EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview
CHRIS
CANTRILL
EASILY SWAYED
MONKEY BARREL COMEDY - THE TRON
COMEDY / STAND-UP / STORYTELLING
JUL 31, AUG 1-11, 14-25: TICKETS
JUNE 24, 2024
A reluctant adventurer and an unlikely fellowship converge in this epic tale of an overdue reunion gone awry. Join Chris as he wrestles with the consequences of exile, middle-aged friendships, and the best way to admit you wear a cape sometimes.
Hi Chris, thank you for talking with The New Current ahead of Fringe, are you excited to be returning?
Hello and thanks for speaking to me! I can confirm I’m very excited to be heading back to the Fringe. At least I think the feeling’s excitement? Looming, all-encompassing excitement.
What was your first Edinburgh Fringe experience like and what makes it so special?
I did my first show in 2015. It was called ‘Welcome to Tiddleminster’ and it was billed as an ‘interactive Powerpoint presentation’ which was described as the ‘worst marketing’. My name wasn’t on the poster and I performed to around 6 people a day in a 70 seater venue. So, a failure by pretty much every metric, but it was special because I learnt a ton of lessons for when I went back with The Delightful Sausage in 2017.
You’ve been nominated for Best Show at Edinburgh Fringe twice, what did it mean for you to get this type of recognition for your comedy?
Being nominated for the Comedy Awards has been a life-altering experience. Suddenly the industry knows your name and the cool kid comedians acknowledge you’re alive. It’s undeniably opened up some very exciting doors for us in recent years and in practical terms it means that when we send an email people now sometimes reply!
Can you tell me a little bit about how Easily Swayed, what was the inspiration behind your show?
In 2020 I moved to the middle of nowhere in what was, with the benefit of hindsight, a very lockdown-y thing to do. Suddenly I was a long way away from all my friends, family and work. I’ve just turned 40 and Easily Swayed is about how I’ve coped with this tricky transitional period by wearing a cape. Yes, you’ve read that correctly.
And once a show is running do you allow yourself some flexibility with your material?
I always try to build in some space for spontaneity. If you’re performing a rigid monologue then I think you’ll get bored. I also reckon audiences can tell from your cold, dead shark-eyes if you’re just going through the motions.
"Although I was always a big comedy fan, I only decided to do it after working in an office which eventually led me to the conclusion, ‘nah - this can fuck off’."
If there was one word that would best describe Easily Swayed what would it be?
Epic!
Do you have any traditions or superstitions before heading out on stage and once a show is over how do you unwind?
Before the show I write out the set to help get it in me noggin.
Afterwards I like to sit in perfect silence with a diet coke for 40 minutes as enough adrenaline to kill a bull gradually leaves my body.
What’s been your fondest memory of being on stage?
Being in a double act is a unique relationship which lets you share the highs and lows of performing. As The Delightful Sausage, I’ve been lucky enough to have had some absolutely wild adventures with my double act partner, Amy Gledhill. That said, we’ll always fondly remember dying on our arses standing on a palette in Cardiff in a perverse sort of way. Oh man, did they hate our guts.
Where did your passion for comedy come from?
I’ve always loved comedy for as long as I can remember. As a child I listened to a Jasper Carrot cassette tape on repeat in the car which must have been a maddening amount of times for my parents. Although I was always a big comedy fan, I only decided to do it after working in an office which eventually led me to the conclusion, ‘nah - this can fuck off’.
How much has the way you write and create a show for the Fringe changed since your debut?
Since my first show I’ve learnt a lot about storytelling, so I’d say there’s more of a structure running underneath the jokes and a bit less flapping.
Since you started out in comedy, what have been the most important things you’ve discovered about yourself and the type of comedy/performer you want to be?
The most exciting thing about this life is that I’m always learning something new about myself. You get to meet a lot of new people and travel all over. It can be overwhelming at times, and I miss the stability of a PAYE job, but overall I feel very privileged to have a job that keeps my brain running at full pelt.
If a joke doesn’t land the way you hoped do you cut it or do you keep it in the set?
My first reaction is probably ‘how could you have got it so wrong, the people of Pontefract?!’ Sometimes it could be worded better or performed with more aplomb, so you’re duty bound to test it in front of different audiences.
What’s been the best advice you’ve been given and is there any advice you offer anyone wanting to get into comedy?
The best advice I’d say for anyone looking to have a career in comedy is to try your very best to be related to somebody in the industry. If you can’t be bothered to do that, then I guess it’d be a good idea to develop an understanding of project management as it’ll give you the skills you need to produce shows, sketches, albums etc. After doing this for years I’ve come to the conclusion that talent is everywhere but if you don’t have connections or money then the only tool you’ve got is being organised. That’s very dry advice but it’s true! Sue me!
And finally, what would you hope Fringe audiences will take away from Easily Swayed?
It’s a very silly show but at its heart, Easily Swayed is about the importance of maintaining friendships as you enter middle age. So, I guess it’d be nice if the show led to some long overdue catch-ups with old friends!