did that. That was my first job. Wow. And I was like, o, can you do that again? But also these talented people that make all the set and the costumes and all like they've been working on sitcoms or dramas. They haven't been yet Do like, you know by like flying by the seat of your what's the phrase? Flying by the seat of your pants That's it.s pants. Y most pants has been said in the thirty second phage as well. Tenty pants. But ye the craftsmanship as well as the writers and the comedians, all of that yeah, it's unbelievable to work around and you know, it's great. That's what when we did Fist of F back in the nineteen nineties, that was it we would just still be there, likeike I turned up on Richard McComon and I was doing a sketch about being a milkman of the apocalypse. And so they there were these guys dressed you on horseback and then a milk float and you're kind of go it was only a joke. to all these people and everyone take it very seriously and it's kind of crazy when you're You know, when you come from that moment and suddenly these people are spending huge amounts of money on making something. it's beautiful and so enjoy it. might be the only time it'd ever your life. It's amazing. And a little bit of your braid is like, o oh what have I done? But I know, I think it is it's so interesting the SNL UK exactly that. the kind of turn around from people being very skeptical, which I was as well because I think You know, I was sort of skeptical about when we did this Rich Not July, we did a live show and we wrote it every week and it was two of us doing it And we did a lot of it on the week. we did have a few pre records U And I thought will they be able to will they be able to do like a house style with that many writers and will it will it just And it really, you really did. I mean you had a house style without it being the same as well. So it was know, I was really glad that it I didn't want it to fail, and was and I was glad that immediately was apparent that it was going to be something really interesting and good. I would have been skeptical too and had I not been involved. and I also knew obviously that was evolved for longer than my friends did or anyone else. So there were lots of conversations where I was so positive about it being like, I think it might be really good. I think it might work. cra. I', you know, I mean the people they've got are great and the number of people they could have had who would equally have been great and the number of people who were up for it is definitely you know, it's crazy, but There's that the talent is out there And, you know, I would love if other TV channels went, okay, maybe we'll invest a bit of money in some Comedy written comedy. it would be great. It would be so, so good. And just some new f know, I'm an old far and I would I want to be on TV as well, but it wouldd be nice to see like like all the it's crazy that people who are new are in their thirties and forties, you know now that when I started we were like we were twenty five. I think we've got a TV show, which you know would be so impossible be so impossible now. Yeah that was still we put like five or maybe twenty six, twenty seven, but we put in like five years of radio and then we got a TV series, you know, and it But the radio to TV pipeline doesn't really exist anymore as well. is that is where you have to cut your teeth because it's so cheap and because you can make mistakes. we need to be ableow to fail and try stuff out because you can't be you can't come out of uni perfect, especially if your uni doesn't have a good sketch like society, like Cambridge is one of the well, maybe it's changing now, but We can't have all gone to Cambridge. We can't have all gone to Cambrid I say having gone Edinburgh, which was pretty good. Edinburgh had a has always had a very good comedy heritage as well it has to be said. But you know, I think the reason the university thing works and why you know, you do get pockets of people coming out is because you create a little g of you get the right gang of people together and you all work together, then you've got this advantage and also you just can spend well, I just spent three years doing comedy at university and nothing else. Yeah me too. What was your degree? History? cool. But yeah, I mean I did somehow get a degree. But Rt Jen but genuinely I did nothing. don't you did all right? I did But there we go. But that's also weird because Humphy Kerr is part of the wr and he was an improvert and I was an improvert.ight. So that but like with about, you know, fifty years separation between us. And then we're in the same rightiters room in SNL. Yeah if we'd have had SNL you know, twenty years ago and it had been He would have been there at my age and yes yeah yeah it is yeah Yeah, it's great. It's a good magnet Yeah, I just, you know, it's all powder and it's it's better than the American one I'm going to say it I think they're different. They're differenticially, I think they're different. This is better. I'm allowed to say that and you're