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STAND-UP IVO GRAHAM The Stand, Glasgow, Wed 15 May
The onstage persona of Ivo Graham is of a well-educated and utterly personable chap, one who wouldn’t say boo to the proverbial waterfowl. Yet, over the last year, you may have seen him absolutely slaughtering two fellow comics on the small screen. First there was his brutal take-down of Fern Brady on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle: ‘if it’s not too much of a Hollywood cliché, I think we came out of it as better friends and with more respect for one another.’ And then he went up against Nathan Caton in a vicious hip hop stand-off during ITV2’s Don’t Hate the Playaz: ‘it had the potential to be extremely humiliating, as doing a rap is specifically not my skillset’.
Back in his comfort zone, Graham is currently touring with Motion Sickness, a show all about his love life and parenthood. ‘We rather stepped out of the conventional order of things, with marriage very much tbc, and instead we’ve gone straight to baby which in the short term seemed more stress-free than planning a wedding.’
Whatever the long term holds for Graham, the comedic fates certainly seem aligned in his favour. An acclaimed and talented comic (a decade ago, he was the youngest ever winner of So You Think You’re Funny), he has shown in the likes of 2017’s Educated Guess that he can turn his hand to other gifts. There, he proved he could wield his memory to staggering effect when asked to match currently serving British MPs with their constituencies and throwing in a fun quiz element.
‘I am a loyalist to stand-up and a well-told story but I love that extra bit of variety that you get when someone has a genuine skill. And there was a real sense of jeopardy at the end with the quiz. I don’t want to talk it up too much but I really did love that, and I would like to do more things in the future that involve not just stand-up but a quiz element. That’s when I’m at my happiest.’ (Brian Donaldson)
P H O T O : P A U L W O L F G A N G W E B S T E R
1 Apr–31 May 2019 THE LIST 73
LOCAL LAUGHS AMY MATTHEWS ANOTHER UP-AND-COMER HAS A GO AT OUR Q&A
Do you have any pre-show rituals? I had a good run of gigs after eating tomato soup for dinner, but I think that says more about my shopping habits than any metaphysical forces at work. I do genuinely tell myself before each gig that if you’re not going to enjoy it, what are you doing it for? So that reminder is helpful.
How do you handle hecklers? Someone shouted ‘Baby Spice’ at me once. I mean, I’ll take it. People have said worse. I think I look as much like Baby Spice as every other white blonde woman in the world, but I’d rather a lazy heckle than a bad one.
Where do you draw the line with ‘offensive comedy’? I think I’m laughably inoffensive, so I can’t really speak about my own writing. There’s not much offence to be had from jokes about kayaks. I just haven’t ever really dabbled in shock factor or purposefully controversial stuff; it’s not massively my vibe. What's the best piece of advice you've received from another comedian so far? I vividly remember David Kay saying something to me in a green room that really resonated with me at the time and I distinctly
remember saying to myself ‘I should remember saying to myself ‘I should write that in my notes’. Alas, I write that in my notes’. Alas, I forgot to write it in my notes, and forgot to write it in my notes, and all that remains in my memory of all that remains in my memory of that golden nugget is that it was that golden nugget is that it was great advice. Whatever it was. great advice. Whatever it was.
Which comedian's memoir Which comedian's memoir would you recommend to would you recommend to someone? Sara Pascoe’s Animal is just is just gorgeous. I honestly think it’s gorgeous. I honestly think it’s one of the most personally one of the most personally transformative books I’ve transformative books I’ve ever read. It’s the book I ever read. It’s the book I want to give everyone in the want to give everyone in the world. ■ Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, Mon 1, Sun 7 & Edinburgh, Mon 1, Sun 7 & Mon 8, Wed 17 Apr, Mon 6 Mon 8, Wed 17 Apr, Mon 6 May; Glee, Glasgow, Fri 12 May; Glee, Glasgow, Fri 12 Apr; The Stand, Glasgow, Apr; The Stand, Glasgow, Fri 19–Sun 21 Apr, Sun 12 May; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 28 Apr; Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 29 May. See much more of this q&a at list. co.uk/comedy