list.co.uk/festival Nick Helm | F E ST I VA L CO M E DY
SCARE TACTICS You may well be screaming with laughter at these five monster hits
CHILDREN OF THE QUORN Durham Revue alumni Ambika Mod and Andrew Shires are set to raise literal hell with a séance amid their torrent of deftly-written sketches. The show title itself references a classic 80s horror based on the book from, inevitably, Stephen King. Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 1–25 Aug (not 12), 3.30pm, £5 in advance or donations at the venue.
GHOST ORGY A despicable merging of sex and the supernatural in a show which was partly influenced by this trio of Canadian stand-ups trying to convince some Edinburgh locals that they were ghosthunters. Yes, some other kind of spirits had been consumed. Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 1–25 Aug, 12.45am, donations.
RICHARD BROWN: HORROR SHOW
What are the connections between terror and laughter? One of Scotland’s rising stars of stand-up will send chills up and down your spine slash funnybones. Scottish Comedy Festival @ Nightcap, 3–24 Aug (not 12), 3.30pm, £5 (£4) in advance or donations at the venue. Previews 1 & 2 Aug, £3.
THE HOUSE OF INFLUENZA:
A SPOOKY TALE OF FRIGHTENINGNESS
Ever wondered what it would be like finding yourself trapped in your home just as the zombie apocalypse gets into full flow? Lily Edwards aims to show you that creating a silly horror story might help save your bacon. Just the Tonic at The Charteris Centre, 1–25 Aug (not 12), 12.40pm, £5.
MOON Jack Chisnall and Joshua Dolphin, these two ‘boiler-suited provincial louts’, return to unleash more terror as their venue actually appears to be turning on them. Pleasance Courtyard, 3–25 Aug (not 12), 9.30pm, £8.50–£10.50 (£7.50– £9.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.
31 Jul–7 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 49
songs and vignettes. I mean, it sounds wank . . . No one saw it in 2008, other than a handful of my real friends; some comedians still say it’s the best thing I ever did. And that makes me fucking furious!!’
Being in a general state of fury is all part of Nick Helm’s winning stage persona. He will rail and rant and rage one minute before being thoroughly sweet the next as he passively aggressively serenades an audience member. But the scripted anger is never too far away from the surface. ‘I do get very nervous and stressed before a show, and the day of a gig can be a complete write-off. That is why my act is the way it is. I get nervous all day and bottle all this tension and then I go on stage and let it all out. I’m very loud.’
A couple of years ago, Helm embarked on a national tour with There Is Nothing You Can Do to Me That I Haven’t Already Done to Myself, a show that was as close to pure storytelling as the St Albans-born comic has come in his career. This stripped-back affair had him laying the verboseness to one side for a bit as he took a step back and produced his most personal show to date. With Phoenix from the Flames, he’s promising yet more of a delve into his own personal issues, but there is one major difference. ‘I tend to do shows with production numbers and costume changes and props and a set, and the after the tour I did miss doing a proper old- school Edinburgh show. So this is me going back to what I started doing. What Phoenix from the Flames is really all about is me rising back from the year I’ve had. It’s been an up and down year personally: I suffered from mental health issues and depression, but I’m now coming back to be my best self and bouncing back in an Alan Partridge-esque way. It’s really a tongue in cheek look at my life.’ Helm relishes the fact that he can switch to a different creative output mode depending
on how the artistic mood is taking him. As well as stand-up, he writes music (releasing albums such as Hot ‘n’ Heavy and Nick Helm Is Fucking Amazing), pens a bit of poetry, and does some acting (mainly in comedy stuff such as BBC Three’s Uncle, Channel 4’s Loaded and Sky One’s The Reluctant Landlord alongside his mate Romesh Ranganathan). Though one TV gig proved to be more of a challenge than you might expect.
‘I did a food show for Dave called Eat Your Heart Out and put on a lot of weight. We filmed that very intensely so you were eating meals at 9.30am, 11.30am, 2.30pm, and 5.30pm. Everyone is going ‘that must have been nice eating all that food?’ Well, no, it was fucking miserable. Not only are you getting fatter while you’re making this show, but you’re being filmed as you’re getting fatter; there’s a camera in your face constantly while you’re eating. The show is great but the process of making it was very uncomfortable; you’re always full and there’s always a camera on you when you’re least attractive and most vulnerable.’ Asides from the horrendous nerves he experiences, getting back onto the live stage seems to certainly be pleasing Helm. ‘I’ve had a break from stand-up and missed it. I’ve done some gigs to come back to it and I’m enjoying it again. I’ve got a pile of songs and stories over here, a pile of jokes and poems over there, and the preview process is like having a bucket of Lego and throwing it all over the floor. You can do whatever you want with all the pieces.’
Nick Helm: Phoenix from the Flames, Pleasance Dome, 3–24 Aug (not 12), 5.40pm, £12.50–£14. Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6; I Think, You Stink!, Assembly Roxy, 2–24 Aug (not 12), 9.45pm, £12– £14. Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £8.