Interview with Kieran Hodgson

Could you first introduce yourself to the reader?

Hello, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Kieran, by the way. How do you know the couple? Oh really! We were housemates a few years ago. And what do you do? That's amazing! Oh, I'm a sort of comedian. No, not really stand-up, more like character comedy? Like, lots of different characters, but I put them together into a story? No, don't worry, it is a bit weird, you're right.

Tell us about your show?

This year my show is called '75, and it's all about how we went into Europe in the 1970s, looking at that story as a way of figuring out what's going on these days. I take great delight in devising show concepts that have little commercial appeal as it takes the pressure off.

Why do you want to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and is it different from other festivals?

Oh, it's totally different, in all the best ways! It has a lineage, a cultural heft and an audience that is up for anything. Performers can come to Edinburgh and find their feet, find their voice, and audiences can come to Edinburgh and find whatever floats their boat: something saucy, something sad, something geeky, something daft. It's a vast ecosystem of dreams and you'll never get to the bottom of it.

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

I just liked the feeling of making people laugh and have kept going. There's not much of a plan beyond that. I was inspired to put on stupid voices by the silly people I saw when I was a kid – Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson – and then after that I spent my teens hoovering up comedy from the likes of Hancock, Eddie Izzard, Ross Noble, The Simpsons, The Day Today gang, the League of Gentlemen. These days I just get inspired by my friends.

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

I've tended to avoid direct social commentary in what I do, other than with little asides or observations in the characters that I create. This show is a bit of a leap into tackling 'an issue' for the first time and it's been hellish. I always want to equivocate, I'm very suspicious of my own knowledge and understanding of things and so I tend to just get trapped in research or in argumentative loops. There's always got to be something I haven't considered, so I'm not especially forthright. Consequently, the show has ended up as a series of expressed positions, all of which I leave open to debate. Coward!

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

Ah, you mean like the whole 'Downfall of Western Civilisation' vibe? I think it's the tendency of all eras to paint their own problems as the gravest imaginable. Looking back to the 70s for this show it's been very illuminating to hear how many people back then anticipated the total and immediate destruction of society at the hands of right-wing military coups, left-wing union coups, football hooligans smashing up trains and kicking police horses, that kind of thing. And our main memory of the 70s now is Fawlty Towers. Consequently, I think it's important to maintain a sense of proportion when discussing the apocalyptic trends of the day. Speaking very broadly, I'd say I've noticed a greater degree of political engagement and awareness across the spectrum, following a period when I was at school and we were all being told that we were hopelessly apathetic. Also, I think people are really, really interested in the 70s again. Yeah?

Describe the last year in 5 words or less?

Beast From The East. Weinstein.

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

Oh, just a lot of tired old truisms that really bear out over the years. Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail. Rest your voice. See other people's shows. Eat chips. Remember that everything comes from your show in terms of your happiness, so prioritise looking after that and other good things will flow. Wear sunscreen- NOT!

And what advice do you wish you’d been given when entering the industry?

That wonderful line of Troy McClure's from The Simpsons: 'Get confident, stupid!'

When and where can people see your show?

They can see it at the Pleasance Courtyard at 8.15 every day from the 1^st of August to the 26^th of August. No day off for Hodgson.

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

The best bet is probably Twitter. I'm @kieranchodgson . Be warned, there's a lot of stuff about trains.