Archie Maddocks is an award-winning, internationally recognised comedian and writer. As a comedian, Archie has performed numerous times at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where he was on the Fringe Funniest Joke list for the past four years. Focussing more on the writing side of his career during lockdown, Archie has several projects in development with the likes of BBC, Channel 4 and CBS. If that wasn’t enough, his BBC Radio 4 play ‘Blend’ is ready and waiting to be listened to on BBC Sounds.
Archie can also add upcoming screenwriter and playwright to his already impressive roster. Having been commissioned to do a play by Bush Theatre, as well as been produced by Lyric Theatre Hammersmith and Royal Court to name a few, Archie is rising fast. If the critics have anything to say about it, he is undoubtedly one to watch out for. Archie has been reviewed by top publications, as both a comedian and writer, such as BBC, Broadway Baby, and Entertainment Focus.
Archie certainly has a natural stage presence, and it is evident through watching him perform that the stage is where he belongs. Unfortunately, you won’t find him doing any online performances any time soon, as he has a pretty serious aversion to the idea of performing live on Zoom. In these uncertain times, Archie is not sure when he will be touring again yet, but there’s hope that 2021 will see great things from Archie Maddocks.
Interview with Archie Maddocks
Voice interviewed Archie on Instagram live on 29th October. Although it goes without saying that comedians have to be funny, Archie has a natural hilarity about him that makes him a fun person to interview. When topics turned to diversity in the industry, Archie admits he has had to overcome some challenges being mixed-raced in comedy. When asked who his comedy heroes were, he admitted they were mostly American, because Britain only had Lenny Henry - enter the birth of Archie Maddocks’ comedy career.
Catch-up with the full interview here:
Archie Maddocks Comedy Workshop
After the interview, Archie joined Voice on Zoom, for a 30-minute workshop where he demonstrated some fun, creative exercises that test your acting ability. Telling a truth as if it’s a lie and vice versa, was just one of the ways Archie demonstrated how useful exercises like this are to generate material for performance.
Wise words from Archie Maddocks:
“All comedy is, is trickery. Laughter is an involuntary reaction. You laugh because you have been surprised, so if you keep surprising people and they keep laughing, it’s a really interesting way to play with an audience. It’s like a magic trick.”
“A common way of generating jokes, look at a happy subject and be angry about it, look at a horrible subject and be happy about it.”
“There is a difference between truth and reality. You can tell the truth without that being your reality. You can tell five different stories in one that are true, but it’s not reality. Or you can create something that wasn’t your reality, but there could be a wider truth in there.”
“It’s OK to lie [as a comedian]. You can totally make stuff up.”
“There are no rules to comedy. Just make them laugh. However it happens, just do it.”
Archie Maddocks Work
More of Archie’s work can be found here:
https://www.archiemaddocks.co.uk/
Instagram:@archiemaddocks
Twitter:@ArchieMaddocks
More Artist workshops with Voice
Thanks to Arts Council England, we’re excited to be offering a series of artist workshops. Join us as we interview creatives and then hand over to them to run a workshop! Explore more free skills share workshops in the Artist Workshops with Voice series.
0 Comments