Could you please introduce yourself to the reader?
How do you do, fellow kids? I am James Regal. I’m originally from London but have lived in Barcelona for the last 9 years, which is also where I started doing comedy 3 years ago. I have an unhealthy obsession with cats and my favourite vegetable is broccoli.
Could you please tell us about your show? What should an audience expect? I’m taking two shows to Brighton this year
I’m performing my split-hour of stand-up, Fake Jews, with my friend Luke Meginsky. Luke’s from Massachusetts but also lives and performs in Barcelona. We’re both from Jewish backgrounds but have never been religious. So the show tackles how we deal with our personal and cultural identities in a world that is once again becoming increasingly hostile towards Jews for some reason. But we don’t want it all to be light-hearted. We have some very serious stuff about hip hop and being single in your 40s as well.
My other show is a speed-dating comedy show called LOLyamorous, where audience members have 1-minute dates on stage and then we talk to them about their love lives, dating disasters and more general things about them. It’s a lot of fun, even if you don’t want to participate.
Why did you decide to submit a show to Brighton Fringe? Were there any considerations you had to make?
I love Brighton as a city and it felt a bit more accessible financially than some of the other festivals.
Also my Mum lives there and she’s promised to make me breakfast every morning for a week.
How did you know your show was ‘Fringe-ready’?
We’ve run Fake Jews a few times in Barcelona and taken it to some other European cities with great English comedy audiences like Prague and had great feedback already. We’ve both been doing comedy for a few years now and building great momentum. So it felt like the right time to bring something to the Fringe.
What advice would you give to a young person who is also interested in taking a show to the Fringe?
Be organised. It’s a simple process but there’s a lot of moving parts. I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm and have had to be disciplined with making spreadsheets. It’s the boring side of doing comedy but getting everything down on paper helps clear your mind for the important part of being creative.
What has been your career path to this point? Have you also worked outside the arts?
I’ve worked in PR for 15 years and continue to work as a freelancer.
What’s great about your job?
It’s a job that involves a lot of creative thinking, problem solving, setting up events and occasionally public speaking, so it’s helped me in many ways with comedy. It’s also cool
when you see something you’ve worked on being talked about in mainstream or social media as part of the cultural conversation.
What are the bits you don’t like or find challenging?
Dealing with journalists! Seriously, most are lovely, but they are constantly inundated with press releases by PR people so it’s very challenging to grab their attention and convince them to work with you on a story.
(Editor’s note: Can confirm, our inboxes are inundated.)
What are the highlights of your career to date?
My job has let me travel the world a bit and I’ve met some really interesting people. But without doubt the highlight was working for WWE wrestling and getting to meet my childhood hero, The Undertake, backstage at a show.
Who do you look at for inspiration?
I have 4 younger siblings and they are all way more talented than I am, and in many different ways. I love watching them continue to succeed in everything they do. Comedy wise, I try to absorb as much as possible. Right now I’m a huge Marcel Lucont fan. I’ve had the chance to gig with him and learnt so much from watching how present and sharp he is during his performances.
When is your show performing, and where can people find out more? Fake Jews is on 10-13 May at the Snug, 5.30pm.
LOLyamorous is on 8 and 9 May at the Caxton Arms at 1030pm
Where can people find you online?
I’m @jregaljnr on instagram. LOLyamorous is at @lolyamorouscomedy
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