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4 hours ago
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Behind the scenes, is SNL UK a tightly controlled machine or complete chaos?
It’s genuinely a combination of both: mayhem that is very well organised. Making a show from scratch from Monday to Saturday is going to be chaotic but they’ve got the best of the best in the crew. All the wardrobe people, the camera crew, the set designers … they’re just incredible. There have been moments I’ve thought: are we going to pull this off? But every single time, we manage brilliantly.
Where were you when you got the call saying you were going to be a cast member?
In Daniel Sloss’s bedroom. He woke me up … To be honest, I have no idea. I just make up a different story every time.
How brutal is the cutting process for the sketches?
First, we have a table read where everyone brings in their ideas. On Wednesday afternoon, we sit around a table with the writers, producers and the rest of the team. After that, they decide which sketches are going to make it through to the dress rehearsal on Saturday evening.
There are usually three or four sketches that aren’t going to make it to air. After the dress rehearsal, we have a meeting where we find out what’s being cut from the live show. When [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels met us, he said you have to learn to let things go for the good of the show. It can’t be about people’s egos. I totally agree with that, and I think it’s why it’s been so important that the cast, crew and writers have stayed a real team. You just go: OK, cool. My idea doesn’t work.
How did you get into comedy?
When I was at Southampton Solent University, a mate started doing standup, then I started too. From my second year at uni, I was travelling up to London to do the open mic circuit, and I just kept going from there. I had to give up alcohol to afford the travel to gigs because you don’t get paid for open mics.
Who did you admire when you were first starting out?
I don’t think there’s a single Scottish person that wouldn’t say Billy Connolly. I always remember Richard Pryor’s Live in Concert being phenomenal. I grew up with Jim Carrey and Robin Williams’ films and standup
Can you recall a comedy gig so bad that it’s now funny?
In Dundee, someone heckled me by saying their dad was dying, that they’d come to my gig to cheer themselves up and that it wasn’t working. I remember getting off stage and my heart was pounding because of how harsh that heckle was. I went back to that venue a year later and the audience all remembered it.
What can audiences expect from your new show, Hellbent?
It’s much more sketch-based, character-driven, and it’ll end up being madder than the stuff I usually do.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I always have to make sure I’ve walked and I need to warm up my face. I remember reading that if you smile in a mirror, your brain just sees someone smiling back and it puts you in a better mood.
You’ve been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy award three times. Does that sit in the back of your mind when building a new show?
No. Being nominated was so great but at the same time, if you try to write a show based on panellists’ opinions you’ll never get an award. You may as well just try to not think of it as best you can.
Do you have any post-show rituals?
Does alcohol and partying count as a ritual?
What have you learned from standup and sketch? One of the hardest transitions from standup to doing a sketch show was that, in standup, I can just go on stage, try a joke, and immediately know whether it works. If it doesn’t, I can think of three or four different ways to tweak it and try again in the next set. With sketch, you’re performing someone else’s writing as well as your own. You have to trust your instincts a lot more.
What’s next for you?
My partner and I moved to Manchester in December, but then I got SNL so I’ve not slept a single night in my new house. That’s one thing I’m looking forward to … sleeping in my new house!
