Comedy award winner Amy Gledhill

The Scotsman

Amy won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best show, Make Me Look Fit On The Poster.   She has spoken out after becoming only the sixth solo female performer to win the best prize in its 43-year history, saying there was a “really unfair” affordability gap among comedians performing at the event.

Transcript

00:00Okay, Amy, you are the winner of the best show award at the end of the comedy awards.

00:06How does that feel?

00:07Bonkers, absolutely bonkers. I genuinely can't believe it because you're the people on the

00:13list. Keyworth, one of my favourite comedians of all time. I saw Catherine's show last night

00:21and there was a point where I was watching Catherine's show where I was like, I really

00:25want to be a stand-up comedian like Catherine. She's so good. I just can't, yeah, it's amazing.

00:31I'm over the moon.

00:32How does it feel to be nominated first of all?

00:35Oh yeah, unbelievable. And that's the, the nomination is like the big, the big thing

00:40really. The winning's like an icing on the cake, but the recognition of being nominated

00:45is yeah, amazing. It's a very overwhelming day and the fact that my best friend was nominated

00:54as well was just, it was a fantastic day.

00:57How long have you known each other and how did you form your double act? Tell us how

01:01that came about.

01:02Well, so we've known each other about, gosh, maybe, it's Chris, yeah, Chris. So maybe about

01:0910 years and we actually got together as a double act because I was in a double act with

01:15his wife, his now wife, and Chris got Nicola pregnant and then swooped in. He was like,

01:23Nicola's out the game, let's do it. But I, I actually saw, I saw one of Chris's previews

01:31when I was friends with Nicola and she said, can you come to watch my boyfriend's preview?

01:35And I was like, oh, this sounds rubbish. I don't, I don't know this guy. I don't want

01:39to watch his preview. And I, I watched it and then I very awkwardly had to say to his

01:45wife, I think your boyfriend is my favourite comedian. And then we've been friends ever

01:50since. We love working together. And, uh, I directed his show and he, he didn't direct

01:57mine, but he helped a lot for this year. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

02:01And how long have you been in a double act together?

02:03I think maybe like about seven years. It's quite, maybe it could be even longer. It's,

02:09um, we must be one of the longest serving double acts or sketch groups because it's

02:14so hard time-wise and balancing lives. And, um, we're very good at, um, just got a very

02:21solid friendship and I think that really, that helps.

02:24You had some success last year. Was it last year?

02:27The year before, yeah. So we got, uh, we got nominated for a double act and I got a newcomer.

02:35So gosh, yes, I've got newcomer and then my next show, my second show. Oh my God, I didn't

02:41realise that!

02:42And when you both got nominated for this year, what did you, what did you say to each other?

02:48Well, we, we were, we were apart and apparently, uh, when he got a call to say he was nominated,

02:54his first question was, and what about Amy? And when they rang me to say I'd been nominated,

02:58my first question was, and what about Chris? And then, yeah, we were apart. He was going

03:02for a jog around the castle and I was very much doing the opposite. I was sitting in

03:06a city cafe eating fried food. And, um, then he called me and he was just like, I'm running,

03:12I'm running towards you. And then, uh, sorry, I've got hay fever. Um, uh, yeah. And then

03:18we, I think we both cried for a bit out of, we was genuinely more happy for each other.

03:25Um, and I'm so proud of what he's, what he's done this year.

03:29Have you had the chance to speak to him yet?

03:32No. No, you sort of, you collect your water and I've been whisked down here and, um, my

03:38handbag's up there. I haven't even got my phone to sort of, I asked him to come up on

03:42stage with me and he was like, no, no, it's not the time. But I was like, please.

03:46Tell us about your, uh, tell us about the show you've brought to Edinburgh this year

03:50and people have not seen it. I'd imagine you'd be hoping to kind of do more with it.

03:55What kind of, what kind of comedy are you doing?

03:57So I'd say it's very confessional, very observational and, um, upbeat and I'm not a sort of cynical

04:07comedian. I'm not a political comedian. Um, I try and just genuinely just like have a

04:12laugh for an hour. But this year's show is a little bit more exposing and I talk just

04:20a little bit about how I've got confidence, but not actually very high self-esteem. And

04:27it's like quite an interesting area because I thought if you had one, you automatically

04:31had the other. So it's a bit of an exploration of that, but in a very funny way, I promise.

