Tell us about your show. Why should we go and see it?
Because hopefully you would be like 99 per cent of last night’s sell out audience who laughed all the way through.
(Although I must warn you there is a statistical possibility you might be the one per cent who walked out and informed my lovely front of house team I wasn’t funny just after the Brexit bit.)
What are your hopes and dreams for the Fringe?
World peace.
What makes you laugh?
Lindsey Santoro accidentally burping straight into my face as she came off stage at The Cabaret Bar was pretty funny, but not as funny as how mortified she was.
What three words best describe your performance style – and why.
It’s very hard to put anything here without saying anything ridiculously self-agrandising, so I’ll just say ‘very,’ ‘reasonably’ and ‘priced’.
How will your audience think/feel differently after an hour in your company?
According to two online reviews, one audience member complained his sides were hurting afterwards, whereas another was pleased his abdominals had got a workout, so I guess it’s all about perspective.
What kind of shows – apart from your own – are you looking forward to seeing at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I’d love to go and see Ed Byrne’s show about his late brother who was universally loved across the circuit, but it looks as though it will quite rightly be very hard to get into. So, myself and Hal Cruttenden have got tickets for Paul Sinha’s show as his Parkinson’s disease seems to mean he really doesn’t give a f*ck these days and is apparently quite rude about some of our colleagues.
The cost of living is a big issue this year – will it make this Fringe more challenging?
The cost of living crisis reaches considerably wider than the implications for a bunch of people showing off in Edinburgh every August. Although even the Fringe might look up from its navel long enough to realise it appears to be pricing a lot of the audience out.
What do you predict will emerge as the big themes of this year.
I would say ADHD because like most comedians who’ve bothered to check I found out I had it this year, but luckily I’ve already forgotten the question.
Who is your showbiz idol and why.
Tom Lehrer: “Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”
What is your idea of a perfect Fringe moment?
Too many to recollect, but there was a nightly gig at Roman Eagle Lodge in ’92, where you either paid a couple of quid or performed. I paid, most nights. I remember seeing Paul Morocco juggling eggs while playing harmonica, backed by three phenomenal jazz musicians and a tap dancer before Clive Rowe sang ‘My Funny Valentine’ and thinking, “this is all right.”
Alistair Barrie: Woke In Progress
19:45
Hootenannies @ The Apex
Until August 19
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/alistair-barrie-woke-in-progress