not allowed to say it's better than the American one, although we Did you see the aerial tramway sketch that you did on SNL? That was so funny. That was the funniest thing. That was funnier than anything that' ever done But it's also the funniest thing that's been on SNL for a while. We watch every. My wife's obsessed with SNL. I am less obsessed with it, but I watch it everyvery week. I think just in terms of that the number of If you get one good sketch in the American one that you've done, they've had a good week. Yeah. And I think in the UK Even the ones you don't like, you kind of go, okay, that's I can see what there's something going on there. It's series one though, we're trying really hard. I know yeah. Take us fifty second. Will they take you To America will they say lets is there any option because obviously you're working with all these producers and sometimes hosts and whatever who are from America. Would you think they might poach some of you and take you over to America? Would you go if that were the case? Would I go? Would you love to America? I've never been to New York, so I would love to go to New York Yeah, be that in a paid capacity holiday. I mean, I'd be super excited to be on the set of SNL America, I have to say. And now I never would now I won't be allowed to go on because I've just slagged. I do quite like it, but think I think the SNL UK is you should come watch the UK when. Yeah we will spring my daughter would love to come and see so yeah. we'll see if we can sort that out That would be nice Now I want to talk about you winning the B Joke of the Finge? No ye. Allie Ross says, and you put this in your own publicity. You winning the best joke is proof the once Edy Festival has become a by worord for witless, self indulgent rubbish. Yeah. Yeah. So it's your fault. Yeah it's my fault. Do the joke about cheaters. He photoshopped a Gravestone. so it's a comedy born at the beginning of time. which we can all agree on died at the Edinburgh fringe. Of Wokery. Yeah, of Wokery and that's you with your joke about cheaters. me wasn't a very woke joke. No, it wasn't a woke joke. but think I think it was a woke joke by the virtue of it not being unwoke?' the other winners often were quite edgey. Okay it's a little bit of edge to them yeah. Yeah, whereas I think I think in comparison my joke was pretty woke U My son came up with a joke like I think could win B joke at the fringe. My eight year old's s it is I' try and whyy should you never do mathematics in the jungle Why? Because if you add four and four, you'll get eight Like Eaton You'll get A, youll get eight. H four and four, you'll get A Yeah, I like that. Yeah. I think it'd be good drawing. Shy? Yeah ''s a little c. It's like complex. Yeah, the beginning bit. But if they're like drawing L doing the maths maybe. and then you see behind them big lion mouth. Yeah. Okay, we'll try.'ll try it. Yeah. I'm going I'm going to put that in as my joke for Joke of the Fing this year and see if I win Joke of the Fringe. And then I'll tell the papers that you stole it. old. That was written by an eight woke eight year old. Yeah It's very woke. He's not very woke. Oh no, is that generation gone the other way? Yes now' gone the other way. All the work we did What is it like because it's weird when you win that joke. I mean, you would you say that was wouldould you have picked that out as your you didid you give that in as your best joke or did they just? I think I had to submit to my PR twenty jokes my show. And I don't think it was the best joke within that a minute. I had like I did a character where I was like this film noir actress and I was speaking like that and I had a cigarette in my mouth And I sort of like endlessly chained smoke cigarettes. and I to do back to back puns Um And one of my favorite ones and that little bit is M. I used to be a housewife But do you know how hard it is being married to a house whichich is so daft. And then I'm like, do you know how hard it is to get whick dust out of your cervix? And I love that it's like a run of jokes and it's very musical and it's like there's like film Noirian music. And it's the performance of it as well. It's the performance of it, I'm doing a voice. I don't's not it made me look so awful. It made me look like I was a stand up and I was like I started dating a zookie but Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was It was probably a low moment but also a really high moment because I did get two thousand pounds. Well, that's good. Yeah you on breakfast TV? I was on breakfast TV very early like four AM. And then at that show I had to I had to get up at three thirty AM and do all of the press rounds I'm Sky News interviewed me and the first question they asked me was about Graham Linahhm and about Council Culture of the Finge. and it was like fourth A AM. And yeah and I did all the pressures. And then the comedy judges came to my show that day and I gave probably my worst show. It was really, really mad Mad day but that's fringe. That's the beauty of Finge