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!


**************
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

 

 

A Queer New Year's Eve for us all... event round up

A little roundup of all the best events for LBQ women in case you haven't decided what to do...

(As Dermot would say, in no particular order...)

What: 90s NYE @ Candy Bar
Where: Candy Bar, 4 Carlisle Street, Soho, London W1D
When: 5pm - 5am
Entry/Tickets: Entry £5 and £3 for members. (Not ticketed in advance)
Further info: https://www.facebook.com/events/631021140270243/
Details: 
NYE 1996… when it all begun! Open- 5pm till 5am.

Candy Bar is taking you back to the 90’s for one night and one night only!
As many of you already know the Candy Bar will close its doors for the final time in January 2014. The Candy Bar was opened in 1996 so we are rewinding back to its opening to make this a celebratory affair and not one of sadness.

Dress up as your favorite 90’s celebrity… don the questionable fashions from that decade or simply come and dance your shell suit off!

There will be special goody bags for you including things like glow sticks and giveaways!

We have an incredible DJ line up for you who will be playing you a mixture of your favorite chart hits as well as commercial dance/rnb/pop/electro plus the odd surprise 90’s track!

DJ'S Sandra D / Poppy L Kav & Caz Coronel.

What: Sunday Happy Day NYE Party
Where: Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, Soho, London
When: 9pm - 3am
Entry/Tickets: Early bird tickets £20, after 9 Dec tickets go up to £25. After 22 Dec tickets are £30 if available. 4 tickets maximum per person (SOLD OUT)
Further info: https://www.facebook.com/groups/6141177377
Details: 
Ticket price includes free glass of Prosecco for all ticket holders and nibbles for early arrivals.
Some VIP tables available, £40 per table for six and includes a bottle of Prosecco.


What: New Year's Eve Queer Disco @ Blush
Where: Blush Bar, 8 Cazenove road, Stoke Newington, N16 6BD
When: 8pm - 2am
Entry/Tickets: Free Karaoke upstairs, £5 Disco downstairs
Further info: https://www.facebook.com/events/249276235236145/
Details: 
We are proud to announce we have DJ Soraya from Luscious spinning an amazing set for New Year’s Eve 2013. Playing all your favourite dance club classics and keeping you on that dancefloor til we see the NEW YEAR in together. .... you asked for it and we are giving it.
Free karaoke in the upstairs bar & DJ Soraya Khan (Luscious, Oak bar, Rumours) spinning the decks downstairs.

What: Countdown to 2014 with MINT and Code…
Where: Green Carnation, 5 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4DD
When: 9pm - 5am
Entry/Tickets: Tickets £10 (early bird) 
Further info: http://bit.ly/JekbGe   https://www.facebook.com/events/219779621529037
Details: 
If there’s one night of the year which is guaranteed to leave you feeling lost and confused, it’s New Year’s Eve. So make your New Year’s resolution in advance, save the stress and promise yourself something amazing this December 31st, as Code and MINT come together for the last and best party of the year!

Bringing all the best bits of 2013 to one venue, this party will mix the finest DJs from One Love, Girls Club Together, Hot Mess, Popstarz, Code and MINT, with some of the hottest women London has to offer.

With floor upon floor of music, you can switch your taste according to your mood. Start out with RnB and pop, before moving onto House and commercial remixes, then maybe end the night with some 80s and 90s floor fillers with a remix twist. Each DJ feels like a new party, which is why this night ALWAYS sells out.

There will be limited tickets held on the door, but you can buy your early bird ticket now at only £10. We love a good man crush, so gay boys are welcome as guests, just make sure they arrive with you or they won’t get in. For extra special VIP tables, email nicola.chubb@gmail.com.

We’re not going to force you into something you don’t feel comfortable wearing, so there’s no dress code. But try to don your best swagger in anticipation of the balloon, glitter, streamers and champagne corks at midnight. Start the year as you intend to continue, looking amazing and having fun!
What: Push the Button New Year's Weave
Where: SE11 5HY London
When: 8pm - 4.15am
Entry/Tickets: Final remaining £15 Advance tickets here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/242202
Further info: https://www.facebook.com/events/340807982722555/
Details: 
SNATCH YOUR WIGS AND HOLD ON TO YOUR KNICKERS GIRLS! It’s time for NEW YEAR’S WEAVE and the most ridiculous, daftest party you’ll have the opportunity of attending.

