EDINBURGH 2022: Sam Lake Q&A

BWW catches up with Sam Lake about bringing Cake to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Cake

Cake is my first hour long stand-up show that I'm taking to the Edinburgh festival fringe this August. The show is all about my wedding day. In 2020, my husband and I were all set to get married and have the wedding of our dreams. Nice, big and flashy with all the friends and family. Then, because of the pandemic, we had to cancel that wedding and replace it with a smaller, cheaper yet somehow even more chaotic wedding. We still had an incredible day and that's what the show is all about. Expectations vs Reality. Sometimes you just have to enjoy things the way they are even if they didn't quite go how you originally planned.

How have things changed for you since 2020?

Obviously, the biggest change is that I'm a happily married man now. I also moved to Scotland. My husband and I were long-distance, and then when the pandemic was heading towards national lockdowns and talks of the government cooking a big lasagna in Wembley Stadium, I fled London to go stay with him in Edinburgh. Probably the most depressing train journey I've ever been on. Packed carriages of people trying to get away, and then the train breaks down, leaving me stranded at the Newcastle Station branch of Burger King. I asked for one of their paper crowns to cheer me up, but it actually just made me look sadder...

Also, since 2020, I feel like a better comedian. In a weird way, my passion for performing live comedy has sprung back up again. Having had to make do with zoom calls and livestreams where strange men on the internet keep asking to see my feet, I'm so happy to be back on actual stages in front of real people who often laugh at what I say. And aren't on mute.

Why did you want to tell this story?

Well the thing is... I was supposed to tell a different story. In 2020, Cake was a very different show. It was about the wedding I had planned at the time and how I was going to make it a special day for my husband and why it was important to me. The wedding I described in 2020 ended up not being the one that we had, but we loved it nonetheless. Best day of our lives!

And I know that so many people went through similar things in the last two years, having to put off things, make big changes to their lifestyles. Even outside of that, we love to set ourselves these goals in life that aren't totally in our control. Be it in your love life, your career, your fitness. Sometimes things happen that we can't prevent that stop us from doing things, and we end up feeling guilty or like we failed. So I hope my story helps people realise everythings fine! You're coping, you're surviving, you're doing your best. Things have a way of working themselves out.

Who would you recommend comes to see Cake?

If you're in the mood for a little, funny love story, you should see Cake. I've tried to make it something that's "feel-good" and a little bit dirty. Like a bacon roll on a hangover. It's satisfying, it's a lovely time. Also, if you're recently married and want to see if I had a better or worse wedding than you, come watch and enjoy the feeling that you probably did have a better day than we did.

What do you hope audiences take away from the show?

Firstly, that I'm funny and handsome and my new moustache really works for me. Secondly, I'd love for them to leave with a new perspective on their goals, what they're striving for and be happy with all the things they've managed to achieve up until now.

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