Steve Hall on zebra, We Are Klang and unusual ways to play the recorder.
Tell us about your Fringe show
It’s the most upbeat thing I’ve ever done. I’ve got a wee baby and she’s loads of fun and that has carried over into this hour. The show features some fantastic photos from my own childhood, and possibly some awesome arts n’ crafts too.
The title Zebra comes from a thing my mum used to say – if you hear hooves, expect horses not zebras. It’s about enjoying life whatever it throws at you – horses, zebras, or buckets of manure.
Best thing about the Fringe?
It’s so huge! There’s something for everyone. It’s thrilling to be part of such a jamboree of creative joy.
Worst thing about the Fringe?
It’s so huge! It’s entirely too big. It’s incredibly lonely being in the middle of such a hurricane of egocentricity.
How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
This is my ninth run at the Fringe, though my first time in four years.
Favourite Fringe venue?
It’s a dead heat between The Pleasance and The Stand. Both amazing places run by people who passionately care about doing things the right way.
Best Fringe memory?
So many amazing memories – hearing that Pappy’s Fun Club’s show in 2007 which I’d directed had been nominated; seeing Clement Freud pissing himself laughing in the front row of a Klang show. But my favourite remains seeing the delight on Rhod Gilbert’s face when I successfully played a recorder with my anus in 2003.
Best heckle?
In Klang we had a song in which I got to sing about the joys of being Jewish. On more than one occasion in the street people who’d seen the show would come up and shout “What’s it like being a Jew?” Bystanders would watch on confused at what seemed to be friendliest piece of anti-Semitism they’d ever witnessed.
Craziest on stage experience?
We did a sketch with Jason Donovan once, which involved us mocking his drug problems. That was pretty strange! He was absolutely brilliant and a thoroughly decent man. Craziest solo experience was doing half an hour opening for Russell Howard at the 02 in London. That was some pretty sweet adrenaline.
What’s on your rider?
Just a tapwater please darlin’.
How do you wind down after a show?
Eat. Cry. Tug. Sleep.
What do you love about Scotland?
So many things. A lot of my family are Scottish so it’s always great to be back. The passion, the honesty, the community, the barely controlled lunacy.
My teenage diary contains the following: “I should apply to some Scottish universities, I’ve always fancied a go on a ginger…” Whenever I’m back in Scotland I wonder if that long stymied dream might yet come true…
What do you like about Edinburgh?
Henderson’s chocolate mousse. Fisher’s in the City. Viva Mexico. Avalanche Records in whatever form it takes. When I heard Favorit had closed I cried a solitary tear.
What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
I have failed to qualify for any World Cup since 1998.
What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
Scottish audiences are unstintingly honest. If it’s funny they’ll laugh.
Favourite joke?
Since I was 9 it’s been this joke:
Why shouldn’t you wear Russian underpants? Because Chernobyl fallout.
[Obviously these days it should be Ukrainian underpants, but I like to stick with the original text.]
Steve Hall will perform at The Stand Comedy Club from August 6-16 and 18-30.
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