‘L.
ome people are so abundantly blessed with talent that they can
lose track of which abilities they actually possess. (‘hris Addison
pens a regular column for The Guardian's Jobs and Money supplement. but few stocks will plummet in surprise to hear him say: ‘1 have no idea why they asked me to do it and whether they just slap it on the back page and don’t take any notice. 1 have absolutely no training in finance whatsoever.‘
Equally bemusing is his agent‘s profile. which characterises the 33- year-old comedian and actor as a ‘baritone' capable of playing any age between 2| and 35. ‘Where does it say that‘." he marvels. ‘()f course. you know. I've got tremendous range. God. 2|. That's typical of an agent though. isn‘t it‘.’ I can assure you no work has ever come in to me on that basis. No one has rung up and said: “We‘re alter a funny baritone who can play 21 to 35." I might change it to contralto. just to see if there‘s any response.‘
Straddling a line line between charmer and charlatan. Addison has been busy forging away on his new Fringe show. .‘ltomieity. dubbed ‘an hour-long charge through The Very Fabric of The [Tniverse After last year‘s Perrier-nominated Civilization. which dealt with the entirety of human civic achievement and 2002‘s The Ape That (in! [.iieky (a sprint through evolution which has been adapted for Radio 4 and broadcasts this month) attempting to deconstruct the building blocks of existence should prove simple quantum mechanics. lixcept that finding laughs at an atomic level is a tricky alchemy for someone more restless dilettante than scientist.
‘At ten to live I was sat at my desk trying to write about gold and ljust kept glancing over to the phone. wishing it would ring.‘ he confesses. ‘Distractions are lovely. One of the reasons I’m doing this year‘s show is so I can sit down with any number of books and actually convince myself I’m working. rather than having the full horror of sitting there with the cursor blinking at me.‘ There is another reason why he‘s taking on science this year. ‘I was totally rubbish at it at school. ljust couldn't do it. But I later became fascinated with this mug that had the periodic table on it. the familiar signs. symbols and shapes that I later associated with the terror of chemistry lessons. I've still got that “cor. how does that work?" thing about me.’
18 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 4—1 1 Aug 2005
he medy lab
CHRIS ADDISON hates it when smart , comics play dumb. So, after last year’s Perrier " . nomination and a starring role in Armando " lannucci’s latest TV satire, he’s turning to science for his giggles. Jay Richardson finds a fellow who’s right in the thick of it.
At the time of writing. he's hard at work grappling with the machinations of government. continuing to shoot the Armando lannucci- produced political comedy 7'lze T/iiek of]! for the BBC with (‘hris Langham and Peter (‘apaldi In his first television acting role. he plays ()llie Reeder. an ()xbridge graduate who‘s come straight out of university and gone into a think tank. ‘We were filming on Millbank and you could just see loads of these ()llies. mid—20s policy wonks. with no experience of life who just make stuff up. Before the first show went out we had a screening that was full of them. People I’ve got ten years on and they're making policy that's appearing in Parliament and in White Papers. It's absolutely extraordinary.’
Using a significant amount of improvised material. The Thick of]! has been exhausting but inspiring. even for a Perrier-nominated comic. ‘We have this huge filming schedule and l was sitting back on this chair at a desk. with my eyes closed. thinking what I could really do with is some sleep. And to my left. Armando and Chris were discussing a scene we were filming after lunch and what would make it funny. And I had this moment of realisation: you are listening to Chris Langham and Armando Iannucci discussing what’s funny. You should probably pay attention.'
The show isn‘t Addison‘s first foray into political comedy. Also running on Radio 4 is the second series of The Department. his knockabout satire with fellow stand-ups John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman. ‘secretly running the country since longer than you have the capacity to imagine‘. If this all sounds a little sinister and high brow. it's worth remembering that one of the best. often unremarked aspects of Addison‘s comedy is how seldom he talks down to audiences. ‘I really despise the anti-intellectualism of this country.‘ he says with a weary sigh. ‘lt‘s really irritating and especially so with comics. There‘s a really ingrained tradition in stand-up of people who are smarter than they‘re pretending to be. acting dumb. which to me is just patronising. That said. truly cerebral shows are dry. boring and dull. So I‘m well aware when I write this show that first and foremost it's comedy. The jokes are paramount and the facts will have to adapt to accept that.‘
Assembly Rooms, 226 2428, 7-29 Aug (not 15), 7.45pm, $211-$212 (210—21 1). Previews 5&6 Aug, £5.