It’s Comedy Festival season and welcome to all things Camden Fringe!  Apart from having exclusive access to The Scribbling Apes run of the festival, we have a whole bunch of fantastic interviews with acts performing as well! We sat down with comedian, writer and actor  Matt Green who is bringing his 8th solo show to the stage!

Location: The Camden Comedy Club

Date:  8th – 10th August

Time: 20:00

 Price: £7.50

Buy tickets: http://camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=916

Hello Matt! How did you get into stand up?

I always loved writing and performing comedy – at school I would put on sketches and write plays, then at University I did a lot of comedy and carried on writing and acting after I graduated. In about 2003 I realised that stand up was the best way to be able to write and perform comedy without having to rely on other people so I signed up to a local open mic night and gave it a go. I really enjoyed myself and have been gigging pretty regularly ever since.

Tell us all about the show that you are bringing to the Camden Fringe Festival?

It’s an hour of all of my favourite jokes and stories from the last year or so. There’s no grand theme tying it all together, except that every joke in it is about something that I think is interesting or happened to me, and everything is very funny. There’s a story about a massage I had on holiday that I’m really enjoying telling and a few thoughts on Brexit, Trump and the mad state of the world that are good fun too.

What are your favourite things about performing to an audience and why?
The feeling of getting a laugh from a crowd is very pleasurable and extremely addictive! As comedians we’re always looking for the next high. We’re jonesing for chuckles. The best thing about stand up is that you are the only person on stage and you can talk about anything you like – even something that you literally just thought of. That freedom is very exciting. Although if it doesn’t get a laugh you have no one else to blame!

What other comedians do you find inspiring and why?

There are loads of brilliant comedians at all levels of the circuit. Some of my current favourites include Sara Pascoe, Sarah Kendall, Rob Deering, Suzi Ruffell, Nish Kumar and Brett Goldstein. All of them are honest and intelligent and are always working hard to produce new material and original ideas.

You have acted in a lot of Radio shows,Television shows and films – what is your favourite medium to be a part of and why?

They are all enjoyable in different ways. Acting in a movie is always very exciting because the budgets are bigger and there is a real sense of occasion on set, something that isn’t always true in the faster-moving world of television. Possibly my favourite medium to perform in is radio – especially live radio comedy. You get the direct audience reaction but you can really focus on your performance of the words – and you don’t even have to learn your lines.

Photo Credit: Karla Gowlett

Who else are you looking forward to seeing at Camden Fringe and Why?

I always enjoy working with Joe Bor, who has two shows in Camden this year (Room With a Jew and Jasper Cromwell Jones’ Alternative Book Festival) so I’ll definitely go and see him. I’ll also be looking out for the shows from Paul F Taylor, Brett Goldstein, Marlon Davis and more. Most people have quite short runs in Camden (I’m only doing 3 days) so you have to plan carefully!

Explain the writing process you go through to produce your jokes?

I wait for bad things to happen to me then write them down. Or I wait for bad things to happen in the world and think about how they might be funny and write them down. But usually it’s the first one.

For people who want to go into Stand Up Comedy as a career – what advice would you give them?

Always make a note of anything you find funny or interesting. You might not have a joke about it yet, but one day you’ll come back to it and work it out. Do as many gigs as possible. Learn to drive. But mostly: maybe don’t! There are loads of comedians already. We’re not going to run out anytime soon.
And Finally – in three words, why should people come and see you at the Camden Fringe Festival?
They’re not stupid

If you want to find out more about Matt Green’s show you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @mattgreencomedy