ScotsGay 128 - ScotsGay Magazine

sgfringe.com
ginge, the geordie & the geek
Q&A KEVORKIAN
Tells us about your brand new Edinburgh show ‘The World's Favourite Foreigner’
The show is a compilation of Comedy and Music. It’s a journey through the eyes of my
alter ego “The Foreigner” showing what I have been up to since my last visit to Edinburgh.
It features comedy stories and original piano tracks upgraded from Classical music.
How many Fringe shows is that now?
This will be my third installment of “The Foreigner”
How did you get started as a pianist?
It was pretty much my mum’s dream to learn, but the lack of money meant no one would
teach her, so she was adamant I would not have the same upbringing and I started
learning when I was 3 years old.
Are you a musician or comedian first?
Music is my first love, however I never learnt to be funny, I just was and used it in
everyday life before getting paid for it.
Hello boys, Tells us about your new
Edinburgh show.
It’s a brand new hour of truly uplifting
silliness, surrealism and 80’s anthems.
Like every year it’s a show for everyone.
It’s sketch comedy that the family,
lads/ladettes and royalty can all watch,
even the Queen! It’s great fun with a
surreal twist and as always
our aim is to entertain and
make people laugh, not to
make some sort of
statement. Recently we did
a preview in which we had
a young guy come up after
and say it was brilliant
followed by two female
pensioners asking ‘can we
be groupies?’
If you were a boy band,
one of you would be
black, one would be gay
and one would be a drug
addict….
Ginge would be black due
to his absolute love of
Motown and that he always
wanted to be in the
Jackson 5 which if you pop along to this
year’s show you’ll see evidence of with
the odd classic Motown move. The
Geordie with his various skin care
products, shopping problems and yoga
obsession would be the gay member.
Finally the drug addict would be the Geek
as he’s engaged and with all the wedding
talk this may be a possibility!
Do you write together as a group or go
away and write stuff separately?
Well writing or creating as a group can
be tough at times. So we start by writing
individual ideas then we like to come
together and insult each other, write
some collective stuff trying desperately
to not punch each other and then picking
out the best bits.
Tell us about the BBC
pilot.
It was an amazing and
surreal experience working
at the BBC studios. We had
a phenomenal time just
bringing to life our
characters, working closely
with the director Mandie
Fletcher who was great and
has worked on some
brilliant shows such as
Absolutely Fabulous. It was
performed in front of a live
studio audience, so I think
we would be liars if we
didn’t say there was the
odd nerve flying about. But
the audience loved it right
from the first sketch and the end product
has had great feedback from some
important folk, so fingers crossed!
It wasn’t all fun and games though as we
did have to do a few dodgy things for our
art, the Ginge was unfortunate enough to
land in wet horse manure whilst the
Geordie and the Geek had to snog giant
slimy salmon.
The Ginge, the Georgie & the Geek pics by Steve Ullathorne
40. He once bought a couple a
night in a luxury suite in a hotel
on stage in the middle of his
set. A girl shouted she fancied
the Ginge during his set so he
got her on stage, got the Ginge
back out so she could ask him
out and give him her number.
Off stage he is very down to
earth and a great guy, he gave
us a great quote from our first
gig with him, after he watched
our set, which was very nice of him.
Of all the comics appearing on the
Fringe this year, makes you laugh the
most?
Ginge - It’d be Tony Law.
Geordie - Just saw Josie Long’s preview
and it was great.
Geek - Naz Osmanoglu.
The Ginge, The Geordie & The Geek
- All New Show 2012
Just the Tonic at The Caves
The Rowantree Bar, 253 Cowgate
2nd - 26th Aug (not 14th),
4.45pm & 7.45pm (1hour)
Tickets £8.50/£12.00
Phone booking: 0131-556 5375
Online booking: justthetonic.com
What do you love/hate about
Edinburgh?
Ginge - I absolutely love the baked tattie
shops, favourite is with haggis and
coleslaw. I don’t however like the hills,
knacker me out before a show!
Geordie - I love the Festival and the
opportunities it gives, almost ten years
ago I got a Fringe First for my first ever
play and that helped me a lot. I hate the
temptation of all the great takeaways,
damn you salt and sauce!
Geek - I love the baked tattie shop too but
I only get a small tattie and a large tuna
portion. I hate the erratic rain, I had to
wear plastic shopping bags on my shoes
last year to waterproof them.
Where is the grandest place you’ve ever performed?
I can’t really put it down to just one place, I have had extraordinary opportunities, in the
UK and overseas. Performing for royalty at Windsor Castle, selling out my one-man show
in Hollywood, performing at Wembley, O2 and numerous concert halls such as the Sydney
Opera house…they have all been wonderful experiences.
You’ve done a fair bit of acting too.
I started my career as an actor, performing in musicals, plays and TV commercials. I
enjoyed touring numerous musicals in London and the UK from Fame, Me & My Girl,
Happy Days and Boogie Nights. Plays by Alan Ayckbourne, and Jim Cartwright, plus
numerous TV commercials in the late 90’s.
Who inspires you?
Big Train with their surreal genius, Billy
Connolly with his brilliant working class
take on everyday life and Morecambe and
Wise who must be the greatest ever
entertainers.
You’ve supported the legend that is
Johnny Vegas several times. What’s he
like?
He is most definitely a character. On
stage with Johnny pretty much anything
can happen. A 20-minute set can become
Who are your biggest influences?
I love and adore the talents of Victor Borge, Dudley Moore and Les Dawson. They have
always been my inspiration when writing and performing comedy piano…
Tell us about your charity work.
I do lots of charity work throughout the year, however my wife Michelle and I are
ambassadors of the NewKidz charity based in South Africa, which raises money, to
develop and makeover run down orphanages and single parent establishments.
www.facebook.com/newkidzsa
Of all the comics appearing on the Fringe this year, who makes you laugh the most?
I don’t have a specific list of comedians that make me laugh, I just love natural comedy.
Someone who can get on stage and just make you smile, take you on a journey and bring
you back wanting more is good enough for me. Not enough performers have this talent.
What do you love/hate about Edinburgh?
I love the buzz it creates with entertainment as a whole. The variety of entertainment you
get to see is incredible and it creates energy around you. I can’t say I hate it, that would be
too harsh but I hate flyering for my own show. Other shows I have no problem…but my
own!!!! “please come and see me I’m amazing” Can’t do it!!!
The World’s Favourite Foreigner
theSpace@Symposium Hall
8.10pm 13-25 Aug
4 5