Interview: A comic genius takes on the trickiest of audiences

Mark Watson on elevating kids’ comedy at Edfringe

We all know that ET spends a huge amount of time at productions for young people – from Shakespeare to immersive events, from baby shows to opera, we cover the lot. But where are the comedy gigs for kids? They’re usually only found at festivals and can be rather cheesy. This year, however, the game is upped, as one top of the range comic brings a brand new show for ages 5+ to the Edinburgh Fringe. Mark Watson has done just about every form of entertainment from stage to TV to film, but never a show for kids. This is surely going to be different? What’s he planning and for God’s sake why? We wanted to know more so called him up for a chat.

Hiya Mark. Thanks very much for talking with us about your new show Mark Watson Tries to Impress Children for Some Reason. So, have you ever spoken to children before or is this a first?

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I have spoken to children in my life. I’ve got two of my own, and at some points you do have to interact with them (although in past generations there have been dads who more or less swerved it, by all accounts). But this will be my first attempt at talking to them professionally.

Do you have any idea what the show is going to be about? Is it stand up?

I’ve had a couple of goes at it so far, and yes, the best way I can describe it is ‘like my usual standup, but aimed at kids’. And not even exclusively at kids – a show to children is, of course, also a show to parents, and the trick is to try and keep all of them happy. The run-outs I’ve done have been pretty heavy on audience interaction. My experience of kid audiences so far is that they’re very much keener than adults to respond to a comedian’s questions. TOO keen, on occasion, but we’ll cross that bridge.

What is in fact the reason you decided to write a show for young audiences, which notoriously can be some of the hardest to crack?

The title of the show is a joke but it also reflects my genuine bewilderment at the fact I’m doing it. Last year, my friend Will Adamsdale was putting on a comedy festival in Exeter, and in his invitation he said ‘you could do a work-in-progress, or a kids’ show, anything like that’. Almost without thinking I said ‘maybe I WILL do a kids’ show!’, although the notion had never come into my head before. I enjoyed myself a lot, but it’s still hard to understand why I convinced myself I should extend it to an Edinburgh run. I think the motivation possibly stems from the fact that I’ve been doing comedy a long time, but never tried this before. I am always looking for a different challenge. They say do something every day that scares you, don’t they, and what’s scarier than children? So that’s me covered fear-wise for a whole couple of weeks.

It’s brilliant to have someone of your, might I say, calibre investing your talent in young audiences. Should creative people be doing more of this generally?

You might say it, thank you very much. I’m not sure how justified the compliment is: we’ll find out when we get there and kids start to walk out halfway through, I guess. I’m also not sure whether I can say what anyone else ‘should’ be doing with their creative energies, but I will say that I’ve always admired comedians who do aim to please the younger audience. Olaf Falafel and Alexis Dubus (as Marcel Lucont) are two examples, although there are plenty more. As a parent who’s taken kids to Fringe shows for years now, I’ve formed a real appreciation of, and gratitude for, those who can entertain kids without talking down to them – especially if there’s something in it for the parents too. That’s what I’m aspiring to, here.

You’re playing at the Pleasance Courtyard which (IMHO) is one of the best, most rounded venues for kids’ shows at Edfringe. Did you choose it for a reason or was it cheap?

There are cheaper venues than the Pleasance, I can assure you of that. But there aren’t too many that have such a commitment to family programming, as you say. And it’s been one of my traditional homes at the Fringe, over the years. In fact there’s barely a room in the entire Pleasance complex that I haven’t played in at some point… other than the Green, where this show will be on. The vibe will be, approximately, a camping holiday where Dad has lost his marbles.

And what happens with your work for children after Edfringe – do you see yourself going on to star in Cbeebies? I can possibly put you in touch with Hacker the Dog, definitely Zippy…

Peppa Pig is the dream. I want to be the first regular human character, voicing a convincingly animated version of myself. They can call me Mark Man. Let me know if you can expedite this.

Thanks very much to Mark for taking the time to tell us about this exciting new show. Mark Watson Tries to Impress Children for Some Reason is aimed at ages 5+ and plays at the Pleasance Courtyard from Wednesday 5 to Sunday 16 August.