EDINBURGH 2023: Ian Smith Q&A

BWW catches up with Ian Smith to chat about bringing Crushing to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Crushing.

It's an hour of comedy about stress - from the dentist telling me I grind my teeth to ending up in Slovakia with my hairdresser, driving a tank over a car. A tale as old as time. It's about a period of time in which I did no self reflection, but just panicked and booked a few things to try and relax and they mainly failed.

Having performed at the Fringe so many times, do you think you know what to expect from the festival?

I think so - this is my seventh solo show, so I should be older and wiser by now. I imagine I'll still make the same mistake and read all my reviews and live off cakes. I usually book a nice gym and plan to go most days and then go about 3 times, and I imagine I will do that again this year, so maybe I've learnt nothing.

What are the advantages to performing at Monkey Barrel?

This is my first run at Monkey Barrel and I'm not sure I'd have come up without them - the venues are brilliant, the line up is so well curated, the staff are so nice and they look after the acts so well and have so much enthusiasm for comedy. I think it's reflected in the crowds too. There's just a real buzz around the place.

Who would you like to come and see it?

I'd be happy for anyone to come along - I have a 2 minite bit where I insult theatre ushers for being patronising, so they're probably not my target demogrpahic.

What would you like audiences to take away from the show?

That the show was funny. I like shows with or without a deep profound message to them - but I think if you don't have one and you try and force it in, it's very obvious and it looks terrible. My show is about me being stressed out all the time, but I don't really know why and I have no new solution to add to the world of relaxation. I guess I'd like the audience to come out and think, "that guy is not processing his emotions in a calm way at all, but it's very funny watching him not process his emotions in a calm way".

Photo credit: MATT STRONGE

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