It is August which only means one thing – it is Camden Fringe time! Over the next few weeks we are chatting to acts that are performing at the festival and finding all about their show and what they would call this years iconic Camden Fringe Pigeon! Today we speak to  Suchandrika Chakrabarti

Date: 24th & 26th August
Time: 18:30
Price: £6 Concession: £5
Location: Camden Comedy Club
Ticket Link:  https://camdenfringe.com/performances/suchandrika-chakrabarti-doomscrolling-wip/

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

Hi Phoenix Remix, thank you so much for asking. I was a journalist for about 15 years before going freelance in 2018. That left me a bit more time to pursue my dreams, one of which has always been stand-up/ I did a six-week course at The Bill Murray in early 2020, the world locked down due to Covid, and I haven’t looked back since. 

As I’d only done two live gigs by the time lockdown began, I didn’t have much to miss, but I did have the video of my performance at The Bill Murray, which really helped me out. I became a semi-finalist and ‘One To Watch’ in the Funny Women Stage Awards 2020, and a finalist in the British Comedy Guide Pro Performance Awards 2020/1. I started writing for Radio 4 topical comedy shows in late 2020. 

I ended up writing my first Edinburgh show, I Miss Amy Winehouse, in May 2021, and took it on a little tour, including to Boom Chicago Comedy Festival, until I debuted at Edinburgh Fringe 2022. This year, I’ve just got my first TV writing credit, on Have I Got News For You, and I’m developing an idea with a Radio 4 producer that’s an offshoot of the live show Doomscrolling.

I started performing a very early WIP of Doomscrolling last July. After working on I Miss Amy Winehouse for 18 months, which drew on personal and family experiences from my teens and 20s, it seemed natural to look at my former career, and see what I could dig out of my years in newsrooms. After living through September 2022, when everything happened (Liz Truss, the Queen, the nation watches a queue as we tank global markets, you remember), I feel like the subject of the speed of the news, and what it’s doing to us, is more relevant than ever. What I can add is my insight as someone who used to doomscroll professionally, who used to be on the inside of making the news. The show is really a ‘clinic’, in which my non-medically-trained persona will heal the audience from their anxious phone addictions. Maybe. 

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

It just arrived in my head, as the best titles tend to, I’ve found. The show was originally called Reunion / Afterparty when I first performed it at A Pinch Of Vault Fest 2022, but I eventually realised that was a kind of placeholder name for me, which told the audience nothing. After living through the UK news avalanche that was September 2022 (Liz Truss, the Queen’s death, a nation cry-queues, you remember), I realised that the show was about the speed of news and what it’s doing to us – then the name Doomscrolling popped into my head.

Tell us a little bit about your style of show?

The show is a ‘clinic’ for those addicted to their phones… I like to think that I can heal them. Doomscrolling the show draws upon my many years of doomscrolling for a living as a journalist working in busy newsrooms. I’ve been freelance for the past 5 years, and much less online, which is a relief. I like to think I’m a reformed character, so I’m in a good position to help others… I hope.

What will your set be about?

It’s a very political show that engages directly with current headlines, but the fact that it’s a ‘clinic’ means that I get to play a bit of a character: wanting to help others, but perhaps not as over doomscrolling as I’d like to think. A bit silly and not very self-aware… but very much in charge of this session, please put your phone down!

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

Charlie Dinkin & Fraser Parry: For The Last First Time is going to be a very good one! Plus Phil Green and Katie Norris too.

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

Yes, I did Camden Fringe back in 2021 with my debut hour I Miss Amy Winehouse. I enjoyed seeing Sikisa, William Stone and Elf Lyons in action that year. 

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

Think really carefully about your venue – if you’re a comedian, do you want a theatre or a comedy club? In the centre of Camden or a bit further out? A raised stage or not? Are you using a projector? Search out all the photos that you can, because the space makes such a difference.

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

I’m from London, so it feels like performing on home ground, plus my first show was about Amy Winehouse, so it was magical to perform that one in Camden! 

London can be an expensive place to perform in – what key advice would you give to performers that is a sort of life hack?

I think applying to be part of a festival like Camden Fringe can really help with some of those costs. The venues vary in hire price, but because you’re applying to a festival, you can find those numbers in Eventotron, which makes life easier. Being part of something larger is so helpful with marketing too – Camden Fringe will retweet you, and it’s really powerful when other acts retweet or share Insta Stories about you (and vice versa). Use the fact you’re all part of the same line-up to approach the other acts about boosting each other online. 

What are your three favourite things about Camden?

There’s a lot of this stuff in my first show! I used to think shopping at Camden Market was the height of cool in my teens. I worked for a news organisation slap-bang in the middle of Camden Market for years. I ran around Camden on drunken nights in my 20s, and I hoped to, but never did, in any of Camden’s fine nightlife establishments, bump into Amy Winehouse. Those streets, the market, and that one food stall I’m still banned from, are all full of memories for me. 

Favourite one liner you have done in a show and why?

On the Doomsday Clock, midnight means kapow, the end, you know, the four horsemen, the Rapture, Jacob Rees-Mogg having his 7th child.

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

 Jacob Rees-Mogg and his 7th child. 

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?

Sir Reginald Pigeon, I see that top hat.

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

Twitter: @SuchandrikaC

Insta: @suchandrika

TikTok: @suchandrikac

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@suchandrikac 

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

I cure doomscrolling.