Desmond O’Connor talks about his new show, Royal Vauxhall.
1 Tell us about your Fringe show
Royal Vauxhall is the story of the night that Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett took Princess Diana in disguise (in drag) to a gay bar in London. It's a true story. It's a new musical and it's funny, sad, beautiful and a little bit naughty as well.
2 Best thing about the Fringe?
Being immersed in creative talent and surrounded by wonderful people who are passionate about their art.
3 Worst thing about the Fringe?
The environmental impact of flyering. It breaks my heart every year. We've got to find a better way, so that there will still be a Fringe for my children's children to enjoy.
4 How many years have you been coming to the Fringe?
Like a lady who lies about her age, I'm delicately trying to stop counting. Put it this way, if I had a Fringe pension plan it'd be well on its way to maturing… even though I'm clearly not.
5 Favourite Fringe venue?
I've got happy memories of working with Pleasance and The Voodoo Rooms, but the laurel has got to go to Underbelly for going the extra mile to make sure everything is as we need it for the show to be the very best it can be. Additionally, some of the most exciting venues are the ones that thrive on spontaneity and the spirit of the Fringe. Bob's Blundabus and Flabbergast's Omintorium are top of my list this year, as well as Summerhall, of course.
6 Best Fringe memory?
The opening night of Scott Mills: The Musical. Scott and The Hoff live on stage singing my songs with a simultaneous broadcast to six million listeners around the country!
7 Worst moment of corpsing?
I had a very revealing wardrobe malfunction in La Cage Aux Folles many, many years ago, which coincided with several of our rickety stage chairs collapsing at once during a 'posh' dinner scene at the climax of the show. A combination of corpsing and dying of embarrassment.
8 Craziest on stage experience?
Working with Sxip Shirey and Lizzie Wort on The Devil May Drag You Under...the original cabaret set between heaven and hell. The work we created on that show was wild, unpredictable and sexy as hell and provided so much inspiration to so many people.
9 What’s on your rider?
Cheap white wine.
10 How do you wind down after a show?
I never used to wind down after a show, so I'd end up in a state of physical and mental exhaustion come September. Nowadays it's a calm and reflective bike ride home along the Union Canal to curl up with my lovely lady and get some sleep before breakfast fun with my little ones.
11 What do you love about Scotland?
The fact that you can be in the heart of one of two of the most vibrant cities in the UK and yet within minutes can be surrounded by sublime, breathtaking countryside.
12 What do you like about Edinburgh?
It's a city that's kept its heart. I spend half my life on the road and you could interchange so many British cities without noticing the difference. You could never say that of Edinburgh.
13 What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
Worn a kilt for the majority of the Fringe one year. A chilly experience, never to be repeated.
14 What kind of jokes do a Scottish crowd seem to respond to?
I love performing in Edinburgh outside the Fringe because you get a proper sense of an Edinburgh crowd. They want to be challenged, they want their boundaries pushed, but they also want properly written material with clever word play and decent jokes. Scottish audiences are smart and appreciative. Lazy stereotypes don't work with them and that's exciting for a writer and performer because it keeps you on your toes.
15 Favourite theatre character?
Falstaff. Always getting away with things by the seat of his pants. Can't think why.
16 Favourite Scottish food/drink?
Vegetarian haggis. My family love it as well, but the kids are beginning to politely request that something else make an appearance on the menu from time to time.
Desmon O'Connor: Royal Vauxhall is on at Underbelly: Ermintrude until August 29.
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