Frodo Allen talks with Jaz Mattu about his second hour to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with a brand-new show entitled Jaz Mattu Returns.
It's like you're in between worlds, but not in a good way
Jaz, tell me about your show.
It’s about me returning to my family home after last year’s Edinburgh Fringe and then, basically a family event happens, and the show is about dealing with the consequences of that event and its impact on me. And obviously, it's told through robots, video games, leafblowers, stand-up and silly little set pieces.
Would you say that there's a bittersweet element to the show or is it all laughs?
There are so many elements to the show. I could talk about the caring element or my relationship with the NHS or about how it's a situation that could be viewed as quite dark. But what I decided to do, because my comedy is quite absurdist, was give my own interpretation of how this event happened. So, I feel it's an enjoyable upbeat hour. We're not talking about a Baby Reindeer version of this, which you could sort of do. I hasten to add, Baby Reindeer is a great show, and I am a huge fan of Richard Gadd, but he’s showing the human condition in a sort of dark way, whereas my show is more of a fun look at what you could say is a traumatic family event. It’s all the moments that just made me laugh out loud during that experience kind of captured and put into an Edinburgh Fringe Show.
Music is a big part of your work and you're using music in the show. How does that impact your approach to stand up?
You could do a version of this show which is a straight-up musical. But I feel like, in a musical, you've got to hit this note, hit this spot, like moving chess pieces on a board; you've got to stand here, do this, do that. I feel like it sort of loses the emotion of it, whereas in Fringe theatre, you're not just in front of an audience, you're sort of really in their faces. And the more songs you put into it the more it becomes a spectacle, and I didn't want to do Guys and Dolls. I had to cut quite a lot, because I usually write quite a few songs for my shows and then I slowly peel them back. So there are two songs that are suitable for the story and I tried something new this year where I have songs, but in the background, so now they're more like a film soundtrack that enhances the scene.
So, it’s more of a comedy with music rather than a musical comedy act?
Yeah, I'm a comedian who uses music. In fact, I might write that down actually. I feel like it's an interesting thing because I started as a musical comedian, but it was quite hard to do because when you get into comedy, you sort of just watch sitcoms and other comedians. And obviously I'm a huge fan of people like, like Flight of the Conchords, Bill Bailey, and the music in Mighty Boosh. But then when you get to the open mic circuit, you have to do that in a five-minute slot. And then other comedians think you can't do comedy - that's why you're musical. It's like you're in between worlds, but not in a good way.
Tell me who inspires you?
I'm from Kent and I drove through this little village the other day called Staplehurst and it's where Cranbrook School is. And I think the most famous person who's ever gone there is Harry Hill. To me it’s so bizarre that someone who's a national figure was born and raised 10 minutes drive away from me. So he’s always been an influence on my life because he's a musician as well and he's so totally unique and I think he could only ever get big in this country. The United Kingdom's got a great tradition of all these eccentrics - people like Spike Milligan or Monty Python, Jasper Carrot, Billy Connolly, and to an extent, Kenny Everett, and Freddie.
Finally, why should people go see your show?
If you want to step into an absurd world and experience a slightly different take on family events, come see this show. Also, my double-act partner is a robot.
