Getting To Know... Mae Martin

We chanced upon the affable and very funny Canadian comic Mae Martin at the recent That Comedy Thing and liked her so much that we simply had to find out more about her:

Comedy is a constant source of stress for my parents. Comedy can be everything from a powerful tool of subversion to a whoopee cushion and both are equally as valuable. For me, comedy is a way for to confirm whether or not my opinions and feelings are shared by others - I present them to an audience and if they laugh instead of staring at me blankly, then I know I am not insane.

I'm inspired by eating large amounts of cheese before bed. It helps me to have profoundly memorable dreams. I recommend half a wheel of brie half-an-hour before sleeping. Seriously. It's an expensive habit but you will thank me when you are having dreams about Angelina Jolie fighting zombies every night. I am also inspired by tabloid magazines, other comics who I admire (I am a massive comedy nerd), and the impending apocalypse, which provides me with a sense of urgency that helps me to write new material.

Canada is more than twice as big as the UK but with half as many people. So there is a lot of space to paddle around lakes birdwatching and communing with nature. In the event of a global catastrophe, Canada is the place to be. We can form a new Utopian society in the Great Canadian North where the zombies, flooding, and civil unrest can't reach us.

Canada is also where I began doing comedy, 10 years ago, when I was about 13 and in the midst of a fairly tumultuous puberty. I don't know if British audiences would have indulged me when I was that age, I was lucky to be doing comedy in a country that doesn't heckle. Since moving to London I have fallen in love with British audiences, especially the way they participate, answering rhetorical questions...

My father grew up in the UK and instilled a great love of British comedy in me, so it is thrilling to be here.

If I could only listen to three albums for the rest of my life they would be... WHAT?! STOP IT! This is an impossible question. I have been sitting, beads of sweat slowly trickling down my face, staring at the computer screen for 45 minutes trying to narrow it down to three. As my top 6 albums are all by The Beatles this question comes down to which three Beatles albums I like best. In this moment I think Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, and Let It Be, but ask me again in 15 minutes.

Runners up include Spice World, Dark Side of the Moon, John Lennon's Double Fantasy and an album which has yet to be recorded called Harry Potter: The Musical, starring the cast of all the Harry Potter films. They will sing, read excerpts from the novels and reenact my favourite scenes from the films.

It might surprise people to learn that the owl is the only bird to drop its upper eyelid to wink. All other birds raise their lower eyelids. What's up with that?!

Aside from comedy, I have no talents.

Find out more about Mae at her website.

That Comedy Thing at The Lamb, Eastbourne

Last week, That Comedy Thing took place once again at The Lamb Inn in Eastbourne, on the South Coast of England, and, as always, the wealth of talent on show in the cosy 12th Century boozer was impressive. Robin Ince headlined the night, with less a routine, more a 40-minute rant from a man aghast, confused and angry at a world he increasingly fails to understand as he edges further into his forties. Red-faced, he breathlessly jumped from topic to topic in a performance that was filled with truths. Funny truths too.

Before him was the Canadian Mae Martin (pictured, below), who was natural and effortless as she chatted affably between playing some well-known covers on her acoustic guitar, replacing the lyrics with her own tales about - for instance - her unhealthy obsession with Don Cheadle. Her turn was especially pleasing in that she didn't reel off jokes, but just chatted away conversationally, as if she were just talking one-to-one with each member of the audience. Indeed, she was so engaging that I could have happily listened to her talk for 30 minutes without any musical interludes at all.

Before these two performances came the absolute triumph of the evening. Rachel Pantechnicon cleverly used repetition and a strange, awkward stage-presence to create a well-crafted character. Poems about elves on shelves and tiled bathrooms were rattled off at the kind of frenetic pace that demanded the audience kept up. Visual aids were frequently used, like the previously missing end section of the Bayeux Tapestry, which told of a plague of cats - one of which ended on William the Conqueror's head instead of a crown. Obviously it doesn't sound funny when I say it, but when spewing out of Pantechnicon's mad brain, such weird tales were side-burstingly hilarious.

The whole night was compered by organiser Joanna Neary (pictured at the top of the feature), who set the evening's warm tone with some chucklesome observations, some killer dance moves and a wicked impression of Bjork.

Neary deserves massive credit for putting on such a charming night and managing to attract such fine acts to a south coast town that isn't exactly on the circuit, so, if you live in the area and want to see more of these kind of events cropping up, then you need to put your full support behind That Comedy Thing. The event takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, so email thatcomedything@gmail.com to get yourself put on the mailing list.

Review by Rob Townsend.

Robin Ince graces That Comedy Thing

 

Once again, That Comedy Thing is set to hit The Lamb Inn on the South East Coast of England, and it offers a typically cracking line-up this month, with Robin Ince headlining a bill that also includes Mae Martin, Rachel Pantechnicon and Suzi Payton.

You can reserve tickets for the event, which takes place in the lovely Eastbourne pub between 7.30pm and 10pm this Tuesday 1st March, via thatcomedything@gmail.com. It'll set you back a pathetic £8.50 or just £7.50 with an NUS. You won't find a better bargain than that so get yourself to The Lamb and be sure to bring a spare pair of underpants, as you are more than likely going to wee yourself laughing. And who likes to sit in their own wee? Weirdos and pervs. That's who.

Find out more about That Comedy Thing here.

Words by Rob Townsend.