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‘THE SHOW COVERS A RANGE OF TOPICS, FROM MY PERSONAL LIFE TO MATTRESSES’
GO WITH THE ‘FRO Andi Osho tells Marissa Burgess that an amusing upbringing and a new-found love of stand-up will keep her buzzing in August
We’re hoping that Andi Osho isn’t going to be spotted twiddling her thumbs on the Royal Mile as she’s only performing the one show at the Fringe. Outside of the festival she has her fingers poked in more pie varieties than a Greggs bake. Osho’s a comedian, actress, writer and presenter and isn’t likely to be giving any of those things up soon. ‘I love it all. I did a bit on the Psychoville Hallowe’en special and I remember thinking, “This is awesome, who needs stand-up?” But then a month later I started on Stand Up for the Week [Channel 4’s live topical show] and I was back in love with stand-up.’ Though a trained actress, she’d
only performed 40 or so gigs when she won the Funny Women competition in 2007, a victory that highlighted her talent when she’d only just begun. ‘Everything’s happened fast,’ she confesses. ‘I’ve been doing stand-up for a relatively short amount of time. It’s been a combination of factors that have had things work out as they have.’ But her training as an actress certainly helps her out with the stage craft.‘The acting has definitely been very useful as no matter what nerves I have beforehand, I’m always comfortable on stage.’
As for the material, her upbringing by Nigerian parents in the East End of London provides a great crux to hang jokes on, and she’s not afraid to use them in her debut Fringe show, Afroblighty. ‘I’m really looking forward to going up for the whole month and soaking up the vibe, though hopefully not the rain. I’m pleased with how the previews are going, so we’ll just have to see. Part of the fun of the festival is hanging out with your mates for a month so it’s a win/win really.’ Bored is one thing she’s unlikely to be. ■ Andi Osho, The Stand III & IV, 558 7272, 6–29 Aug (not 16), 5.35pm, £8 (£7). Preview 5 Aug, 5pm, £7 (£6).
Californian dreaming
The deadpan Arj Barker makes a long-awaited Fringe return, telling David Pollock that these are his salad days
T his will be San Francisco comedian Arj Barker’s first working visit to Edinburgh in a decade, and he promises to pull out the stops for an audience which might only recently have become familiar with his work. ‘The show covers a range of topics, from the environment to pirates, my personal life to mattresses. It’s good solid stand-up, that’s what I do. But just be prepared to laugh and cry.’
Long-time Fringe-goers might not need reminding that Barker was the Perrier Best Newcomer in 1997, the first of four consecutive years he appeared in Scotland. Yet ten years spent breaking into what he describes as ‘other markets’ (his name is well-established in Australia, and when The List tracks him down he’s touring to largely ex-pat audiences in Thailand) mean that British audiences might know him best for his recent role as laconic New York pawn-shop owner Dave Mohumbhai in Flight of the Conchords, owner of one of TV’s most brutal deadpans. ‘I decided I should give the UK a look, and this show’s really a way of re-introducing myself to the fans. Obviously the popularity of Flight of the Conchords has given me a nice boost, but I don’t rely on the show to endorse what I do, you know?
34 THE LIST 5–12 Aug 2010
Would I have come back if I didn’t have that behind me? Maybe I would. But maybe I wouldn’t have been quite as hopeful.’ Despite past and hopefully future television success, Barker eagerly declares his love for the stand-up life. He works hard at it, aiming to write an entirely new show every year, although his lengthy absence from Edinburgh means that we will get a ‘best of’ selection of his last two or three years’ work. ‘I’ve achieved what I always wanted in stand-up,’ he says, ‘which is to have people want to come and see me, rather than just showing up at the club. These are the good days for me. I’ve worked hard to get to this stage and I want to enjoy it.’
He reminisces fondly of the good old days in Edinburgh some more. ‘It’s a beautiful city, I remember walking home early in the morning and seeing the sun come up over the castle. I’m kinda sentimental about those days, to be honest. And I never lost money on it.’ Here’s hoping it’s a happy homecoming.
Arj Barker, Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, 7–29 Aug, 9.20pm, £12–£14 (£11–£13). Previews 5 & 6 Aug, £5.