Tom Lucy: Needs to Stop Showing Off in Front of His Friends is at The Cellar, Pleasance Courtyard furing August.
1. Tell us about your Fringe show
It's about my life up until this point. This is my first solo show so I'm able to use all the material I've written since I started stand up four years ago and pick out the best bits. I'm really very excited about it. I talk about my family, school, university and there's a section on Jamie Oliver which I'm buzzing about.
2. How does it feel to be playing the Fringe for the first time?
It's so exciting. I've been coming up to the Fringe since I was 16 and used to watch shows with my dad back then and think about when I would come up and do my own. I've been doing stand up for 4 years now and doing an hour for the first time is pretty daunting but so much more fun than just doing short club sets.
3. Best live act you’ve seen at the Fringe?
Oh I've seen so many great shows at the Fringe. I remember the first year I came up, my dad and I watched Russell Kane and he was so incredible. My dad still talks about how good that show was. And last year I caught Bill Burr and that was insane. You also get to see people before they become huge so I remember seeing Romesh Ranganathan in a pub in Edinburgh in front of about 8 people.
4. Best thing about the Fringe?
Anything goes up in Edinburgh. Everyone who's there very much subscribes to the idea that what happens at the Fringe stays at the Fringe.
5. Worst thing about the Fringe?
The only negative thing is just being tired. You're doing a show every day for a month so it's quite full on. But then it's only an hour of work, and it's not really work either. You can't complain. I'm not working down a mine for 10 hours a day.
6. If you were not a performer what would you be doing?
I have no idea. I've only ever wanted to do this. Maybe a teacher, which is sort of the lowest form of showbusiness (that's a joke - teachers please come to my show).
7. How do you combat pre-gig nerves?
I don't think you ever get over that, you just learn to get used to it. And you also learn that the nerves are a good thing and you need them sometimes I think to make you perform better. Having said that I've seen incredible performers who have absolutely no nerves before a show so I don't know.
8. Worst on stage experience?
There's been a few. Any gig you do where there's no microphone is just horrendous. You immediately lose all status and just become a lunatic shouting in a corner. There was quite a few of those gigs early on. Having said that, I did a gig in Newcastle when I was 17 at the football stadium in the foyer by the merchandise stall and a man on the front row physically stood up and took the microphone off me and then started shouting football chants into it and soon the whole audience joined in. I then slept in the back of my car and drove back to London at 5 in the morning. All together now! There's no business like showbusiness...
9. What do you love about Scotland?
Everything. The people, the food, I even like the weather.
10. What do you like about Edinburgh?
Well it's quite posh isn't it? They don't like it if you mention that too much but it is pretty posh. My favourite thing about Edinburgh is the Wally Dug pub. What a boozer.
11. What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve ever done?
I had a pizza crunch last year. It's a pizza deep fried in batter and served with chips. I ate it on the Royal Mile whilst complaining about English politics. That's pretty Scottish right?
12. Favourite Scottish food/drink?
Big fan of haggis.
13. Sum up your show in three words
Child showing off.
Tom Lucy: Needs to Stop Showing Off in Front of His Friends is at The Cellar, Pleasance Courtyard from August 2 to 27. For tickets visit www.edfringe.com
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