Gill Smith, writer, award winning stand up, educator, new mother – is there anything this woman is not – is bringing her third solo stand up show “OCD: The Next Generation” to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, before touring around the UK. It is always fun and makes our job worthwhile when you get to meet performers as full of life and fresh as Gill, it also makes it very easy! Her show last year was a incredible triumph and this new one is bound to follow very easily in those footprints.
This is a TNC Must See Show! More information can be found at the end of Gill’s interview.
Following hot on the heels of her 2008 show “OCD: My Family and Other Anals” and her 2009 solo show “OCD: Truly, Madly, Neatly”, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe while pregnant, Gill now takes a look at Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with a baby – is it possible to still be, and if so, will she pass this on to the next generation?
2009 Edinburgh Fringe Poster
Gill says: “I grew up in a household full of ‘quirks,’ but until I started stand-up, my own and my family’s Obsessive Compulsive Disorder moments used to be strictly private. But after the amazing response to 2008’s Edinburgh show (also at Henley Fringe 2008 and Brighton Fringe 2009), I got even more fervently fanatical about everyone else’s than I was already. It’s gone from a faint fascination to a full-on funny foible fixation!”
The show, which is Gill’s fourth as part of Laughing Horse , covers a wide range of topics, from nightmare nappies and shoulder sick, to whether, like Gill herself, the next generation will be encouraged to play with her food.
A regular around the national comedy scene, Gill Smith hasn’t let maternity leave stop her planning an Edinburgh Fringe show she believes may be her best yet – and all inspired by her already worryingly control-freak daughter.
Of this year’s show, Gill says
“I’m really excited to be doing a solo show again in 2010. I’ve been coming to the Fringe, and reviewing other people’s shows at it for many years. I’ve performed solo shows for the last two years, and despite a large ‘bump,’ hosted an additional topical comedy show in 2009, so I feel like part of the furniture at the Fringe.
“When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make Edinburgh 2010 with a young baby, but thankfully her dad’s as anal as I am, and he’s promised to keep her really clean and tidy while I’m on stage. It’s thrilling to be able to introduce my little girl to her first Edinburgh Fringe!”
Gill Smith 2010 Interview
How have things been going, you all done and dusted for the summer shows or are there still some creases to iron out?
I am nowhere near as done and dusted as I’d like to be, but as someone who’s a little bit obsessive and perfectionist, that’s not surprising. So yes, dusting to do, and creases to iron out, but what could be more fun than metaphorical housework?!
What has made you want to do the Free Fringe?
This is my third year as part of the Laughing Horse Free Festival, and I consider it brilliant value for money. So many acts come away from the fringe each year with ridiculous levels of debt. By doing the Free Festival, I dramatically decrease my costs, while at the same time meaning that every penny the public think the show is worth, goes direct to me. Of course, plenty of that goes back into the city in the form of me eating, drinking, and generally being merry, but that’d happen anyway, so without the massive venue costs, all that’s guilt-free!
Have there been any obstacles in producing this show?
There is one small, but very charming obstacle to getting any work on the show done. Being a mum not only reduces your working time, but when there’s a possibility of a first rolling-over, she’s very distracting! So this year finding the time has been harder, but I’ve already learnt to be so much more focused when I do get to work on it. It’s also tricky getting out to do many gigs, so most of my previews will be to friends, family, and the mums from toddler groups. Many of those will be in my front room!
What was the best feedback you got from your audience or the press?
I love it when people identify with me and my obsessive foibles. When I brought “OCD: My Family and Other Anals” to Edinburgh, thanks to chatting to audience members, I not only discovered a whole world of other people’s OCDs, but realised I had plenty more that I just hadn’t spotted before!
A year later, I ran into someone who’d seen the show, and he and his flatmate were getting on better because he now understood that the toilet roll just did have to be round the right way, even if there is no logical reason. That was brilliant!
What was the Best and Worst shows you’ve played?
Best was the most packed day of my 2008 show, where the audience were sitting or standing on / in every available space, including around my feet. They were laughing and having fun, and naturally, I was too!
Worst was a gig in a small village in deepest Suffolk, where the only audience members not related to each other were the two related to me. There’s always something odd about a gig with three or more generations of the same family.
What can people expect?
They can expect a lot about becoming a new parent, and a lot about being OCD. Where those two hit – well, there are lots of questions on how that works out, and I aim to answer those, as well as the ultimate question – is my little girl getting my OCDs? I spot new things that might be signs of it every day, which means the show will always be changing as fast as an 8 month old can!
Any new tricks up your sleeves?
Yes, but there’s also an awful lot of slobber on the sleeves.
Who has been an inspiration to you?
Mainly my little girl – it’s like having your own personal comedy muse!
What advice have you been given, and what advice would you give someone bringing a show to the Free Fringe?
I would say if you want to do a show, you must do it! But don’t rush into it. Be sure you’re ready for your first year’s show, because once you’ve done that, you’ll be bitten by the Fringe bug (in more ways than one if your accommodation is too cheap) and you’ll want to be back year after year. And keep in mind that the adrenalin fuelled rollercoaster that is “getting a show ready for Edinburgh” goes from September to August.
You only get the last few days of August off because you’re too tired from a brilliant month to think straight! I’d also say go up some year, even just for a few days kipping on friends’ floors, so you can see what the fringe is like and how it works. That way you’ll be taking a show that’s right for the fringe, right for you, and right for the audiences, and if you manage that, everyone’s having fun!
