WORD PLAY: SCROOBIUS PIP SHARES HIS WORDS

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Scroobius Pip does not seem like a star of the UK hip hop and electronic scene. He is understated, grateful and truly humble

as he talks about his show, Words, the reception it has so far received, his work in the music world and love of comedy, and does not for one moment seem anything but a normal guy, albeit an incredibly talented one.

A spoken word performance at a festival best known for comedy and theatre may seem like a slightly odd fit and something many performers wouldn’t initially consider doing. “When I toured it in December,” Pip begins as I ask what made him bring a spoken word show to the Fringe this year, I wanted to play in rock venues to show people you can have a good night out at a spoken word gig (in fact, Pip comments that one of the reasons he chose the Ace Dome was because it has a bar) and Tim Key and Brett Goldstein caught it and suggested I bring it up the Fringe this year. Just to have them think I could do something at the Fringe was great as I’m a massive fan of them both.”

The good time ethic Pip sees as key to his work was there at the birth of Words when he

premiered the show during the Saturday night headline spot at Latitude Festival last year. Initially expecting an audience of two or three hundred people he arrived onstage to find a 4000 strong crowd Pip was overwhelmed with the show’s initial reception . “It was the Saturday night headline slot,” he almost shakes his head in slight disbelief, “You would except people to want to go out and go dancing but they’d had to stand everyone up as there were about 4000 people in the tent. And they stayed there, and listened to the whole thing and it meant the world to me. It was so overwhelming, such a wonderful reaction.” Known also for his work in music, something which may well have drawn the impressive Latitude crowd, often with Dans Le Sac, Pip notes he often forgets people know him foremost for this and ask if he’ll be doing “any of the songs” in his set. “Well,” he smiles, “I think yeah, but the delivery won’t be the same and the inflections too, some of ‘the songs’ will be there but it will be different.”

Scroobius Pip has always engaged with society in his work. Whilst many poets and spoken word artists can be concerned with introspective subjects life Pip’s work constantly strives to connect to the wider society. “I do this partly because I’m a fan of hip hop,” he begins, “Along with spoken word it’s always the quickest to respond to things. A great example is the Treyvon Martin case, where artists reacted to the ‘stand your ground law’ in America during the trial, It’s such an instant response.”

Although Pip mentioned he was a comedy nerd at the beginning of our conversation, I was still surprised by his knowledge and response

when I asked what he’s most excited to see at the Fringe this year. As we talked of ex-rapper Doc Brown, Doctor Brown and his silent comedy, Tom Rosenthal and many others Pip is keen to catch, Pip is constantly enthused and passionate about something he clearly loves. “Being around the comedians and pretending I’m meant to be to be here is great. Chris Ramsey came along to the show last night and it was great to chat and hang out after. It’s not a comedy show but there are some light-hearted moments, and having people like Brett and Tim previously credit my work is amazing. The main focus is me trying to play it cool around these comedians without being all ‘you know who I am!’”

With sell out performanes catch Scroobius Pip while you can in his show Words until 26 August in the Pleasance Dome at 21.40.

ISSUE 6: 10TH AUGUST 2013

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TUESDAY 13 AUG

PLEASANCECOURTYARD

“Being around comedians and pretending I’m meant to be

here is great”

“It was so overwhelming,

such a wonderful reaction”

Image of the day: Backstage at the tech rehersal. Scroobius Pip prepares for this debut Fringe show, Words

This year, McNeil and Pamphilon bring their manic videogaming/comedy hybrid ‘Go 8-Bit’ show to

the Pleasance Dome for just 4 nights. With different guests battling at classic videogames every night, including Josh Widdicombe, Tony Law and Nick Helm, Steve (McNeil) thought it would be interesting to see if Sam (Pamphilon) has learnt anything about the games in the show over the last few months…

Steve: Ok, Sam, we’ll start with an easy one first – tell us a little bit about Super Mario Kart.

Sam: I don’t really get Mario Kart. Why have a plumber racing a dinosaur racing a mushroom? I have no real emotional attachment to any of them. Case in point - I had mushrooms on toast the other day and felt nothing. I know you say the characters are from other games and that’s why it’s good, but if Anthony Hopkins’ character from Remains of the Day turned up in The Fast and the Furious it would be rubbish

Steve: Okay…what about Bomberman?

