EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview
LOUISE
ATKINSON
SHE'S GOT THE LOOK
Gilded Balloon Patter House - Coorie
COMEDY / STAND-UP / STORYTELLING
31 JUL - 26 AUG: TICKETS
AUG 2, 2024
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Hi Louise, thank you for taking the time to talk with TNC ahead of the Fringe, how does it feel to be heading back to the Fringe this summer?
As the current summer has seen me wearing everything from shorts to knitwear, sun cream to raincoat, I would say I've already been at the Fringe since May.
Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about it, but once I start stuffing my face with shortbread, I usually calm down.
Do you ever get any nerves ahead of a festival run?
Not so much about the show, but I do get nervous that at some point I may get stuck in some performer-only bar, with some pretentious individual trying to give me some unsolicited advice. Just sat there waffling on at me, confusing the 2 stools we're sitting on with a quirky podcast set up. Mate, I came in here to get a pint and eat my lunch, not so I could get your opinion. Jog on and let me eat my steak bake in peace.
What does Edinburgh Fringe mean to you?
Mostly it means wearing a lanyard for a month as a form of crucifix to fend off flyerers and performers who try to target me. Also though, to this day, I'm convinced it's one of the best glute fitness camps I've ever experienced; pilates can get in the bin, try navigating Old Town four times a day; thighs of steel in no time.
What did winning the Amused Moose Best Debut Show award mean to you?
Well, the physical award itself lights up at the base, so it means I have one of the most unique, niche night lights that has ever been created, and that's nice.
More seriously though, I wasn't expecting to be nominated, so that was a huge compliment, and I was also nominated with some other acts who wrote some great shows, so it was quite a shock and I am very grateful.
What’s been your favourite comment/quote you’ve gotten for your shows?
A woman once after a show said that I was like a brandy after an episode of Great British Bake Off; comforting but with a bit of kick to it. That has been in the top spot for a long time.
Can you tell me a little bit about how She’s Got the Look, what inspired this new show?
I was hoping we could maybe rank our favourite ice creams together, but sure, I can talk about the show if you want.
When I first started comedy, I received some unsolicited feedback when I was put through to the next round of a comedy competition. I was told that I 'Sound good but look a mess.' So, the show is me going on a little investigation trying to work out which bit of me could have been the mess. Was it my hair? Was it my attitude? Was it the fact that I was wearing a velcro onsie that had every bit of fluff and cat hair stuck to it? Honestly, will we ever find out?
If you could describe your show in three words what would they be?
Please. Bring. Biscuits.
How different was your approach to writing She’s Got the Look compared to your previous shows?
Firstly, I normally write whilst working my way through a box of Cadbury's Miniature Heroes, but for this show I ate a lot of Fruit Gums and Fruit Pastels, so brace yourselves for fruitier comedy.
This show also is a lot more personal for me. My previous show 'Mates', was, as the name suggests, all about my friends, whereas this one is about a comment that was directed at me. So, having to open up a little bit more in that way has been a little bit of a challenge. To balance it out, there are still plenty of impersonal, utterly stupid jokes, like one about an egg, so, there's that.
What would you say have been the most interesting things you’ve discovered about yourself and each other in the process of bringing She’s Got the Look to the stage?
My biggest discovery about myself is that I can't say the title 'She's Got The Look' without singing the Roxette song. Let me tell you, going up to people and saying in their face: 'hey, do you want to see my show - She's got the look, She goes (na na na na na na)' does sound a little bit like I'm having an episode.
On an unrelated note, please excuse me for a moment, whilst I open this letter that seems to be addressed from Broadmoor Hospital.
When a show is running how much flexibility do you allow yourself with your material?
I have a lot of flexibility during the show when it comes to talking to the audience, I think that's important because I want people to feel comfortable, settled and relaxed while they watch the show. However, the material itself I have spent a long time crafting and perfecting. Hours spent analysing syntax structure and lexicon. Deciding if the word satsuma would sound funnier than the word tangerine. So you better believe I am saying it word for word. I haven't been going up and down the country perfecting this material, just so I can tootle up to Edinburgh and say 'sod it, let's park the show and shall we just have a sing-along to the hokey cokey'. The show will be said word, for, word.
Do you have any routines or superstitions before you head our on stage?
I'm ashamed to say I am moderately superstitious. So, I have a Doctor Who chameleon arch pocket watch that is in my pocket for every show. My hope is that perhaps all of the hilarious memories from previous Timelords will transcend through the watch and give me something to fall back on if everything is going badly.
Additionally, whenever I have a bad thought about the performance going bad, which is almost by the minute before you go on stage, I touch a piece of wood for luck. During the 5 minutes before I go on stage, it looks like I'm tapping a morse code message on a wooden chair leg. So anyone who doesn't know my superstitions may think I am moderately deranged.
"There have been so many incredible comedians who have helped me feel better and deal with things, so I would love to create something that will do that for someone else."
Have you always had a passion for comedy, storytelling and performing?
I was very much brought up in a comedy household. It was never a drama we had to watch, it was always a comedy. Every Christmas, birthday or family occasion, a comedy album, video, DVD came out that we were to watch. Plus, growing up in Hull, everyone is so comically smart, that you have to be prepared to deal with it at any moment. One time I was at my best friend's house and she was wearing a beige, Burberry, mac coat and her dad said to her 'didn't realise Inspector Gadget was coming to dinner'.
As far as I'm concerned, comedy isn't just a nice to have, but an essential pillar that helps us all deal with and process things in life. There have been so many incredible comedians who have helped me feel better and deal with things, so I would love to create something that will do that for someone else.
I have a personal marker of achievement which I, at some point, someone will come up to me and say 'I loved your (joke/comedy show/sketch whatever it may be), I watch it every time I feel down and it always cheers me up, thank you so much.' And then I'll feel elated and go and continue my life, buying cheese or whatever it was I was doing.
Any tips or advice to offer anyone making their Fringe debut this year?
Plan your route to your venue every day, so you don't get stuck in the crowds. Even if it looks like it will take a bit longer, going a less populated route will feel calmer.
Have a comfort show, preferably with a lot of series, to watch. I went for the Golden Girls last year which, let me assure you, has aged like fine wine.
And finally, what would you like your 2024 Fringe audiences to take away from She’s Got the Look?
Their own rubbish, if they don't mind. I don't want to be wading through your empty crisp packets and standing in the saliva dregs of your empty, plastic pint glass, as I am trying to get out of my own show. I don't want to be going home to my housemate, who will ask me how my show was, and I have to say: 'Well, on the way out I got lager splashback up my own legs and somebody's leftover cheese and onion pasty stuck to the bottom of my shoe.' Just pop it in a bag or something, ta.