A Q&A with Mae Martin...

In advance of her "live" show at Soho Theatre this week (6/7 June, 7.30pm, Tickets from £10), we caught up with Canadian Comedian Mae Martin to see how things are going since we last spoke...



Planet London (PL): How did you enjoy the slumber party tour and your last date at Soho Theatre? - we loved it

Mae Martin (MM): I love Soho Theatre, it's always buzzing with people and energy, and I fancy every member of the staff.

Touring is always great and opening for Nina Conti was brilliant - she's so talented and a good portion of her show is improvised, which is thrilling to watch and so inspiring. I also love long car rides because people are forced to indulge me with my rounds of "would you rather" questions, so tours are good for that.

PL:  Where did you go with the tour? Who was the best crowd?

MM: We went to lots of small towns I had never previously heard of and I sampled all of their jacket potatoes and had a grand old time. Manchester was the best, though - we were in a beautiful old music hall where my Dad once did a play when he was my age!

MM: You're recording your best of live next week... so a few best of questions for you

- best joke you've heard?
Every time someone farts.

- best heckle?
in Edinburgh I once walked on stage and before I had spoken a single word a man yelled, "what are you doing, lass?" which plunged me into an existential crisis because, really, I don't know what I'm doing.

- best joke you never told/used?
I have a thing I do at parties where I improvise the opening monologues to indie movies based on whatever song is playing (I'm great at parties), but I've never thought of a way to do it on stage. I think it might be really annoying.

- best source of material for your sets?
My fears and my family.

 - best thing about being a stand up comedian?
When you are in the zone on stage and improvise a punchline on the spot that you know as you say it is good enough to keep.

PL: What's coming up for you? Any tour dates or special gigs we should know about?
MM: I am really excited about recording my album at Soho Theatre, and then I'm in full Edinburgh Fringe prep mode. My show is at 3:30 every day at the Cowgatehead, and I'm also appearing in Natasia Demetriou's brilliant show at 9:20 at the Underbelly. Come to both!


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Mae Martin is performing at Soho Theatre on 6 and 7 June at 7:30pm.

Following a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre in October last year, two-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee Mae Martin returns…
 

Popcorn Comedy and John Noel Management proudly present MAE MARTIN: LIVE AT SOHO THEATRE a best-of hour from one of London’s finest recent imports.

TICKETS: £12.50 (£10)
BOX OFFICE: www.sohotheatre.com; 020 7478 0100


If you're yet to experience the delight of Mae Martin, you can read our previous review from her last Soho Theatre gig 'Slumber Party' here:

COMEDY REVIEW Mae Martin Slumber Party: | Read the full review here

 

We have also had the pleasure of interviewing Mae Martin in the past. If you are interested, you can read this interview here:  INTERVIEW: Mae Martin | Read our feature here

By Katie

 

 

Interview with Mae Martin

We caught up with Mae Martin as she prepared for her upcoming show at Soho Theatre (Wed 9 to Sat 12 October). We decided to dig into her inner mind and find out a bit more about Mae and her comedy antics.

Q. What is your favourite joke?
I sometimes search for "people falling down" on YouTube. Hours of fun. Also my brother used to tell a joke when we were kids that was pretty classic - the basic structure was he would insult me, I would cry, then he would say "just kidding!"

Q. How do you deal with hecklers?In England it's usually just friendly people answering rhetorical questions and joining in the conversation, which I love to engage with. In Canada it's usually my parents shouting "get a job!" from the back, which is trickier.

Q. What has been your best audience response to date and why?Once a woman arrived late to my show bleeding profusely from her knee, and sat right in the front row. She'd fallen over on the way in. Minutes later the venue staff came in and tried to convince her to get medical help but she aggressively refused, saying she'd been looking forward to the show for ages. Luckily I didn't bomb. I loved that, though. That was great.

Q. Where has been the best place that you have got inspiration from when you least expected it?Kids have a way of identifying all your insecurities in a weirdly abstract way. I used to look after a four year old who, in response to me telling him he wasn't allowed any more Oreos, told me that my calves looked like spiky chickens and my head looked like a light bulb. That inspired me.

Q. What is the journey to get from initial concept to full-blown set for you (or at least for this slumber party show)?
The journey involves so many patient, bemused audiences enduring long rambling sets with no punch lines. If you go on stage with no real jokes enough times your instinct for self-preservation kicks in and the punch lines start to emerge. I always record my sets on my phone and listen to them on the way home, too. And I have friends who give me extremely, unnecessarily harsh feedback, which helps.

Q. Have you found it hard to break into the comedy circuit as a female comedian? What has helped and hindered?
On the live circuit things are getting much better in the past few years I think. Less casual sexism and less reluctance to book more than one woman on a bill. Generally I've had an ok time! When you get to TV, though, there's still a huge imbalance - on most panel shows etc. there is still a noticeable absence of female comedians, which is so discouraging. 

Q. If you were to go and see any other female comedian, who and why?
The list is endless. Claudia O'Doherty's show Pioneer at the Soho Theatre just rocked my world and I'm opening for Nina Conti on tour right now and she is brilliant. I'd love to see Chelsea Peretti, Tig Notaro, or Sarah Silverman live. Or Amy Poehler and Tina Fey doing an improv set would probably make me weep.

Q. Three words to describe why people should come and see the show at soho theatre?We. Will. Hug.
I. Am. Broke.


MAE MARTIN: SLUMBER PARTY AT THE SOHO THEATRE 9TH – 12TH OCTOBER
Buy tickets here: http://sohotheatre.com/whats-on/mae-martin-slumber-party/

Website: www.maemartin.ca
Facebook www.facebook.com/maemartincomedy
Twitter: @TheMaeMartin