Amy chats to Chris Turner as he prepares to take his show Vegas, Baby! to the Fringe.
Hey Chris – here’s your chance to give an elevator pitch, can you give us a brief synopsis?
Hi! Last year I became both a father, and the first comedian to ever perform with Cirque Du Soleil. This show is the true (and slightly ridiculous) story of how I moved to Las Vegas with a newborn baby in tow, and what happened to make me leave 3 months later…
What inspired you to create this show?
Las Vegas is such an absurd place, and the sheer number of outrageous events that happened to me in such a short time meant that I couldn’t not talk about them all! Plus, everyone has questions about why Cirque Su Soleil (used to hiring world-class athletes) hired me (very much not a world-class athlete), so this show is a way of telling that story in the funniest way possible.
Have you performed at the fringe before? What are the best and worst parts of performing at the fringe?
This is my 13th Fringe! A Baker’s Dozen of Edinburgh has given me a really great perspective on the festival – it’s a marathon, not a sprint blah blah blah etc. The best thing is getting to tell a story you care about to a room full (or half full, or quarter full) of people every day. The worst part is that the room full of people is often far too warm. I should add that my venue this year is wonderfully air-conditioned.
What are the main themes within the production, and what can audiences expect?
It’s mainly me making jokes at my own expense, and my total unpreparedness for both fatherhood and headlining a Las Vegas show for 2500 people a night. If you want to get poetic about it, the main themes are sacrifice, love and accepting that some things are more important than telling silly jokes to drunk gamblers.
Finally, with so many shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, why should people book a ticket to this one?
125,000 people saw me perform with Cirque in Las Vegas, and they seemed to enjoy it! Hopefully, Edinburgh’s punters will enjoy it just as much, especially without the distraction of Eastern European gymnasts doing backflips all about the stage.
Vegas, Baby! is on at Underbelly Bristo Square from the 2nd to the 27th August at 9.45pm – info here!
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