Acclaimed comedian Stuart Laws brings a new show that blends comedy and theatre, Stuart Laws Is Stuck to the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
“Everyone’s dealt with it: first, a bad breakup; then, become a puffin island caretaker; suddenly, you’re implicated in a puffin murder. A classic. You know how it goes. A vibe shift for acclaimed comedian Stuart Laws.”
Where: Monkey Barrel/Tron
When: 28 Jul-24 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/stuart-laws-is-stuck
Stuart gets unstuck in our chat.
Why a puffin murder?
I can’t talk freely about this because the higher-ups are watching me. All I know is that this puffin murder, well disappearance,
I don’t want to give up hope, is part of a larger conspiracy that threatens to change everything on that island.
Because if a puffin can just be disappeared, it means no one, no anything is safe.
Do you find it easy to blend comedy and theatre?
I think it’s the blending of the theatre into the comedy that was harder than the other way round.
In all of the development of the show it has been slowly removing comedy to tell the story in a clearer, more dramatic and compelling way.
I was worried about going too long without a laugh so I was just inserting jokes and routines into the show that preview audiences would laugh at but I could feel were causing a disconnect with the plot.
So I started trimming those bits down, rewriting whole scenes to focus on the story and amp up the theatre aspect and audiences are laughing just as much AND stay completely engaged with the story arc.
How did you get your start as a performer? Do you find Fringe festivals inspiring?
My friend who worked at British Airways panic-called me on a Friday because the event he was organising that evening was in danger of not happening because the host had dropped out.
My friend knew me through our football team and I had jokingly hosted the end of season awards at the pub and he had no other options.
I said yes and then hosted BA’s Got Talent, a talent show of dancers, singers and comedians – with celebrity judge Chico! I tried to keep everything as upbeat and friendly as possible and then started getting laughs.
The contestant who did stand up asked me how long I’d been going and when he found out it was approximately 45 minutes he recommended some local open-mics.
The misstep of the night was accidentally cancelling Chico Time. I was told Chico would be doing one song at the end and so as soon as it ended I walked out on stage to get the crowd cheering, just as Chico started to yell “who wants another song?”.
He never managed to finish that sentence because I had started saying “give it up for Chico everyone, it’s time to announce the winner!”.
Chico, ever the professional, immediately left the stage so the winner announcement wasn’t overshadowed. It should have been Chico Time, but he knew it was Winner Time. A class act.
What are you looking forward to the most at Edinburgh?
Hanging out at Monkey Barrel, seeing friends and doing escape rooms. As well as spending thousands of pounds of money in the calculated gamble that it’ll pay off in the short-medium-long term.
Fun to gamble isn’t it? Also, seeing shows by people like Kate Hammer, Ruby Carr, Paul Williams, Sam Lake and Sharon Wanjohi.
Where can we see your work after Fringe?
I’m going on a huge world tour with my stand up show first – USA & Wales. It’s one of those big tours where when you start you’re so excited but then after the first show finishes you think to yourself: it feels like there’s only one other show to go.
Also, I’ll have a new special out next year and also hopefully be taking my shows from the Fringe onto other festivals and venues. I guess my main focus will be on making social media content designed to purely entertain myself.