Spirit of the Fringe Award-winning
Comedian Ian Stone is returning
To the Edinburgh Fringe
Hello Ian, you’re bringing a show up to Edinburgh from your home city, London – what are the best three things about living in the capital, & the worst three?
The best things are the culture, the food and the buzz. The worst things are the traffic,
the expenses and when the tube doesn’t work.
You’ve now been doing stand-up for more than three decades. Looking back to when you first started in 1991, what made you want to become a comedian in the first place?
My missus suggested that I give it a go in 1984 and seven years later, I thought she may be on to something so I tried it.
You’ve described this year’s Fringe show as, ‘a little summary of what I’ve been up to for the last thirty years or so’; What made you decide now was the time to look back?
Did I say that? I can’t remember why I said it so I can’t say what prompted that thought but it sounds like something I would say.
You’ve been coming to Edinburgh since the mid-1990s. How has the Fringe changed, and how have you changed as a performer over those years?
The Fringe has got much bigger. I’d like to think that with each successive Fringe I’ve got a bit better. Come to the show and judge for yourselves
The Plebs need to have a pow wow. The world is a mess, our leaders aren’t stepping up and it’s time for us to do the necessary. That’s where you come in. At each show, Ian Stone will choose some major issues. And together, we’ll sort them. It could be the potholes that life throws up, what punishment is suitable for irritating behaviour in a public place or how to be sure that tropical fruit is fresh. One day, we might do the Middle East. Imagine that being sorted!
Ian Stone
You’ve won awards, sold out Edinburgh runs and toured the country, but does getting up on stage with a brand-new show ever stop being nerve-racking?
Nope. It’s always stressful but that’s how one improves.
Your comedy has always been topical, but the world seems to get stranger by the day. Is it becoming easier to find material, or harder to keep up with it all?
There’s more topics than ever before so there’s plenty to talk about. But there’s more comedians – so originality is still required
You’ve always had a wonderfully self-deprecating style. Has making fun of yourself become easier with age, or do you just have more material now?
I think it comes from a deep-seated need to be liked. And that hasn’t gone away.
You were ranked among Britain’s top stand-ups by The Independent and have appeared everywhere from Mock the Week to Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Do you still think of yourself first and foremost as a live comedian?
I love doing stand up and I think of that as my day job. Even though most of my gigs outside Edinburgh are in the evening. But I also love writing, podcasting, broadcasting and generally messing about.
You’ve performed everywhere from Moscow to Mumbai and even entertained British troops overseas. Mumbai’s an absolute madhouse – what was that gig like?
I went over to Mumbai with the Comedy Store when it first opened. It was terrifying but huge fun once we realised that Indian audiences find the same things funny we do.
Football has been a huge part of your career, from Off the Ball and The Football’s On to Handbrake Off. What is it about football that makes it such fertile ground for comedy?
Football is so ridiculous and I say that as someone who buys into it. And once that’s understood, there are always funny things to talk about.
The Mumble are big Burnley fans, so well done for last season, at least we didn’t make it easy for ya in that one-nil. Anyway, as an Arsenal fan, you’ve lived through plenty of highs and lows. Has supporting Arsenal made you a better comedian—or just a more patient person?
Thank you. It was a very intense experience and that Burnley home game was much more of a struggle than we were hoping for. As to whether supporting Arsenal has made me a better comedian, I’d say there are other factors in my comedy career that are much more important than supporting my particular football team. Although the stoicism needed to watch three second place finishes in a row can come in handy for tough gigs
A desert island is below you, you have one solar-powered dvd-tv combo in your back-pack, room for three films on DVD as you jump from the burning plane – what do you choose?
Midnight Run, Jaws and Goodfellas?
Your book ‘To Be Someone’ mixed memoir, social history and a love letter to Paul Weller and The Jam. Did writing a book teach you anything about storytelling that found its way back
into your stand-up?
I think it did. I’ve used some of the stuff I wrote in the book for my stand up.
You’ve worked across stand-up, television, radio, podcasts and writing. Which medium still gives you the biggest buzz?
Live stand up is the one although podcasting about Arsenal when we won the title came a close second
If the Ian Stone who first walked onto an Edinburgh stage in 1996 could see your career today, what do you think he’d be most surprised by?
That I’m still working. And that I’ve still got some hair.
Why do you keep coming back to the Edinburgh Fringe after all these years? What makes it special for you?
I like being part of the biggest arts festival on earth. I also get a huge amount of steps in every day.
When you’re not performing, what’s your ideal way to spend a day in Edinburgh?
Maybe go down to Leith for a nice fish lunch?
Is there another Fringe act or comedian you’re particularly hoping to catch while you’re there?
I barely watch other shows until the last week, so I haven’t looked through the programme to see who’s on. Ask me again in week three and four.
You’ve got 10 seconds to stop someone walking down the Royal Mile and persuade them to come and see your show. What’s your pitch?
If you’re on the Royal Mile, the likelihood is you’re going to the Tattoo. If, on the off chance you’re up for seeing a show, I’d say come and see me do stand up, it’s only an hour, it’s free, how much of a risk can it be.
THE PLEB’S POW WOW
The Counting House
Ticket Prices: Free
Room: The Ballroom
AUG 6-10, 12-17, 19-24, 26-30 at 16:00 (60 min)