BWW catches up with Chris Gethard to chat about bringing A Father and the Sun to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Tell us a bit about A Father and the Sun.
My son was born in April of 2019. Like many comedians, this naturally led to a lot of jokes about being a new parent. I expected that. What I didn't expect was how many aspects of my own childhood I'd reexamine, and how much I'd sit and think about my own dad. A lot of things that never made sense to me make a lot of sense to me now. Assumptions I'd had about things that happened while growing up were radically redefined. The more I workshopped material about my kid, the more I found myself talking about my dad as well. And toughness and responsibility and masculinity and many other things that I never saw coming.
What inspired you to share this story?
Like all of the things I've done that I'm actually proud of, this isn't one I sat down and decided to tell, it more so just vomited itself up from my guts and now it's a show.
This is your first Edinburgh run since 2016- do you expect the festival to have changed much?
I don't know what to expect. The 2016 run is a career highlight so I hope this one can meet that bar. I have no idea what the Covid realities have done to the festival. I always told myself I'd never do the festival just to do it, that I would only do it with a show that fit where the bar is set at Edinburgh in August, so mostly I'm grateful for a chance to get in there and throw down with so many great comedians and artists.
Where else might we know you from?
The Beautiful/Anonymous podcast, The Chris Gethard Show, and a lot of character acting. I played Ilana's boss on Broad City and Trevor in the American version of The Office.
Who would you recommend comes to A Father and the Sun?
I think anyone who enjoys a joke and a laugh will find something to love in the show. If you're a parent, especially a new parent, I think even more so. And if you ever wondered why your dad was stressed out this one might be eye opening.
