Funny At The Fringe – INTERVIEW – Gary G Knightly

17 Jul 2018

5–7 minutes

comedian, Comedy, edi fringe, edinburgh, Gary G Knightley, stand up

It is festival season and that means that in the next month there is so many great comedy festivals to look forward to! This month we are talking to acts performing at an array of festivals to find out more about their sets and what they have planned for their shows. Today we talk to a stand up comedian who this time last year we interviewed about his show at the Camden Fringe. Well this year he is heading up to the Edinburgh Fringe – I caught up with him to find out what he has in store for audiences.

Name Of Show: Twat Out Of Hell

Time: 11:35

Date: various between the 2-26 August

Location: Laughing Horse @ City Cafe (Venue 85)

Hello! Tell us about yourself Gary!

Hi! I’m Gary G Knightley, a 33-year-old bearded comedian from London and I am taking my debut hour, Twat Out Of Hell, to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. I like cats, musicals and fig rolls.

How did you come up with the name of your show that your taking to the fringe?

I’m always trying to do the right thing, but I always end-up being a bit of a twat. I can’t help it, I’m woke but also a privileged straight white male! I realised this could be a good theme for my first hour; then my wife took me to see Bat Out Of Hell: The Musical and the title was born. The musical is absolutely mad but brilliant at the same time (I highly recommend!), and the Meatloaf/Steinman songs are genius. I wanted my show to be part homage to this theatrical feat… plus Twat Out Of Hell is a funny title.

Tell us a little bit about your style of stand up?

Loud, brash, near the knuckle, but I like to think this style hides a more intelligent and serious side which is often unexpectedly revealed throughout the show. Some would say it’s chaotic, unstructured, clearly unplanned… but I’d say there is more method in the madness than you’d think. I do like talking to the audience and bouncing off their energy. I like all my shows to be a little different. Monotony is death.

What will your set be about?

There will be Meatloaf songs. There will be swearing. There will be an unusually high volume of references to musicals. As I mentioned, I always try to be a good guy but I constantly get things wrong and end-up being a bit of a twat. But I am trying to help the world, and if you come along to my show you will hear some of my solutions for the fight against sexism, racism and even terrorism. You could be witnessing the saviour of our planet! Or possibly an overweight bearded man ranting about how Russell Crowe was actually pretty good in the film version of Les Mis.

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the fringe?

There is so much talent up at the Fringe this year! Brendan Burns, Glenn Wool, Sadowitz, Tim Key, Lou Sanders, Jamali Maddox, Ingrid Dahle and Judah Friedlander are all on my “to-see” list. I am really looking forward to seeing Ashley Haden, LJ DA FUNK, Pete Bazely, Steve Maclean, Katie Pritchard, Holt & Talbot, Richard Wright, Jordan Gray, Esther Manito, Louise Atkinson, Helen Bauer, Louise Bastock (I’m sure I am missing a few!)… but none of them will be belting Meatoaf at you at brunch.

Have you done the fringe before? What have been some of your favourite shows to date and why?

My first time was back in 2014 when my comedy husband, Matt Smith (not that one) and I tookShitStorM’s House Party compilation show to a wet tent outside the Ibis Hotel. The next year I took my cult hit show 100 Animal Jokes up to the Fringe where I performed under a railway arch and met the awesome Wayne Carter and Ingrid Dahle. I didn’t make it up last year but did do a successful run at the Camden Fringe (which is also great, by the way) at the Etcetera Theatre.

Some acts have already tried it and done shows in the environment but do you think virtual reality has a space to be used in comedy and what other modern technologies do you think could alter the way we interact and watch comedy?

Virtual what-now? I’m extremely tech-challenged. I can’t even press buttons on an iPad for my own tech… in fact, do you know anyone who can tech my show at the Fringe when my wife isn’t around?

What have been some of the most unique and different stand up sets you have seen this year and why?

Nick Hall is doing a show entirely about the only PM to ever be assassinated; that’s pretty unique. Richard Wright’s show about being a virgin is not one to miss. I saw Ingrid Dahle’s WIP in Brighton and it is hilarious and charming, definitely unlike anything you have seen before. I like comedians who aren’t afraid to push boundaries, to talk about something that makes people uncomfortable, or to be so unashamedly themselves that you cannot help getting carried away into their world.

If people want to find out more about you where can they follow you on social media?

As I said, I’m a technophobe, but my wife set-up the online thingies for me. You can catch me on…

– web @ www.garygknightley.com

– twitter @garygknightley

– insta @garygknightley

– facebook @ www.facebook.com/garygknightley

– YouTube @ https://youtu.be/X1q54XVTdw0

And Finally in three words – Why should people come and see the show?

WITH MEATLOAF SONGS!

ED FRINGE QUICK FIRE ROUND

Best thing about performing at the fringe?

Serious answer: It’s like School for Performing. I reckon I will do around 80 performances, it is rare to be able to work and edit and try it again so quickly.

Silly answer: Oink (a shop selling hog-roast).

The most challenging thing about performing at the fringe?

Not getting bored with your material; keeping it fresh not just for the audience, but also for yourself.

What three items are essential for a successful Fringe?

Rain mac, water, a song prepared for karaoke.

What’s the secret to successful flyering?

Get someone else to do it.

What are the best venue’s at the fringe?

CIty Cafe, obviously. The Stand and Monkey Barrel are great comedy rooms. For a more off-beat vibe, what Just The Tonic have done with The Caves is spectacular.

If you want to see Gary G Knightly show before it goes to the Fringe then you can at the Etcetera Theatre at 730pm on the 25th July