Simon Munnery talks about his new show, Standing Still.
1 Tell us about your Fringe show
It’s got a beginning, a middle, and an end. The rest I’ve been making up as I go along, which is very exciting, and so far all five previews have gone well but have been pretty different. I hope this continues but inevitably it will become more settled.
2 Best thing about the Fringe?
My show obviously.
3 Worst thing about the Fringe?
The other shows, competing with mine unnecessarily.
4 How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
Thirty. Perhaps I’m entitled to a parking permit or something? I’ll write to the council.
5 Favourite Fringe venue?
The Stand. Best venue in the land - apart from the Glasgow and Newcastle branches. I love it; I know where the toilets are.
6 Best Fringe memory?
Lordy. So many; arriving in a Robin Reliant at dawn and driving up Arthur’s Seat with the radiator whistling like a kettle; stealing the Perrier award and being run to ground like a dog; getting Coogan’s remaining coke off him when he came out of hospital and polishing it off in the disabled lav; the night at Cluub Zarathustra when Ricky Grover acted as doorman in a dress and carried each audience member over his shoulder to their seat while whispering threats in their ear; AGMs going on for hours with Mac at The Lord Bodo….
7 Best heckle?
My show was at half past three in the afternoon, and this group of old men, clearly under the influence, just could not shut up. One of them offered an explanation: “We’ve been to The Whiskey Society”. So that’s alright then.
8 Craziest on stage experience?
Wrestling Ross Noble at Late ’n’ Live. It was the last night maybe, I was compere or he was, but we ended up wrestling - I can’t remember why- for ages on the stage. Stuff getting knocked over, on and on, neither giving up. It was beyond funny: it wasn’t funny at all. But it did happen.
9 What’s on your rider?
My horse. I’m a bit of a maverick when it comes to equine etiquette.
10 How do you wind down after a show?
I don’t. I get more and more wound up during August then uncoil in September like a broken clock. I normally have a pint after a show; but that’s not winding-down, that’s alcoholism.
11 What do you love about Scotland?
Socialism, Alcoholism, The Falkirk Wheel, the mossy steps to the beach at Kirkcaldy, the desolate beauty of Lewis, Sauchiehall street, Phil Kay.
12 What do you like about Edinburgh?
Gazing at the Firth of the Forth and Fife beyond from outside The National Portrait Gallery on Queen Street. Ideally I’d do this on the fifth of June; for then I could say “I saw the firth of the forth on the fifth of the sixth”. And who wouldn’t want to say that?
Arthur’s seat. Amazing, and you guys built it.
The people. Not all of them obviously; just the ones I’ve met.
13 What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
Tricky one. I dunno -Be in Scotland? Vote to remain? Reach for the whiskey? Feel revulsion in my gut when I hear God Save The Queen? ( “…long to reign over us…“ : it‘s like an entire nation with Stockholm syndrome) But this is new to me; I’d assumed Scottishness to be a state of being rather than a verb. I didn’t realise it required doing something, that there are associated activities.
14 What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
Good ones. Also, bad ones delivered with ferocity. And mediocre ones delivered at high speed. Scottish audiences are great. I can’t wait.
15 Favourite joke?
Currently James Acaster’s postcode/gangs one.
16 Favourite Scottish food/drink?
There’s a meal I take anally midway through the festival as a treat, and that is haggis neeps and tatties at The Magnum (starter portion). Oh sorry not anally- annually I meant.
Simon Munnery: Standing Still is on at The Stand until August 29.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here