Interview with Harry and Chris

Harry and Chris takes some time to talk to Voice about the show, inspirations, and to give advice to young people.

Interview with Harry and Chris

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hi reader, nice to meet you. I'm Chris, from Harry and Chris. Harry is next to me, reading over my shoulder. He says hi too.

How would you describe your show?

A fun-filled fantastic foray fortuitously finding fun at the Fringe. Fact.

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

Because it's incredible - it feels like the center of the world for a month, and there are so many wonderful people and shows everywhere you look.

What differentiates it from other festivals?

Aside from being huge, there are so many different shows and such a variety of things to see, all within the familiarity of a city.

Do you think the Fringe has changed over the years? If so, how? Are these changes positive or negative?

We first went to the fringe as punters when we were 18, and have gone up most years since. We're still pretty fresh to the whole thing but I guess there'll always be positive and negative sides to change. A key change for the better that we've noticed is that in the last two years there have been shows with us in them.

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

When we started out we were gigging in teenage bands together, and playing around London and slightly further afield. It's hard to tell when doing it for fun switched over into 'being in the industry', but it's always been fueled by having fun. Our main inspirations are Flight of the Conchords, sitcoms as we were growing up like IT crowd and green wing, and the bromance between Turk and JD in Scrubs.

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

C: teaching

H: being Chris' assistant (written by Chris)

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

Being in Harry and Chris

What is your earliest childhood art memory?

C: Playing the piano

H: Watching Chris play the piano (written by Chris)

Do you ever feel any pressure to be a social commentator, or constantly update material to respond to events?

Not really - we keep our eyes open but always try and write from a place of joy, so if anything that's happening politically or whatever can play into that then happy days - otherwise I guess we don't want to give it any airtime. We've got a song about Robot Wars in the new show which is pretty controversial, if you're Sir Killalot.

Equally, do you think there has been a shift in public sentiment that has affected your work?

Again, not really. We had a song in last year's fringe show - obviously during a pretty intense year - called 'Simple Times', which was all about finding joy in hard times and breaking down the overarching narrative of fear and hatred, but that narrative seems to have been going on for quite a few years now and will probably continue, so we'll keep playing the song.

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

Like socially, politically or irreverantly?

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

H: Chris Read - he's a right laugh

C: Harry Baker - he's a right laugh

Why would a performer opt to do either a ticketed event or participate in the free fringe? What are the benefits and limitations of both?

Last year we were on the free fringe, this year we're ticketed so we'll let you know next year. The main reason we switched over was because there was no guarantee of an under 18 venue on the free fringe and our show is very family friendly, so we had to turn a load of families away last year.

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

Do it! But don't call it the Harry and Chris show. Unless it's a tribute show and you send people to our show at the end of it. In which case, do it!

When and where can people see your show?

2.20 at the Cask Room in the Mash House, every day apart from 14th.

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

You can find all our social media and other things through www.harryandchris.com


The Harry and Chris Show 2 is performing at The Mash House at 14:20 on 3rd – 26th (not 14th). For tickets and more information visit the Ed Fringe website.

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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