James Macfarlane talks with Craig Hill about his Edinburgh Fringe show, I’ve Been Sitting On This For A While.
Let's go straight and have you tell us about your show.
It's a frenetic fun hour; lots of improvised comedy, but it's really about the audience. And there are fun stories, there are anecdotes,there are things that made me laugh, AND there are songs this year…and lots of dancing and lots of opportunities for me to play with the audience. Some people describe it closer to a cabaret. It's full of energy and it's fairly unpredictable to me and the audience. I don't think of it as my show, it is our show. It's for us to have fun.
What are the benefits of doing almost a month's run?
The run allows the show to grow and change every single night. There’s nothing that makes a show better than performing it twice or three nights in a row. And you can keep on adding to it if you've got material and your confidence just gets better and better because you're more likely to take a chance on a new gag that was you nailed last night. And I look forward to the Fringe because nothing has the same buzz I think it's the beginning of my universe
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What songs inspired you to include music in your show?
I like Everybody's Girl. It's about a loose lady who is quite happy to see several men at the same time and the lyrics are hysterical. Almost two years ago, I was in this cabaret bar and a woman called Phyllis from New York was performing. She came on and said, “I got this song,” and I was mesmerised. So I sang it in my show It’s very Cabaret. I really really enjoyed it. So if you've got a a fantastic song people haven't listened to ,my god sing it. So I'm really looking forward to that.
This year's show is number 25 for you. What is it about the Edinburgh Fringe that keeps you coming back for more?
You'd be a fool not to do the Fringe. If you live in Edinburgh and the largest arts festival in the world comes to your doorstep what kind of fool would I be if I didn't do it? I mean, it's a bit of a no brainer, isn't it? You've got this incredible arts festival in the town that I live in and an audience who are really faithful and you know they specifically come to see you an the Fringe. It would just be a bit weird not to do it. I know there's no obligation to do it and not every comedian does every single year, but I can't imagine not doing it.
Another thing about the years. For my first show I was told it was maybe a good idea to get your name in the show title. So my first show was called Craig Hill's Alive with The Sound of Music.
Finally, how do you feel about queer and gay identity and visibility on stage, especially in comedy,?
Well, I think it's brilliant. I love the confidence that comes with the sexual confidence and the physical confidence, the dress, the yuppie confidence, the actual real confidence, this idea of owning who you are with no apologies and nobody having any right to put you down. You've got to admire that. I think it's brilliant. People are on a broad spectrum in life, and this just feels like an honest version of the world. I like the way the word queer has been reclaimed and used in a really positive way. Oh, it's brilliant. If there's a kind of LGBT queer, gay, heaven, I'm there right now!
