{COMEDY} Nick Helm
NO MORE MR NICE GUY
Nick Helm bullies, barks and picks on the audience. Away from his stage, he soothingly tells Brian Donaldson the origins of his angry persona
L A V I T S E F
I t may surprise anyone who witnessed Nick Helm’s breakthrough Fringe last year that he is actually something of a festival veteran. Back in 1997, he made his Edinburgh debut with the first of three annual school plays, while in 2001 he came up with a sketch show through which his current stage persona began to slowly emerge.
But it was those salad days of 1997 which Helm holds dearest in his festival memory bank. ‘We went to see Al Murray at the Pleasance and sat in the front row,’ he recalls through almost misty eyes. ‘I don’t think we were old enough to be there and he picked up on that and got me on stage. I saw him four years in a row and always put myself in a position where he could pick on me and if he didn’t, I felt very disappointed. He’s got me up on stage now three times. Really, anyone that complains about being picked on is pathetic.’ Certainly, there’s a bit of the Pub Landlord in Helm’s act, with his no-nonsense insistence on audience participation and occasional ear- blistering levels of volume. There are songs, poetry, stand-up and a fair degree of shouting. ‘I used to go on stage and say, “Hello everyone, isn’t everything lovely?”, and write about things I liked. But audiences in Edinburgh can either be apathetic or look bored or have just come in to shelter from the rain so I just started shouting at them and people laughed more at that than when I was trying to actually be funny.’
34 THE LIST 4–11 Aug 2011
His Mr Angry persona has been developed over a number of years and while it’s not all bellowing with a fair bit of whispering thrown in, the shouting does seem to lodge itself in people’s minds. ‘Last year I did my show at the Tron and Big Value in the evening and so I was shouting every day for a month. I protect my voice offstage, but it’s not the same as having an argument: it’s all coming from my diaphragm.’ While Helm enjoys different types of comedy, he acknowledges that the greatest influence on his act comes from, at first glance, an unlikely source. ‘Alice Cooper is the greatest comedy songwriter on the planet,’ Helm maintains. ‘When I did my musical last year, we thought, “What if could do our own little Alice Cooper show with a storyline going through it?” When he first started there were bands like the Monkees and the Beatles, all these nice guys, and he thought, “What if you’re not a nice guy?” So yes, Alice Cooper has seeped into my life. There are a lot of nice comedians and people who try to get audiences to like them and once you like them, you’re going to laugh at the jokes. But I don’t see the point in trying to get people to like me, so I shout and I’m mean and bully them. I just concentrate on being funny.’
Nick Helm: Dare to Dream, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 6–29 Aug (not 10, 17), 4pm, £11–£12 (£9.50–£11). Previews until 5 Aug, £6.
LISTEN UP!
Brian Donaldson picks five banging shows from musical comics
ISY SUTTIE Dobby (from Peep Show not Harry Potter, silly) brings us Pearl and Dave, another heartwarming multi-character tale. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 6-29 Aug (not 15), 5pm, £10–£11.50 (£9–£10.50). Previews until 5 Aug, £5. STEVE PRETTY With his Perfect Mixtape, Pretty recalls the tunes played at his own wake in 2005 (there’s a story there) and wonders what music moves you. Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, 6–28 Aug (not 12), 1.25pm, £9–£9.50 (£8–£8.50). Previews 4 & 5 Aug, £6.
ATF? The next big thing in Aussie musical comedy (it’s Anyone for Tennis? if you need to know) Doody and Jase get down and dirty as you Prepare to Be Tuned. Is that rude? Gilded Balloon Teviot, 622 6552, 7–29 Aug, 9.45pm, £10.50–£12.50 (£8.50–£10.50). Previews until 6 Aug, £5. PISTOL & JACK An American pop princess and a Cockney rock god mash it up good and proper with Smash. Glam. Sex. Music. Which certainly paints a picture. Assembly George Square, 623 3030, 6–28 Aug (not 16, 23), 9.20pm, £10–£12 (£8–£10). Previews until 5 Aug, £8 (£6).
GARETH RICHARDS The Best Newcomer nominee from last year has a message for us: It’s Not the End of the World. Which is nice. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 6-28 Aug (not 18), 8.30pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8). Previews until 5 Aug, £5.