EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview
AMY
GLEDHILL
MAKE ME LOOK
FIT ON THE
POSTER
Amy Gledhill – Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee, National Comedy Award nominee – returns with a brand-new show about self-confidence, romance and bin bags.
Hi Amy, thank you for talking with The New Current ahead of EdFringe, are you excited to be returning to the Fringe?
Hello! Thanks for having me. I am excited, REALLY excited. But there’s no denying the Fringe for all its incredible highs, is hard. You put yourself through a lot mentally, socially, physically and financially. I would say anyone who says they are 100% excited to go to the fringe is a liar, a psychopath or both.
What was your first Edinburgh Fringe experience like and what makes EdFringe so special?
Oh lord, my first memory of the fringe is so cringey. If anyone is eating whilst reading this... stop. So, I went to the fringe as a visitor a year or two before I had dared to do stand-up myself. I flyered for some theatre show because on the website it said the job came with accommodation. JACKPOT. The ‘room’ was a cupboard and I’m not being hyperbolic here. It was an actual cupboard with no window, no bed but a bucket and a ladder. I dumped my stuff and went for a walk to check out the Royal Mile. Upon seeing the crowds, I cried. Grossly, not because I was living like a young Harry Potter for a month but because I was so happy that something so brilliant as the Edinburgh Festival existed for ‘the arts.’ Now I avoid the Mile at all costs because I think it is hell. So we all learn and grow, don’t we?
Your solo show gained you a Best Newcomer Nomination in 2022, what did it mean to you to get this type of recognition for you show?
Obviously, it’s such an incredible achievement and I was over the moon to receive a nomination but (and it’s easy to say this now) it was never the goal. One, because I didn’t think it was at all likely and two because the main thing I wanted was to become a better comic. Performing an hour every day is so invaluable for this. Many comics gig way more than me but I maybe do 1-2 gigs per week, 15-20 mins a time. So every day I’m getting as much experience as I would in a fortnight so over the fringe I’m getting nearly a year's worth of stage time. It’s like getting a mushroom on Mario Kart.
Can you tell me a little bit about how Make Me Look Fit on the Poster, what was the inspiration behind your show?
The show is roughly about self perception and how we’re all a mixture of insecurities and confidence, but you know... funny. My favourite thing to write about is my own humiliations, of which they’re are many, and to see how so many people have gone through something similar. I think there is a real joy in laughing at things that we’ve felt embarrassed about or shameful of.
"Many comics gig way more than me but I maybe do 1-2 gigs per week, 15-20 mins a time. So every day I’m getting as much experience as I would in a fortnight so over the fringe I’m getting nearly a year's worth of stage time."
If you could rate your self confidence on a scale of 1-10 where would you land?
Outwardly 7, inwardly 4, if I fancy someone -8.
When a show is running do you allow yourself some flexibility with your material?
Yes, always or I think I’d go loopy.
If there was one word that would best describe Make Me Look Fit On The Poster what would it be?
Confessional.
Do you have any traditions or superstitions before heading out on stage and once a show is over how do you unwind?
I love a good playlist for when the audience is coming in and am usually somewhere in the room having a subtle little dance on my own #slay #cool and after I get weirdly nervous and would love to hide in a little box for an hour but I generally go and talk to people who’ve come to the show and try to avoid talking about the show at all costs.
And finally, what would you hope Fringe audiences will take away from Make Me Look Fit on the Poster?
I want them to feel like they’ve had loads of fun chatting to their (funniest?) mate for an hour but also maybe feel a bit better about themselves and their self esteem. Oh, and I want them to think that I look fit on the poster!