London’s BIGGEST Pop party is going in to OVERLOAD for the New Year!

2013 - what a year! We've enjoyed friends of PTB Icona Pop FINALLY releasing 'I Love It' AND scoring a #1 HIT to boot; you've inadvertently allowed Miley to become A THING; Britney pinched Madonna's trick of pilfering from gay culture with INCREDIBLE results; and, importantly, Whitney off of Eastenders performed an interpretive dance version of Shania's You're Still The One LIVE on the Royal Vauxhall Tavern Stage.

SO, it's TIME TO CELEBRATE with the BIGGEST PUSH THE BUTTON TO DATE.

The line-up will be confirmed over the coming months but we already have some fabulous performances and installations (including Myra Dubois and The Dream Bears) PLUS there'll be more sweets, stickers, Poundshop tat, posters, weaves and INCREDIBLE POP than EVER BEFORE!

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

"This Lady’s Not for Turning Either": Interview with Susan Calman

Scottish BAFTA winning, Funny Woman finalist, Stand up Comedian Susan Calman took some time out of rehearsals to talk to Planet London about mixing politics with comedy, reactions to her often deeply personal stand up routines, and not Googling herself. 

Calman, who is also known for excellent turns as a panellist on a number of TV and Radio quiz shows (you might have heard or seen her on Radio 4’s New Quiz, or QI and Have I Got News For You on BBC1), has been full time entertaining since 2005 when she quit her legal career and changed paths towards something she loved and ‘had always wanted to do’. She says that ‘Stand Up comedian’ was not a valid career option for women leaving school in the early 90s, and as such she followed the more traditional route of university and life in the legal profession. Eventually she decided it was time to give comedy a go, and she hasn’t looked back.

Calman’s comedy is often political in nature, and her new show is no exception – dubbed as the most political, and personal, set yet. Fans will no doubt expect, and receive, a routine that is built upon an idiosyncratic story telling style of universally identifiable themes, juxtaposed with strong political beliefs . This show also unashamedly has its cause in mind: the case of equal marriage for gay couples.  It’s also an opportunity to raise the profile of women’s, specifically lesbian, visibility in the comedy market. There’s still a need to normalise and mainstream these issues that are seen as alternative by some.

Perhaps it’s because she grew to love comedy in the 80s, following the then ‘alternative comedians’ that Calman came to be interested in politics and lay foundations towards her unique comedy style. She finds comedy a perfect platform for politics because it provides an opportunity to get ideas across in a way people will listen to. Indeed, political satire has always been one of the foundations of British humour.

However, Calman warns, it’s not just about making point and having something funny to say. Political comedy needs to be funny, make a relevant point, and also be backed up by genuine knowledge, understanding and belief.  Calman further takes the risk of creating an on stage persona of herself that talks through personal, and real, stories in her life to demonstrate her points. It could be tricky to take on board critical reviews and reactions to a show that is essentially ‘Who I am’ – how does one draw the line between the personal and the performance in these circumstances? 

Susan Calman for President

Calman assures me she plays very much into the hands of the audience on the night and pays little attention to reviews (good or bad). She protects herself from the negativity, those who might not ‘personally’ like her work, and concentrates on delivering to the audience. She doesn’t Google herself. She does have an active presence on Twitter, which is mostly more enjoyable than not, but is exposure to the tweeps who comment negatively just for the sake of it. But, she won’t be put off saying what she thinks. She just might be more choosy in what outlets she uses. 

I asked what she’ll do when gay marriage is equal in law to heterosexual marriage. “Get married,” she responds. She wasn’t allowed a Humanist ceremony for her recent civil partnership, so she’ll make sure she gets the ceremony, and recognition in law, that she wanted all along. And “have a wonderful day”. 

For Calman, the pleasure of comedy is in the process. Developing an idea of a joke- something that might be funny – into a routine that is delivered well, and makes people laugh. Lucky us; I cannot wait to see this put into practice next month.

Susan Calman is currently preparing to bring her successful stand up show ‘This Lady’s Not For Turning Either” from the Edinburgh Festival to London. Selling out in Edinburgh, and receiving glowing reviews, it plays at Soho Downstairs, Soho Theatre, from November 13 – 24.  For more information and to book tickets (£10 - £17.50) visit www.sohotheatre.co.uk.

Read the review from PLanet London contributor Laura

Interview by Katie