EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview
ELEANOR
MORTON
HAUNTED HOUSE
MONKEY BARREL COMEDY: monkey barrel 2
STAND-UP/ HORROR
Jul 31, Aug 1-4, 7-11, 14-18, 21-25: TICKETS
JULY 5, 2024
Have you ever seen a ghost? Comedian Eleanor Morton hasn't... yet. Could today be the day? Let's find out. Eleanor Morton is a Scottish stand-up, writer and actor. In 2022 her BBC Radio 4 one-off comedy special, The Rest of Us aired, in which she and comics Mary Flanigan and Esyllt Sears explored what it's like to be British (but not English).
Hi Eleanor, it’s great to talk with you ahead of EdFringe, are you excited about bringing Haunted House the Fringe this year?
Hello, yes I am! I’ve put a lot of myself into this show and I think it’s going to resonate with a lot of people.
Will there be any nerves ahead of your summer residency at Monkey Barrel?
I always get a bit nervous, but once we’ve been going a few days it starts to feel like a nice routine.
What was your first Edinburgh Fringe experience like and what makes EdFringe so special?
My first Edinburgh Fringe experience was going to see a play called The Red Balloon when I was 5 (or 7, I can’t remember). Then I spent my childhood avoiding the Fringe until I was 18 and could start performing in it. The Edinburgh Fringe is truly unique - for all its downsides, it’s an incredible feat and I feel very lucky as a local that the whole world of performing arts comes to my city once a year.
You’ve had an amazing reaction to your stand up with The Skinny calling it “accomplished and skilful”. What has it meant to you to get this type of reaction for your work?
I’m always thrilled when anyone likes my stuff. When people tell me a video of mine really cheered them up, or they remember a specific joke from a show, that’s just the best feeling, because that’s what making comedy is meant to be all about. I think about all the random jokes and phrases from art I love that resonate with me, and if I can be that for someone else, that’s incredible.
Can you tell me a little bit about how Haunted House, what was the inspiration behind this show?
I’ve always been fascinated with the paranormal, and growing up in Edinburgh which is supposedly very ‘haunted’, I feel a real resonance with it. I also wanted to talk about how Edinburgh can sometimes feel like a haunted house attraction, about how tourism and the Fringe affects my hometown, and the darker aspects to the Fringe which aren’t necessarily spooky.
What was it about hauntings, ghosts, and horror that intrigued you so much?
That’s a good question, I’ve noticed lots of people love ghost stories. I think they’re timeless - the search for the answer to an unknown question that will never really have an answer…I also think there’s an element of escapism in ghosts and the supernatural. There is something comforting to know that there’s another world beyond this one.
Now am I right you’ve never actually seen a ghost?
Nope, and I’m not even sure if I believe in them. I think the term is ‘soft skeptic’. I’m torn between the very rational and the very romantic. I think I want to see a ghost, but then, maybe I don’t.
With Edinburgh being “home” to many ghost stories, are you planning any ghostbusting during the summer?
Yes, after my preview on the 16th me and some Monkey Barrel staff are going to do a ghost hunt round the venue - it’s a very old building right in the middle of the Old Town, and there have already been some sightings of ghosts, so let’s hope something turns up…or not
If there was one word that would best describe Haunted House what would it be?
Funny (I hope).
"I don’t think a lot has changed - I still like the same styles of comedy I did as a child, and I still talk about the same sort of thing."
Do you have any traditions or superstitions before heading out on stage and once a show is over how do you unwind?
I used to have a lot more rituals and superstitions but the less I do acting, the less I keep them up. My only real superstition is not saying ‘good luck’ - somehow my OCD brain has the logic that if you think a show will go well, it will go badly. But I think that’s just having an anxiety disorder, not superstition.
My show is at noon, and my shows have been early in the day most years, and so I think there’s a bit of an anticlimax with that - you’re finished by 1pm and there’s a whole day ahead of you. But its also great because it feels like you’ve done your work early. I used to do my homework on the bus home, I’m that sort of person. I will go and see shows, hang with friends, and do all the boring admin I usually have to do (dentist, food shop etc). And then I like to hang out with non-comedy friends and do real Edinburgh things, like going to the foreshore or the botanics - anything completely cut off from the Fringe.
What’s been your fondest memory of being on stage?
When I was 9 and I was in a production of Oliver! at the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh. It was my first ‘proper’ stage experience and it was very affirming, it made me think yes, this is exactly right, this is exactly where I should be. On stage, that is, not living committing petty crimes for gang masters.
Where did your passion for stand-up come from?
I saw standups on TV when I was around 10 or 11 and then started to realise that was what I wanted to do -write and perform my own work. I realised it was a very unique was of being creative.
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?
That’s a big question! I don’t think a lot has changed - I still like the same styles of comedy I did as a child, and I still talk about the same sort of thing. I think really, what I discovered (and occasionally undiscover again) is that I can do this, I can make a career out of this, and really, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.
What’s been the best advice you’ve been given and is there any advice you offer anyone wanting to get into comedy?
Don’t second guess what you think people find funny. Write what you find funny. Don’t become more interested in the gossip and the world than the work. Drink lots of water. Work smarter not harder. There will come a point when you’re coming back from an open spot gig miles away from home at 2am when you’ll have to ask yourself ‘Do I keep doing this?’. Be happy above all else.
And finally, what would you hope Fringe audiences will take away from Haunted House?
I hope it’s a show they keep thinking about and talking about. Most of all, I hope its a funny, enjoyable show.