Ed Fringe 2014 Interview

Ray Peacock (Interview)

We caught up with Ray Peacock to talk about his new show, “Here Comes Trouble”.

CM: Hello Ray, how are you today?

RP: Tired and possibly malnourished. Decent going for the second week of the fringe though.

CM: What can we expect from your new show, “Here Comes Trouble”?

RP: It’s basically an exploration of what drives a grown up boy like myself to commit consistently idiotic impulsive acts when I am meant to be acting like an adult by now. It’s cathartic, boastful and therapeutic in equal measures. Oh and funny, that is another equal measure in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjVFvZ8-K_E

CM: Your poster for this show has red alterations on it, have you come across any other alterations made by Fringe-goers across the city?

The only damage I’ve seen on my own posters is somebody has written “I’m an idiot” on my forehead on one of them. That night I wrote the same thing on my actual forehead so who’s the winner in that one? I didn’t really have an argument to it. I’m sure there’s worse that I’ve not seen yet. Jealous contemporaries just can’t help themselves.

CM: How hard has the creation of this show been for you or did it all fall into place?

RP: It’s sort of written itself as all the content is derived from my own real life. The main issue has been putting it in the correct order and on some occasions toning it down some of the darker stuff to make it more palatable to normal human beings.

CM: You have roots to drama from when you were younger, would you ever be tempted in either writing or performing in a play at the Fringe?

RP: I’m constantly craving it to be honest, think I’ve genuinely come round to the idea of revisiting my thespian roots, the main problem has been one of logistics and time. Everything has been tied up with Peacock & Gamble the last three years and then obviously this years show has been my main focus for 2014. Not ruling out shoving my acting boots back on again imminently though.

CM: How does performing differ from doing solo shows and then working with Ed Gamble?

RP: The main difference is that a shit show alone stays a shit show for the rest of the evening. When myself and Ed share a stage and it’s a shit show we find ourselves laughing about it for hours, you can only have solidarity if there’s more than one of you, alone it’s just lonesome.

CM: You now co-host a radio show with Ed on Fubar, is it a big change from performing on a stage together?

RP: Well our grounding before the double act was doing the Peacock & Gamble podcast, so we’ve a wealth of experience in doing unregulated chat content over the years. Generally speaking we are most comfortable chatting freely and just amusing each other. Plus it means I don’t have to learn any lines which is a relief for Ed as he had to tolerate my complete reluctance to commit words to memory in favour of paraphrasing for the longest time.

CM: What’s the best Fringe experience you’ve had over the years?

RP: 1999. My first fringe. There was genuinely nothing to worry about. Knowing nothing about the fringe makes it such an exciting playground. I’d love to recapture that feeling of freedom but over the years it’s been stifled with experience of how this festival works. This year is probably the closest I’ve had in attitude to that one and so far it’s taking a load of pressure off in a very positive way. I miss Ed on the stage though, but when we are back at the flat he is only a room away (on the nights he doesn’t stay in my bed but don’t print that as it is a secret.)

CM: Thanks for your time and best of luck with the show!

You can catch “Ray Peacock: Here Comes Trouble” at Underbelly, Bristo Square at 21:25 (22:25) until the 24th August. Tickets can be purchased here.

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