2016 Edinburgh Fringe

Chris Stokes: 10 Edinburgh Fringe questions

Chris Stokes

Chris Stokes answers 10 questions about his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show...

Give us a quick overview of your comedy career so far. Are you happy with where you're at?

I did the odd student revue around 2005 but didn't start doing stand-up regularly till 2007. I entered a competition which I was very soon to be illegible for and so it was a bit of an incentive to actually get up and try it. It started to go well, I did the Pleasance Comedy Reserve in 2009 so got a taste of doing the Fringe, then Big Value the following year before bringing up my first solo show in 2012. This year I'm here with my fourth and I'm very happy with where I am onstage. I think it's natural to always want more than we have, so I wouldn't turn down any opportunities that happened to come my way because I'd felt I'd reached my peak.

Tell us two truths and one lie about yourself (but mix them up, keep us guessing!).

1. Charity Dingle from Emmerdale once came on to me.

2. I was a high board diver in my youth.

3. For a period of time I lived in Belgium.

Describe your new show in exactly 23 words.

Comedy about how our own perception of ourselves as a species affects our behaviour towards each other via jokes about Ghostbusters and dogs.

Any cunning plans to get more punters in?

Beyond jokes about Ghostbusters and dogs, I have no cunning plan.

What's your plan for trying to eat - and drink - healthily during the Fringe?

It'll go really well. I always eat quite healthily anyway and get grumpy if I don't so it's something I'll keep on top of. So I don't have a plan other than to keep doing what I usually do.

What will you miss most while you're away from home?

Definitely my dog, the adorable little idiot.

Aside from performing, what else are you looking forward to doing in Scotland's fine capital?

Tasting a wide range of whisky and finding an amazing show/performer which I had absolutely no idea about before the Fringe began.

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

Daniel Kitson, Louis CK, David Longley, Fern Brady, Milo McCabe, Lou Sanders, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Michael J Dolan.

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

I hope Andrew Hulme keeps a wide berth because he was a right nasty piece of work at school.

Why should audiences pick your show over the 1,800+ other Fringe offerings listed on BCG this year?

The Ghostbusters and dogs thing hasn't sold you? Right, well how about this for big guns? At the end of this year's show, there are edited highlights from next year's.

'Chris Stokes - The Man Delusion' is at Underbelly Med Quad at 8:10pm until the 28th August. Listing

Published: Tuesday 23rd August 2016

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