is. I mean, you know, it's such that I mean out of all the awards it's such a weird award And it's you know, it's never it's very hard, I think to do a joke that will survive that process and people w go. Well that's all right, but you know, And then it's sort of's especially with someone like you when you're doing so many kind of weird and, you know, I mean, even like that character is like so much more than that joke So much And I'm not saying the joke's fine.' joke' fine. But it's, you know to it's such a weird thing to take the Edinburgh fringe and go, let's find the best Yeah and it's got to be contextless and it was about an animal. likeike the public voted for it and they didn' they didn't know it came from me or or a woman. I think that helped. But I got loads of zoos following me on Instagram and that was nice. And a lot of people think that I won the Edinburgh Comedy Award and I do not correct them. So that's helpful. And also for the week after, because it was like front page of the newspaper, I got recognized by a lot of children Oh yeah, and then also my sister went into work the day that it happened. and on the front page of the newspaper, it was me. and she went she went My sisters in the news, my sisters in the news. womomen from the Midlands and her whole what they called employee colleagues, was it? I don't have a job. Her whole colleagues looked at it and was like Oh God, and my sitter like, What's wr? Not theont page of the news was me and then Lucy Lety. And she's from the Midlands as well. Oh my god. Yeah. So it's a big day for women from the Midlands But my sister had to explain it was me. And then they were sort of less impressed, I think, because my joke was so bad prereferred word Lucyleon. Yeah That's a bad review. That's a bad review of the show We would have preferred But it's good to have pissed off Alie Ross and made Alie Ross cross. Yeah I think that's very nice. Can you give me your dolphin impression Yeahope can just pull that out there?ah sve it So let's let's talk about the talk because we're going we're running out of time U It's called now that's what I call characters. Yes, which I like as a title. Thank you. And so it's going be some characters. Yeah tget and you'll say, No that's what I. That's what my book guy says. Um So is this is a new it's not something you've done before' a new show tour or are you doing it in Edinburgh? I'm doing new tour. I'm going to do a week of at Edinburgh. I'm going to launch it in Edinburgh and it's going to be sort of a megim mix of Yeah, ye stuff. But it is a bit audacious, isn't it? I've only I'm going up to Edinburgh with my third show next year. only done two shows. I'm so new but it's a bit audacious to do it best off. But my problem is that I have a lot of stuff So I can't talk my shows because I have sets and stuff So I have to do sort of like a pulled back version where I only bring my long arms and a couple of choice costumes. Yeah in my first show at the forortty five minute mark, it was a sketch show loads of characters at the forty five minute Mark I have this like pile of clothes for my set piece and I'd go into it to get changed and come out of it. and then at forty five minutes I had an old woman crawl out of it. Oh. And she was ninety four every day of the fringe. So I couldn't go on tour after that show. No because well I could have, but she would have asked for so much money and I mean she might have died as well She might have f she was so nimble. And she just alive now okay. Yeah. Fingers crossed you carrots U I think that's okay because also I think the thing with Edinburgh now is so, I mean, even if your people com to your show You're probably in like hundred seer or something like that if you're lucky. And so not many people are going to see it. and I think the chancellor You can go and do a show and nobody sees it. and if you don't get awards, if you don't get any mentions, you know, no one notices it. But I think it's I sort of think it's okay to says let's re jig some stuff. Okay And I think definitely for touring, it absolutely is. And that's a very good reason for why you havent the ninety four year old woman c is a good exc It is a good excuse yeah. I'm going to have put a ninety four year old woman in my show so that I couldore it. I I'm going just have to do all that Theyre cocktails as usual. That's how it goes. I a few of them as well to be forg. There's always a few likees. And that's all that's all I've ever done. Um, And so you' going all over the country, the UK? Yeah. Yeah. How can people find out about tickets for that? you got a website? Yeah, or follow my Instagram I think. That's my preferred one. Okay. Yeah Insta lawns. Insta lawns. Yeah. And then on TikTok, I'm Lorna Regional Transport. Okay. becauseuse my name's Lora Rustrein, but I didn't I started all my social media before I wanted to do comedy. so they're all different. My Twitter handle was completely different But ye still on Twitter, I left beind. left. Are you still on it? You were big on it. I was big on