2015 Edinburgh Fringe

Ivo Graham answers 10 Edinburgh Fringe Questions

Ivo Graham

Ivo Graham is fast climbing the comedy ladder, having only started in 2009. Here he explains why you might like to see his show. Or might not. It's really up to you.

1. Tell us about your career so far. Are you happy with where you're at?

This is a naughty opener, but luckily I'm a sucker for this kind of gonzo journalism and have no qualms in batting you away with the proud declaration that since I started doing comedy in 2009 I have found that every year (barring 2011) has brought me more fun experiences, more new friends and less financial dependence on temporary office work and parental loans. Would ideally have been on a Radio 4 panel show by now, but only because then my dad would be content that I'd "made it" and could sleep easy at night in his bed next to mum's.

2. Describe your show in exactly 23 words.

A merry romp through some lightly embellished personal anecdotes to illustrate a few contrived points about the confusion of modern life. Four stars.

3. Why are you putting yourself through this famously stressful experience?

I like doing comedy and want to improve and though I get very stressed at the Fringe, I tend to get far more stressed when a sizeable chunk of my Facebook friends are in a city I am not in and some prick uploads a photo of them all smiling and holding pints of lager.

4. Any cunning plans to get more punters in?

Keep it on the down low, but I've paid some strangers to hand out pictures of my face around the city while using pre-rehearsed soundbites like "pretty inoffensive" and "out of the rain".

5. How much money do you think you'll lose/make this year?

I'll incur a debt that I wouldn't possibly be able to pay back as a lump sum but will be able to spread over twelve monthly instalments with only a marginally reduced quality in my living conditions.

6. What's your weirdest past Fringe experience?

None. I've managed to maintain an infuriatingly impeccable record of solid but unspectacular shows and solid but unspectacular nights out afterwards. This year I'm really going to be gunning for that "mad one" that oils the wheels of 2016's questionnaires.

7. What other shows are you hoping to see?

The Faulty Towers Dining Experience. I say it every time, but I really think this might be the year.

8. If you took over programming a venue, what would your perfect line-up of comedians be?

Alfie Brown, Ben Partridge, David Morgan and Joe Lycett, because they're the first people I ever did a Fringe show with and it was the best time of my life and if we reformed I'd get to use the expression "the gang" a lot and I reckon I'm confident enough to MC it now rather than just going on in the middle.

9. Name the one person you'd rather not bump into during the festival.

My university professor, Dr Nicholson, who rejected several extremely well-qualified candidates to offer me a place on his course, on the basis that I loved his subject (Russian language and literature) and was a dead cert to go on to use it in my later life and career. Him, or the Lernaean Hydra, the violent water monster and infamous house party welcome-outstayer who sprouts two new heads for each one you cut off. The ruddy cheek!

10. Why should audiences pick your show over the 1,700+ other comedy offerings at this year's festival?

They absolutely shouldn't. If they only go to one show in the festival and it's mine, I will sabotage the gig on purpose to punish them. But if they go to, say, ten, and they've filed one in the category of "nice young chap potentially (but probably not) on the cusp of something", then I should be in the four or five nice young chaps vying for that spot.

'Ivo Graham: No Filter' is at 6pm at Pleasance Courtyard on 5-16, 18-30 August. Listing

Published: Monday 3rd August 2015

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