Show: Richard Stott: Afterparty Venue Underbelly – Dexter Time: 4.15pm Dates: 3rd – 29th August (not, 15th) Photographer: Steve Ullathorne Links: Profile and Social Media
Hi Richard. Tell me about your 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, Afterparty.
It’s a show about ageing, growing up, realising you’re not 25 any more, you’ve got acid reflux and your knees are starting to ache.
Tell me more about Poland Syndrome.
It’s a birth defect that can cause a host of different issues. Because most people learn to live with it, not a lot is known about it so I’m working with a charity called PIP to get as many of us on a database that can be used in medical research. For me it caused me to be born with a smaller, misshapen left hand and a missing pectoral… It’s great fun.
I first saw you perform on stage with your show, Wretched back in 2017. How has your comedy evolved since then?
Wretched was a lovely show, it mixed theatre and stand up together with all the voice overs, flashbacks etc. One day I’d like to return to that format but what I learnt is I needed to get better at stand-up so since then that has been the focus. What you’ll see is more structured polished stand up, the storytelling is still there but it’s very much now geared to comedy fans.
During the Covid lockdown, you performed your show Right Hand Man online, streamed live from empty venues. What was that like?
So so so weird. I’d give the camera both barrels for an hour and at the end I’d just hear my director Owen quietly say “Well done mate.”. No applause, no after show drink, just walking back in the stark empty streets, it was peak lockdown.
Finally, ask and answer a question of your own.
How does this show differ from Right Hand Man which had such great reviews?
Right Hand Man was largely set in the past, it was a life story focused on my disability and how I’ve lived with it. Afterparty is about now, the writing is more about things I am currently experiencing. It’s been much harder to write. I’m not gonna lie, I’m out of my comfort zone and not focusing on my disability at all. It’s an important show for me I’m showing here that I’m not a
