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 looking at some of the great shows that you can see at the Camden Fringe. So take note because we are going to give you all the information you need for just a handful of some of the great shows happening this year!

Death and Botany

Location: Theatro Tehcnis

Dates:  16th August

Time: 19:30

Price: £12 concessions £10

Ticket Link: https://www.camdenfringe.com/show.php?acts_id=2620

Hello! Tell us about yourself Atticus ?

Hello everyone! I’m 25 years old and originally from Nottingham, I live in Deptford, London now and am loving it. I’m an actor, writer and voice coach. I like going to the pub with my girlfriend and to the football with my dad. I take my home cooking way more serious than would ever be necessary and I play video games more than is healthy.

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

Death and Botany heavily features necromancy rituals and a talking bonsai tree so I thought it seemed a good little peak into the world we’re putting together. It’s also the title of the book that the protagonist has written.

Tell us a little bit about your style of show?

We’ve landed in a sort of black mirror crossed with Gavin and Stacey area I think. There’s some spooky and tender moments but what we really want is for everyone to have a great time, laugh as much as possible and maybe catch a feeling or two.

What will your play be about?

It’s mostly about long term grief and how people deal with that. We tackle that serious subject in an extremely light hearted way, the main character has lost his father and so took up necromancy in order to bring him back to life which is as far the opposite as ‘getting over it’ as I think you can go.

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

Puggo’s dream which is actually on at Theatro Technis beginning the night after ours seems right up my street. It’s about a human who turns into a snail so how can you not be enticed?

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

This is personally my first fringe festival as a performer so I’m very excited to see how it all goes. I’ll always remember catching Fleabag in it’s original solo show form by pure chance, that was a very inspiring bit of work. It’s been nice to see how a great piece of theatre can develop into what it has the potential to be and get the audience it deserves.

Tell us about the writing process – where did you find inspiration?

After writing angsty trash in my late teens, I really wanted to write something funny so that I would be writing for other people and not myself which is much more enjoyable. I had this original idea about a man being stuck inside of a bonsai tree and everything stemmed from there, I’ve also always found horror films kind of hilarious so I wanted to pursue a mix between horror and comedy.

Is it difficult finding a balance between horror and comedy?

I actually think the two things are remarkably similar and the two genres blend into each other a lot of the time, it’s funny being scared by something you know isn’t real and sometimes the funniest things are horrifying. It seems to me a happy marriage.

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

Our director Liv Ello has developed solo show called Swarm in which they take on the role of various species of fly to highlight different examples of white privilege, particularly in how we deal with migrants. It has a serious message obviously but is outrageously funny and there’s something wonderful about seeing a person in a fly costume. You can catch that at the Camden People’s Theatre in October as part of the Handle with Care Festival.

What advice would you give to others who want to perform at Camden Fringe next year?

Get sorted nice and early, find a venue that suits your show and have full faith in yourself! It’ll all work out as long as you put the work in. Also, get a producer because they’re literally angels.

What is the best thing about performing at the Camden fringe?

It’s fantastic that London has a fringe festival especially with Edinburgh being so bloated and manic. Just being able to work where you’re based is a blessing. Also, it’s brilliant being a part of something bigger than what you’re doing alone.

What are your three favourite things about Camden?

Camden is a lovely yet strange corner of the world. The canals are gorgeous and you get to see all types of people in Camden, from tourist to tattooist. There are tons of amazing venues to catch comedy sets and fringe theatre, it’s a real pocket of burgeoning art.

Favourite one liner you have done in a show and why

I’m not sure but in this show the opening line is ‘Praise. Hail Satan!’ which sets the mood nicely and makes me giggle.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

For this show in particular I’d have to go for Jordan Peele, his feedback would be gold dust. I think he’d be into it too, his films ‘Get Out’ and ‘Us’ are stylistically similar and he seems to have a great sense of humour. Hopefully he’d be that guy that laughs loads from the start so the rest of the audience figures out they are allowed to as well.

The iconic image of the Camden Fringe is the Pigeon – if you could call this years pigeon a name to represent its style what would it be and why?

She’s looking like a Beatrice this year. She’s got a fancy wig and necklace so I think she’d be an elegant pigeon with an old name.

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

I’m part of 55 Kings which is a theatre collective exclusively dedicated to producing original works. We have a website, ‘www.55kings.co.uk’ and are most active on Facebook ‘www.facebook.com/55kings’ and instagram ‘@55_kings_’. You can follow my personal instagram ‘@atticus.o’ too where I post about all the projects I take part in but you should expect the odd pic of a burger or a dog which no one should complain about.

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

Talking bonsai tree.