This month I will be talking to different acts that are taking part in the Brighton Fringe Festival. Today I speak to Jane Postlethwaite about her show Terrible People.

Shows: Terrible People
Location: The Actors – Theatre
Date: 25th / 26th / 27th May
Time: 20:00 / 20:00 / 15:30
Ticket Price: £8.50 Concession £7
Link: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/jane-postlethwaite-terrible-people/

Hello! Tell us about your act ?

 I’m a Queer Northern Stand Up Comedian. My show is purely stand up comedy about my life in the North. 

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

“Terrible People” was the show I was supposed to do in 2020 to get myself back into doing stand up comedy after doing comedy characters / sketch for years – then the pandemic hit so it never came about. I then had 3 years away from comedy to protect my family from Covid in Cumbria and since this is my first show back doing stand up it felt right to keep the name. Plus, the last few years have really shed a light on the terrible people in my life so now I want to examine them (by which I mean “shame them”) all in my comedy show.

Tell us a little bit about your style of show?

My stand up comedy is often described as dry and dark. It will be storytelling and stand up comedy!

What can people expect from your Brighton Fringe performance?

Terrible People is a hilarious yet dark look into what determines someone as a terrible person and how these people are always closer than we think. It’s also a show about becoming the person you were always meant to be – I don’t want to give anything away so you’ll have to come along to the show to get my secrets. 

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

I’m looking forward to seeing the other shows that Lamb Comedy is producing at The Actors as part of the Big Queer Weekender. I enjoy stand up comedy shows and character comedians. I’m going to see as many female performers as I can possibly get into my schedule. 

How are the rehearsals going?

Great, they are mostly from my living room. I am also trying out my material regularly on the Manchester Comedy Scene and various Queer nights around the UK.

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

Yes, I have taken 5 shows to the Brighton Fringe from 2015-2019. I stopped for 3 years due to the pandemic.  In those active years, I would do a new show every year to push myself, my writing and my performance skills. 

Years ago in 2014 I was obsessed with Colin Hoult’s character shows that he did in the back of a church. It was so spooky and wonderful that I went to watch him several times. He has such a brilliant dark sense of humour. Like I said, I also try to see as many female comedians as possible. One of my other favourites is Anna Morris as she always delivers great shows.

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

Get yourself organised ASAP, check out the venues on offer, apply early to get the venue of your choice, work hard on marketing your show as soon as possible – and have fun!

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

Getting to make my friends laugh when they’re in the audience. I used to live in Brighton for 15 years before I moved away back to my homeland Cumbria in 2017 – so I know loads of people. The last time I was in Brighton was for the fringe in 2019 so I haven’t seen friends who live in Brighton since then. They’ve all promised me they’ll all be coming to see my show so I am so excited to fill them in on what I’ve been doing with my life since the last time I was in town in the form of stand up comedy. I also love how my community of lesbian friends always support my comedy and will turn up with a whole crew.  

What are your three favourite things about Brighton?

The LGBTQI+ Community, the West Pier and all my beautiful creative friends who live there!

Leafleting and promotion through the streets of Brighton is a huge part of the festival – what are your tips for flyering?

Smile and sell your show like it’s the best thing ever! Or wear a funny costume – years ago the Lamb Comedy Productions team would dress up like a lamb to flyer – everyone remembers being flyered by a lamb. 

Tell us about your average day on a festival show run?

For me – Wake up, have breakfast, feel the butterflies of excitement in my tummy, take in the Brighton air, get out on the streets, mentally prepare to make people laugh, eat lots of food throughout the day, get butterflies in my stomach 3-4 hours before I do my show, lots of nervous trips to the toilet (i won’t go into details on that), I try and get grounded so have some quiet time alone, I go through my set, then head to the venue, I try not to see anyone before the show so I can stay focused and avoid my iphone messages, I make sure everything is ready on stage and then make people laugh their socks off! After the show I hang out with people I know from the audience as I’m now relaxed, I eat more food and do more laughing!! I might also get dragged along with friends to another couple of comedy shows to laugh some more! 

Performing by the sea as well, that surely makes the fringe all that much more fun?

Of course, it’s the perfect place to have a walk to clear your head, hang out with friends on the pebbles when it’s sunny and if you have any pent up anger or stress just scream it directly into the sea. Cheaper than therapy. 

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

A lesbian with a dark sense of humor and very loud laugh. That’s also my dream woman. 

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

My website is www.janepostlethwaitecomedy.com  it has all my gigs and information about me on there.

My social media channels that I use a lot are:

https://www.instagram.com/JaneDoesComedy

TikTok: @janedoescomedy

https://www.facebook.com/JaneDoesComedy

I don’t really use twitter anymore but it’s https://twitter.com/janedoescomedy

And Finally finish this sentence – ‘you should see our show at Brighton Fringe because…. 

You should see my show at Brighton Fringe because you love dark humour, tall northern queer women and you also have a lot of ‘Terrible People’ in your life.