it and but it's absolutely fucking useful. Is it all boobs now? don't I don't go on. I've left my account working because if you take it off someone can nick it But So I'm still there but I don't. actually the other day I just posted about a gig accidentally because I forgot But apart from that havent mostost just going through things because you got so many of those little apps and then you you know, like threads looks like Twitter and you you know, you don't know what you're doing. So I put a link to a gig But yeah, it's just and it's not and literally nobody nothing you know, I've got three hundred thousand followers on it, but no one sees anything you put on there. Wow becausecause that's all paid promotion. Yeah, it'said protion but if you pay to promote, you're going to get your stuff shown by the kind of people who think it' worth paying to promote paying for Twitter aren't my own they aren't own and it's not my own it's it's absolutely damaged my career, I would say. Really? Yeah. I think it was it was such like it was it was so good for me And just in terms of like raising money for projects or raising money for charity or just raising awareness of something or gig, you know, gigs, you would it would get you you would get like enough stuff to keep going And now it's just You know, that's such a shame You tweet something and then you just get you have to cope with You know, actually all kinds of political opinions, but but everyone makes everything about whatever their m be is And yeah, I couldn't go on because the The anti trans people don't like me on the Yeah they're correct that I They're correct that I don't agree with them I'd haven't Apart from that, I haven't said very much about it, but it's scary that because so much of my income comes from Instagram, not from the actual platform itself, but brands will pay me to do paid stuff. That's how I subsidize. the couple of s we get for development and And it's so scary to feel like I'm really relying on Instagram and Ma. it is, I think something that we're all sort of grappling with. Yeah. and Yeah,'s it's crazy that someone can come and just like one person can come in with the sink and ruin everything. Yeah was a bad joke. That would have one joke of the fringe. Let that sink in. would. Let your eight year old work, would it for. So many of the writers, two specific writers that I can think of started their comment, Laura Claxston, who's an amazing writer they started their Writing careers on Twitter. Th were of the first jokes I wrote were on Twitter, but they you know, were at the point where they were ready for their career to take off and they got spotted from Twitter. and now they're in the S andL writers room But no there's no yeah, because Instagram also, you know, it shows it to certain people if you obey these certain rules and there is some organic lift But you do have to sort of do the content that it wants you to do in a way. Yeah ye. which is so odd. Yeah. Do stuff about plane crashes. that's what comes to me Really? is that? I'm not that partularly interested in that, but that's what they change.ar clearly lingering on the video It must have lingered at some point. I do watch them now, so that's the problem They come up and you watch them and then you get more A lot of poke, I get poker and plane crashes may Occasionally women with large breasts I don't know where that's come from. Yeah ye yeah. I don't understand that I don't understand That's nothing to do with that that must be just part of just the regular service. Yeah, we all go. most roller coasters but no wasushes. Oh really? okay. Yeah. Yeah. we anything people and what the thing I hate most is anyone up high falling off things You know, sometimes they show people walking on mountains and stuff and I hate those. Yeah. I always get those. I think ' I look at them and then it makes my shins hurt. literally makes watch it and it make it feel sick and it makes my shins really hurt for some reason. And when they're processing that, you're linger. And they're looking at them and then they go, o more of that for rich. Let's put play to all his fears then the plane crash. Sounds like a horrible algorithm. Do you have cats or anything? Like I don't ever get cats coming out. I don't get cats, I I get babies. Iasually to get things that I like on there, but not very often I started I'll get lateral a lot of the l have you had to know the show lateral with Tom Scott I started watching those and I get loads of those now and that's good because that's kind of fun. It' kind of a nerd sort of a nerdy quiz show. A quQiz show. Well it's sort of like they do a question and then four nerds have to work out what the hell's going on. So that's more, that's where I'm at. That's me. Okay yeah. A few of them have got big boobs, that would even better. But not many nerds have big boobs They're falling off there too looks in a plane crashing with it And that's me sorted that. I get babies. Do? Yeah, like like you interested in what are you interested in babies? I think my