EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview
AMY
ANNETTE
THICK SKIN
Pleasance courtyard - Bunker Two
COMEDY / STAND-UP, SOLO SHOW
JUL 31, AUG 1-25: TICKETS
JULY 2, 2024
Come join Amy for her debut hour of big fun (from a big gal). You may know Amy from winning the Funny Women Industry Award? From C4's The Paddock? Or the podcast What Women* Want? But who, really, is this Amy Annette?
Hi Amy, it’s great to chat with you before EdFringe, how excited are you to be bringing your debut show to the festival?
Yes very excited. I love my show being called a debut. It feels so chic. It’s such a nice way of saying ‘rookie’ and avoiding explicitly saying ‘This is new - it could be anything?!?’
Will there be any nerves ahead of your run?
Of course, I have a tightness in my jaw that gets tighter the closer we get to August. But I am looking forward to it too. If you see me walking around Edinburgh with a mouth guard… no you didn’t.
What makes bringing a new show to EdFringe so a special?
I have been attending the Fringe in some capacity since 2010 – from flyerer, producer and now performer. There is something exciting about the atmosphere – a sense of possibility and feeling that something amazing could be happening behind the doors in any of the alleyways and pubs or venues you pass. Also I am a sweaty girl and the cooler climes of Edinburgh really works for me.
Can you tell me a little bit about how Thick Skin came about?
I became aware, earlier this year, that the new fashion was ‘Y2K’. When I saw my first whale tail peeking over a cropped cargo trouser, I knew… the fashion of my childhood was back. It prompted me to look back at my teen years and re-examine some of the things we found normal then… ballet flats (not shoes), going to weight watchers as a teenager (I was not welcome), and girls’ magazines all being about how to ‘trap that lush boy’. (I guess no gay teenage girls existed in the 00s?).
When creating this show how cathartic was it to take a trip down the noughties memory lane?
I have loved having an excuse to re-read old Girl’s Magazines. I was particularly taken with an article in J-17 about how to your crush ‘crazy for you’ next to an article on how to text in a cool way.
And in being reflective do you think the noughties is as romanticised as the 70s and 80s?
A good question! Maybe now it is? I think part of the reason the fashion of ‘y2k’ is being searched out, by every Gen Z on Depop, right now is the mix of techno optimism and general political and economic security that the early 00s represents. Thought to be clear I don’t I think teen girls know they are wearing low rise jeans because they’re harking back to a time when everyone thought the internet would be a force for good and people had pensions… they’re wearing them because they’re cute/ they want to bring back ‘washboard abs’.
On a scale of 1-10 how freaked out by the millennium bug was you?
I don’t think people realise that the reason that the millennium bug wasn’t a problem was because everyone got together and actually fixed it in advance. The bug is a by-Word for pointless group panic but it should be a phrase we use when we’re describing a global effort that actually worked. But to answer your actual question… let’s be real I was 12 so I was worried about my Sim’s CD rom being in the computer at midnight and being wiped. So a full 10/10.
If you could sum up your teenager years in the noughties with one word what would it be?
Cringe
"I am honestly always interested in seeing how different audiences react and what they remember."
Any fashion regrets? I mean the 2000s weren’t that bad fashion wise though there was a lot of colour and denim.
My only regret is buying a skate board from Argos that I carried around like a fashion object because I couldn’t skate.
Will you allow yourself much flexibility with your material once the show is running?
Oh maybe! I am honestly always interested in seeing how different audiences react and what they remember. So if someone starts telling me about their MSN crushes, it’s likely I will derail my own show to know EVERYTHING….
Have you always had a passion for comedy?
From the moment I figured out how to use Limewire (so sorry) I was constantly trying to find what comedy was on there. It led to an eclectic playlist that included Eddie Murphy’s Raw and Jeff Foxworthy’s ‘Here’s Your Sign’ material.
What was your first time like out on stage?
My main memory is immediately wanting to get in touch with all the comedians I’d ever seen /worked with who’d asked me after THEIR gig ‘how was that?’ and tell them I get what you were actually asking me now!
What have been the biggest changes you’ve noticed in the way you write and perform your material?
I have found myself doing a lot of MC’ing and finding the joke along with the audience has been very fun and liberating.
If you could invite one person to dinner who has inspired you who would they be, and why?
I loved Angela Lansbury. Great lady, lovely fashions. I feel, if she’d been born later, she could have been a very successful wellness influencer / cult leader.
Do you have any traditions or superstitions before heading out on stage and once a show is over how do you unwind?
Beforehand: I tuck all the various props I need about my person. Afterwards: I like to immediately dissociate on Instagram and look at videos of dogs being groomed.
What has been the best piece of advice you’ve been given and for a fellow performer what advice would you offer them?
It can feel very stressful but we’re not saving lives. That’s an evergreen for everyone (Except doctors and paramedics).
And finally, what would you hope Fringe audiences will take away from Thick Skin?
I really am so honoured when anyone gives me their time and or money. I always want to make sure they’ve had a good time… Yes it’s somewhat cautionary about the return of Y2K fashion and ethics, but honestly it’s just a very goofy show. Big fun from a big girl (me).