“I’m really excited to be part of it properly – it feels like a rite of passage.”
WHO: Kate Lois-Elliott
WHAT: “Kate-Lois Elliott’s family lived in a secretive cult until her mum escaped. One generation later, a teenage Kate finds herself in the clutches of an equally militant operation… just your average group of teenage girls. Because, as it turns out, cults are everywhere – ask anyone with a Tesco Clubcard. British Writers’ Guild Award nominee, British Comedy Guide Awards finalist. ‘Such funny business’ (Jessica Fostekew). ‘Elliott commands the stage, charming delivery, quality callbacks’ (ASpyInTheStalls.com). ‘Zeitgeisty’ (Dominic King, BBC Radio Kent). ‘Could sniff vodka from the plinth’ (Helen Lederer). Directed by Esther Manito.”
WHERE: Gilded Balloon Patter House – Bothie (Venue 24)
WHEN: 16:00 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
My family is from Fife, and I’ve got family in Edinburgh, so I’ve spent a lot of time there over the years. I have been to the festival as a punter and performing at compilation shows quite a lot. Last year, I took a work-in-progress to Edinburgh Fringe for a couple of weeks, which was everything you’d expect. I learned a lot about what I wanted from it, where to go for cheap drinks and which Sainsbury’s still had meal deals left on the shelves after 5pm… I’m really excited to be part of it properly – it feels like a rite of passage.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
That we’re all on our own journey, and you can’t please everyone. I know it’s such a simple thing, but it’s a lot easier to say than to absorb (as you say). I’ve moved a bit further out of London this year and spent less time on social media. It meant I could focus more on the show than on the circusy part of the job. Also trees – be near trees more.
Tell us about your show.
The show is inspired by my mum’s family being born into and escaping a cult. It’s about me as an adult discovering that this thing that was presented to me as normal as a child was, in fact, a big fat cult. Because when you think about it, humans love to form groups, and a cult is just a group that goes a bit toxic, and it can happen – from friendship groups to WhatsApp groups to Tescos Club Card… and when it does happen, it’s always a bit hard to leave!
I wrote it, and I’m performing it. Esther Manito is directing it as well. I’ve known her for a while, so it’s been bloody lovely working with her. I’ve been developing the show over the last year, taking it across the country. It’s not like theatre, where you rehearse until it’s ready. You do work in progress (WIPs), where you’re literally rehearsing it in front of an audience. I love watching other people’s WIPs as you get to see the progress a show makes. It’s exciting to do as well, if not at times hilarious in the wrong way. I find it kind of humbling that everyone, even Stuart Lee, has to do WIPs. I’d love to tour the show after Edinburgh, and I think I definitely will.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
I can’t wait to see Kate Cheka’s ‘A Messiah Comes at Hoots’ – she’s one of my favourite acts on the circuit and just a really good human. Also, Katie Norris ‘Farm Fatale’ because what she does is so different from what I do, so I’m just in awe of it. I think Natalie Durkin’s show ‘Angle of The North’ will be excellent; she’s a real crowd-pleaser, and Stephanie Laing’s show ‘Rudder’; she is fearless, offbeat, and brilliant. Also, Dee Allum’s show ‘Deadname’, who I remember seeing years ago at an open mic and being blown away by. The excellent Dani Johns is also up with a WIP ‘Cringe’ and does some of the best crowd work I’ve ever seen. Plus, I’m excited to see Pernille Haaland’s new show ‘Not Related’ – an incredibly talented performer, friend and comedian who, in a 2022 Roast Battle, described me as a ‘Poundshop Katherine Ryan’, and I described her as ‘Alright’.
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