With his wild flights of fancy and glorious imagination Paul Foot is a magnificent comic who has been known to reduce audiences to fits of helpless laughter. In 2023 he created his most personal show ever – Dissolve – which described how a lifetime of mental anguish had suddenly vanished overnight. He tells Entertainment Now about his new show The Future.
Tell us about your show. Why should we go and see it?
It’s a show about the times we live in, which seem so full of anger and pessimism. It is a hopeful show and so I hope people will leave feeling uplifted. Also, if you’re wondering whether to go, remember that I’ve done lots of successful shows over the years in Edinburgh and that my last one was critically acclaimed and even won some kind of award. Worth a go, eh?
What is your favourite thing about your show?
There is a line in the show, which most of the audience do not laugh at, but just a few people laugh at and then immediately realise that they are perhaps supposed not to laugh at it. When I point this out, the people who were not laughing then laugh at the laughing people, who then immediately either stop laughing or laugh at themselves for laughing.
Do you have a Fringe idol?
No, I’m not religious, so I don’t tend to worship any idols or any real gods either during Fringe. Also, my bronze bull is too large and heavy to fit in my suitcase, so that’s the other reason.
What three words best describe your performance style – and why?
Unusual, my invention.
Who are you looking forward to seeing in Edinburgh?
Rob Auton – always exciting to see what he’s come up with.
Sam Eley, who is doing a character show called Basil Crumbwick. I saw him doing a preview in June and it was incredible.
Huge Davies – his new material is some of his very best
Aidan Jones. Anyone who does a show entirely devoted to Bach is on my list.
Sam Nicoresti
Bella Hull
What do you hope to achieve in Edinburgh – what are your hopes and dreams?
Give the gift of laughter to thousands, stave off bankruptcy for another year.
What are the biggest obstacles you face as a performer at the Fringe?
A combination of not being able to buy alcohol in Scottish supermarkets after 10pm and poor planning.
What do you hope the audience will take away after an hour in your company?
A feeling of warmth and positivity, but not my one-hundred-year-old prop, which is very valuable (sentimentally, not fiscally).
How do you plan to relax and recharge when not on stage?
Before heading out to my show, I like to eat a pie while watching The Chase. Not only do I get to see Paul Sinha and think that could have been me if I’d been to more pub quizzes, I also get to see the presenting talents and occasional knowledge of Bradley Walsh. When I get home from my show, I can put on Law and Order UK and try to get my head round the fact that Bradley is also an accomplished actor, but only in that one programme.
What is your idea of a perfect Fringe day?
A lot of the last answer inevitably comes into play – pies, Bradley Walsh et cetera. Sometimes I’ll go out for lunch or a coffee with another comedian who’s doing a show, but I don’t drink coffee or tea, so I’d usually just get a tap water or perhaps an orange juice, if I’m feeling like experiencing the flavour of an orange but with none of the fuss or bureaucracy of having to eat an orange.
Then, of course, my show, which is always the highlight of the day for me. That’s what I like so much about the Fringe. I get to do my show 25 times in 26 days – one day off is enforced by the powers that be in government or the festival or somewhere – if they didn’t force me to have that day off I wouldn’t. In previous years I used to travel down to London on my day off and do a Secret Show to my Connoisseurs in London, and then travel back the next morning and do my show in Edinburgh again, in protest. But I stopped doing that last time, because it was actually quite a palaver and the financial logic was, to say the least, flawed.
Paul Foot: The Future, 19.20, Underbelly Cowgate, August 5 – 30
https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/paul-foot-the-future
