Hello! Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?
Hi! My name is Stoph Demetriou, or Stoph D for those who struggle with spelling, or Mr Demetriou to my close friends and family. I'm a comedian, voice actor and writer from North East London. But I'm more than that… I'm also a failed musician, and I have a cockney accent, so bear that in mind as you read my responses.
How would you describe your show?
Basically I (or more accurately, my character) decided to do an Edinburgh show to raise my profile a bit, which makes sense, as I haven't even heard of me. The topic I've chosen is the Dunning-Kruger Effect, which is where stupid are far too stupid to realise that they're
stupid, so they're full of confidence. I attempt to educate the audience about it in a kind of TED talk format with sketches and "funny bits", but throughout the show my confidence and paranoia start getting ideas of their own.
Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
Because I will do anything so that the arts will elevate me from this life of mediocrity that I've made for myself.
What differentiates it from other festivals?
Well it's a bigger than all of the other festivals, plus it's in Edinburgh. It's also colder and wetter. Oh and haggis… for some reason that hasn't caught on anywhere else but it's the nuts… as well as several other potentially unappetising sheep organs.
Do you think the Fringe has changed over the years? If so, how? Are these changes positive or negative?
Oh gawd… weeeelll… back in my day the Edinburgh Fringe was all in black and white. Plus there was only one show and it was the news – that was on for an hour. (I've only been going three years; I don't feel qualified to answer this question with any sincerity or accuracy).
What first motivated you to enter the industry? Who were your inspirations?
I'd always loved comedy and wanted to make people laugh, but I think it was probably seeing Russell Brand with his whole rock star persona that appealed to my adolescent, rock-kid mind that made me want to try stand-up. I did my first ever stand-up gig the day my band broke up, but luckily it went well and people laughed. The fact that I was doing it
all on my own and had no guitar to hide behind made it a bigger thrill than I'd got from music gigs and I decided I wanted to keep doing it. More than anything I want to write comedy, though, and I think on that side people like Chris Morris, Charlie Brooker, Graham Linehan and Mark Gatiss are my biggest influences.
If you didn't have your current job, what would you probably be doing?
Well for years I was going to be in the army. I was headhunted for officer training when I was younger, but by that time I'd started growing my luscious long hair and didn't want to go back to a shaved head.
If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?
Staff writer for Rick and Morty. I've had a few writing jobs and it's great to be able to work at home in your pants.
What is your earliest childhood art memory?
When I was about 7 my sister had a copy of Eddie Izzard's Glorious on VHS. I learned it word for word and would perform sections of it in the playground while standing on a bench to anyone who would listen. In hindsight going full drag was a bit much.
Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly
update material to respond to events?
I would have said no, but my show is very much about the current era of fake news and the fact that people no longer value experts' opinions over their own – so there is a certain level of social commentary to it. There are a few references to current events, but most of it would apply at any time really, so I wouldn't say I feel any pressure to change or adapt what I write about and for the most part I've tried to avoid writing about the obvious political events… if anything I wait for current events to reflect what I've already written. You'd be surprised how often that happens. Scratch that… no.
Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?
I think there's a shift in public sentiment in that we're in a time of incredibly polarised outrage culture. On the one hand there's thinly veiled attacks and causing offence for offence's sake in the guise of "free speech" and comedy; on the other there's overly safe, sterile comedy that runs away from causing offense. As a comedy fan I don't think either extreme is particularly good as, for me at least, comedy should give a platform for different ideas and opinions.
However, other than the fact that we live in a world where someone as clearly stupid and insane as Donald Trump can be elected president (plenty of Dunning-Kruger material there), I don't think it's affected me as a writer – I just write what I think is good.
Describe the last year in 5 words or less.
It was 366 days long.
If you could work with anybody, from any point in history, who would you pick and why?
Other than the influences I mentioned it would be great to work with Andy Kaufmann. The fact that he would do crazy stunts like reading The Great Gatsby just to piss off the audience, and for his own amusement, is great!
Stoph Demetriou - The Dunning-Kruger Effect is performing at Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters at 23:10 on 4th – 28th August. For tickets and more information visit the Ed Fringe website.
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