Sam: For a start, this game is lazy. The levels are tiny, it’s 2D, and if they’ve got the bombs, why don’t they just throw them OVER the walls at each other. That’d be much better. Also, they look like short fat Power Rangers from the future but they drop old bombs from pirate times. Dramaturgically, it’s all over the shop. Plus, I can’t work out the controls so I hate it.

Steve: Right, last chance… Street Fighter 2?

Sam: I almost like Street Fighter 2 because it’s quite realistic, apart from it’s a bit racist, because it doesn’t give a very broad account of Chinese people. The two in the game are a fat sumo wrestler and a giggling girl.

Steve: E. Honda’s from Japan.

Sam: I try not to get involved in politics, Steve.

Steve: And on behalf of everyone else on Earth, thank you.

Sam: No, thank you.

Grab your favourite games and pick up the controls to catch McNeil and Pamphilon Go 8-Bit on the 10 & 11, 16 & 17 August in the Pleasance Dome at 23.00

Edited by Emily Tanner. Photography by Jassy Earl

LOOSING MY FAVOURITE GAMEMcNeil and Pamphilon hit the Fringe with a show about gaming and to

celebrate the comic duo grab the controls

“Why have a plumber racing a dinosaur racing a

mushroom?”

@davidbalcombeI told you it was good! @RainTha-tWashes - an #Edinburgh must

see

@Derek_Brien @russell_kane

Awesome show at The Pleasance

tonight. Crying with laughter

@DeliciousNessyI bloody love @ThePleasance in the

@edfringe it’s the best. I’ve been coming here for 15 years now & the atmosphere

is cracking every year.

PLEASANCE

TWEETS

Developing plays and offering comic writers the chance to experiment with new styles and

ideas, Itch: A Scratch Event has been taking audiences by storm since 2009. The work of the Comedians Theatre Company – the brains behind Itch – has been recognised by the BBC, who have commissioned the company to create four dramas for Radio 4. Now, back in Edinburgh, audiences can help develop the scripts for the BBC commission in this year’s Itch: With A Twist.

Some of the festival’s brightest

and best comic acting talents work with the Comedians Theatre Company during the event to develop the scripts.

This year the comics who make up the bill will include; Jo Caulfield, Sara Pascoe, Matt Green, Phil Nichol, Tiffany Stevenson and Nat Luutserma, amongst a number of other well known names.

By bringing the audience, cast and writers together, Itch has been producing award winning plays since 2009. These have included Matthew Osborne’s Cul-de-Sac, Somewhere Beneath it all a Small Fire Burns Still, which won a Fringe First, and Hand Over Fist by Dave Florez.

The writers commissioned this year for the BBC shows are Matthew

Osborne, Dave Florez, Alana Francis and Richard Turner, and Steve Keyworth and will be showcasing their work at this year’s Itch event in order to develop the plays with the help of cast and audience.

With 4 star reviews from Fest and One4Review in previous years Itch is a unique experience which always draws a crowd.

Catch some of comedy’s biggest names performing brand new works on stage on the 12 &13 August, at the Pleasance Courtyard, 17.45 & 15.00

ITCHING TO GET STARTED ITCH WITH A TWIST RETURNS THIS MONDAY & TUESDAY!

Harry Deansway’s debut fringe show, entitled, with appropriate flair, Wrong Way, got off to a

quite spectacular start last Wednesday. During a routine blackout, the one-man phenomenon got his foot trapped between the house lights and the wall of the blow-up igloo in which he performs his one hour set.

A full five minute struggle to free his trapped leg without hyperextending his knee or rupturing a cruciate ligament ensued. His pleas for help fell on the deaf ears of an audience who assumed it was part of the act, as did his frequent assertions that ‘This is not part of the act’. The ordeal was not yet complete, however, as when Deansway finally managed to free his leg, a rather

important cable was severed in the process, the effect of which was to turn every light in the house to strobe uncontrollably. The intimate five minute portrait of Deansway’s acting range that followed was, as you can imagine, somewhat disrupted.

Needless to say, Deansway is looking for a way to replicate the trick every night for the rest of his show. Sadly, the sheer implausibility of the stunt has made it impossible for the time being.

Catch Harry Deansway in: Wrong Way until 26 August at the Pleasance Courtyard, 18.00.

HARRY DEANSWAY BEGINS IN VERY MUCH THE WRONG WAY