04:36How is the comedy landscape at the Fringe these days for comedians? I counted something

04:41like 1600 shows. Is it an ultra competitive landscape or do people really kind of help

04:47each other? I think people help each other. I think it's genuinely really, really supportive.

04:53I'd say the tricky thing at the moment is for working class acts. We're basically priced

04:59out of the festival and I'm very fortunate that I can do the Fringe now, but I can only

05:05do it because my career has got to a certain point where I can afford to do it and I can

05:11afford to make this month my work. I think this year more than any other year I've seen

05:18that there's less people sort of giving it a go. I feel like the standard of newcomers

05:26and the standard of shows that are at the Fringe is so high, but I honestly think that's

05:30almost a shame because people can't afford to come up here and just work it out or give

05:35it a try. You have to come up here with a business head of, these are my outgoings,

05:42this is what I could make, I'm going to need to get reviews in this day. It's like a machine,

05:47it's like quite a corporate machine in a lot of ways and if you're working class or just

05:53of a lower income, it's almost impossible to do it and the playing field between people

06:00that can afford PR, directors, the better venues, the better techs and people who can't

06:08afford that, the difference between the two experiences is so vast now that it feels really,

06:15really unfair. Even though I'm working class, because my career is luckily doing alright,

06:22I'm very lucky that I can afford a director and PR and all this, but if I was starting

06:27now, I honestly just don't think I could do it.

06:31So do you think working class, there's been a lot of debate about, there's a danger that

06:35working class comedians will be priced out, do you think that's already happening to an

06:38extent?

06:39Yeah, 100%, 100%.

06:41Despite the number of comedians who are here?

06:43Yes, there are a lot here, but I would say very few, if you actually dug into it, very

06:50few are from a low income and if they are here, you know that they're suffering, September,

06:57maybe to the end of the year, trying to recuperate costs. A few years ago, I think the first

07:05year that The Sausage got nominated, so 2019, when I came up, I couldn't afford to do it

07:13and not work, so I just recently, this is crazy, but I just recently trained as a masseuse

07:21and I came up to Edinburgh, I drove up to Edinburgh and I had my massage bed in the

07:26car and all my kit and in between shows, people were coming, performers and members of the

07:32public were coming to my flat where I was staying and I was giving people massages.

07:37Was that your first year, did you say?

07:39That was the, it was the first year Sausage got nominated, so I think it was, I'd maybe

07:45been to the Fringe a couple of times.

07:47But then you knew the financial reality that you needed.

07:49I knew the financial reality and also I was massaging people, members of the public, who

07:56found me through my Facebook store and they were like, I saw your show today. I was like,

08:02oh my god, this is so embarrassing, but I had to make the money.

08:06So what's the concern then if people are, working class people are priced out or it

08:12just becomes more and more difficult, what is the concern for the, I suppose for the

08:15future of comedy in general?

08:17Absolutely, well it would be such a shame if working class voices or regional voices

08:22disappeared and I think, I think we've been really lucky in the awards this year that

08:28I mean, newcomer Joe leads by, he used to flyer for the Delightful Sausage, I'm such

08:35a big fan of his. And we know if we can get here, if the working class kids can get here

08:41then we have a fair chance, we can do really well. But there's just a real, I think a real

08:48danger if accommodation prices keep increasing, we're not going to be able to come and I think

08:54we're really funny.

08:56It's a really important question, you're one of the very few women to win this award in

09:01over 40 years.

09:02Wow.

09:03Something like a fifth or sixth.

09:04Have I?

09:05Yeah, absolutely.

09:06Wow, of course. Yeah, that's incredible. I think the gender balance is, has had a really

09:14positive change in the last, I would say 10 years. And non-binary comedians as well and

09:19I think this year is, it's got to be one of the only years where male nominees, particularly

09:25in the male awards are the minority.

09:27It's the first year they've been in the minority.

09:29It's the first year?

09:30Yeah.

09:31Wow, well that's fantastic. That's brilliant. That's, yeah, I'm very chuffed with that actually.

09:36Yeah, you're one of the, I think you're in the fifth or sixth in 40 odd years.

09:40Wow. Oh my God. Come on women. Fantastic. Yeah, great.

09:46Anyway, congratulations again.

09:47Thank you so much.

09:48Thank you so much. Cheers.

Category

Transcript

Recommended