mum's had a word with that. I'm just try to It's about of time. on TikTok don't. That D't only do it if you want to do it. I'm going to do it but not yet. Okay. I'm going to do it when a few more series innal. That's one of my favourite jokes that I've written, which was in that run of jokes that did't get chosen. How late is too late to have a baby? ten PM? Yeah that is. That's that one That's a very good joke. Thank you better, right? Yeah I submitted that. That should have won. Yeah It woke'. it workke, No? I don't know if it's w or not No,anty wonke Fanty work. Fanty work. Yeah, because it's Well this is another thing I really love as a woman, I really love being stupid. and I I think some people are maybe a bit still bit hesitant to laugh at women for being thick I love being thick and I think it's beautiful to be stupid. I think it's really important. I mean, you know as you say, it's a difficult thing to say. I think more women should be going on doing stupid stuff. More sick looking like fucking idiots. But that's what comedy is and that's why you know, and that's and it's honestly why It was, you know, I'm really delighted to see stuff like time of the week, but is amazing when you look at and think that imagine that on Rado for thirty years ago. I mean, they imagine it, but it wouldn't be the same thing U And but, you know, like it for for the women who I was working with in the nineties, you know, even and we were pretty good I think at writing women's parts but you would just end up with the sensible person in a sketch or or you know, the person making the point and the sketch and the person o, all your boys are being so silly and it's really important for and women, there's so many funny women and that's what your generation is really. Shading, I think. Yeah. Social media, I think is a massive help to that because we've been able be weird on the internet Yeah. and then people be like, o, also because half the viewers are going to be women more or less. So they're like, oh yeah, I recognize myself in that. made it way more democratic But then interestingly, online, the thing that does best for me is if I'm completely dead p. whichich is really interesting. I don't know what's sociologically going on there, but if I have like no emotion and I'm completely dead p, my stuff does better whichich must be something to do with sexism. It's gott to be right. Itot to be Most things are do sexism, but maybe it's sexism against men Bang. Yeah Yeah, I can see I've blown your mind. Oh my God. When will there be a straight pride It's myight That's what I wanted to know. never It's never gonna. I want to see my watch. I want to see more days of shame. That's what I want to see. I think people should be fucking ashameed. Inn pretty much everything they do. And that that's across the board That's all Ced's colors Sexualities, gender identities, be a bit more ashamed of yourself I'm ashame you'll happen you'll get to sixty and As I nearly am and you're just filed blanket shame for everything you've done in your life. Have you got more and more shame for us you he it I wake up Yeah. We talk about that this a lot but I wake up at three o'clock in the morning. and The stuff that I wake up at three of them already wearing is so weird and not even the worst things I've done. But you know, it's amazing how I can keep myself awake at night thinking about something from forty years ago but it has absolutely no meaning no one else would remember. I think I have them at the moment. I think they come up, but then I've got a very good willpower of just shoving it down. you've got to shove it down. That's the willp. I think as you get older, you lose it and then I just if it gets worse, I'm just gonna be living in a just I'll be living in a actual living hell of just thinking, what have I done? What have I done Who have I hurt? What have I? And That's the answer I've het. Yeah That's God I open not. My biggest shame at the moment is I've become absolutely obsessed with this game, this merging game that I didn't mean to download. I went to download a productivity app when I downloaded Tasty traravels and I spend Hours every day doing it. I'm only two weeks out of SA now, so I think my brain is still like kind of coming back. but will I waste hours and I spent twenty pounds on it. Did did you? Yeah, which is gambs gambling. I've told myself I'm not allowed to do any more. I told myself I wasn't allowed to do anymore at fifteen, didid five more and then I've fully done a ban now. I got with one of the games like that I got starting paying money for things and then I did manage to stop ever payain You did yeah Yeah. o But yeah, it's kind of insane. And like some of the things sometimes they go seventy pounds to get this and you go what? then you think maybe I'll do that. Ifbody has to feel like they good day. I will get that stuff. Yeah. but I also don't you think I mean, this is what I tell myself because I'm on my phone all the time and mainly just playing games and messing around ing planes crash. It's