Interview with comedian Joseph Parsons

We speak to Joseph about how he got into comedy, his new show 'Equaliser', and discuss the positives of Edinburgh Festival Fringe. s

Interview with comedian Joseph Parsons

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hello, I’m Joseph Parsons, a stand up comic from Somerset based in London. 

How would you describe your show?

A high energy stand up show where I talk about my love of sport from a LGBTQ perspective. It’s a fun show that is for people who love and hate sport. I also tell some incredibly personal and embarrassing stories, all in the name of art. 

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

It’s a great opportunity to perform a show to an audience every day, connect with people and see what your friends have been working on. It’s been a couple of years so I can’t wait to see what everyone has been writing about.

What differentiates it from other festivals?

It’s the biggest festival in the UK. 

What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?

I was dared to do it by a friend. He was going through a rough time so we dared each other to do something that excites us and scares us. I always liked watching comedy and grew up watching comedians like Bill Bailey and it just looked so exciting. 

How has your background, upbringing and education had an impact on your artistic career? 

Well for the first couple of years I didn’t really talk about my sexuality much as there was still some shame lingering around. But when I started talking about it on stage, something clicked and it helped me process the years of repression and understand how it formed who I am today.

What is your earliest childhood art memory?

My brother accidentally throwing a stone at my head – I’ll be honest, I was overly theatrical in my response to make it seem worse than it was. Sorry Adam! 

If you didn’t have your current job, what would you probably be doing?

I’d love to say music but it would probably be just me flogging an unpopular OnlyFans account. 

Did Covid-19 change the way you create work? Do you approach shows with a different mentality now? 

Definitely, it reset me a bit. I didn’t think about comedy for the first 8 months and just wrote an album. Music was always something I had done a lot of and just doing something for me was really mentally stimulating and fun.  

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

Why is bread so addictive?

Do you subscribe to the idea that art should be exempt from ‘cancel culture’? 

I suppose this depends on how you define art. If we’re talking about art from history, I think it’s important to know the entirety of a person, not just their art. Picasso’s work can still be incredible and we can still acknowledge that he did some horrendous things. For me it’s just important to ensure we aren’t just celebrating problematic historical art, we should acknowledge some of the darker bits. I suppose cancel culture is essentially about being either on one side or the other. By its very nature it’s divisive and lacks any opportunity for grey areas. The problem with cancel culture is that it is often a term used by those peddling hate, claiming their cancellation from society whilst simultaneously growing their audience by tens of thousands. I don’t think it's ever accurately used, and for me is worthless. 

If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?

I think Oscar Wilde would be a laugh. I reckon I’d be massively out of my depth intellectually. 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to take a show up to the fringe?

Just ignore the noise and enjoy the opportunity to perform something you love every day. Give yourself space, enjoy being around your friends and make success be about the content of the show, not those who write about it. 

When and where can people see your show?

3.30 - Just the Tonic, Mash House (Bottle Room) from the 4th-28th (not the 15th). 

And where can people find, follow and like you online?

Insta and TikTok - @josephparsonscomedy

Twitter - @josephparsonsha

www.josephparsons.co.uk


See Joseph Parsons: Equaliser at The Tonic during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 4-28 August. For more information and tickets visit www.edfringe.com or www.edinburgh.justthetonic.com

Header Image Credit: Provided

Author

Tom Inniss

Tom Inniss Voice Team

Tom is the Editor of Voice. He is a politics graduate and holds a masters in journalism, with particular interest in youth political engagement and technology. He is also a mentor to our Voice Contributors, and champions our festivals programme, including the reporter team at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

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