With Charmian Hughes being such a staple act and much loved compere at Pull The Other One over the years it didn’t seem right not having an interview with the lady herself on this here blog. So I went out of my way to discover exactly when and where it was that Charmian met Martin and Vivienne, what it was like going back to Edinburgh after a 17 year break and how it feels to have been involved in comedy for a staggering 21 years.
How long have you known Martin and Vivienne Soan and where did you meet?
I first met Martin in about 1984 through Malcolm Hardee and The Tunnel Club where I did one of my first ever and hairiest open spots and lived to tell the tale. I lived in Islington, then Kensington, at the time and Martin , Steve Bowditch, and some blokes from a band, made South East London seem the most bohemian romantic exciting place ever. It was like fin de siècle Paris but Deptford. I remember visiting Martin and Viv in their flat in St Marys Road Nunhead which was full of amazing props and creations-in-progress. Not only was Martin very inventive and Viv jazz-band-glamorous but the two of them were always very encouraging.
You’re a staple team player and a much loved regular at PTOO, what keeps you coming back each time?
I’ve been local for over ten years now. That early eighties south London glamour pulled me in. it’s fantastic to have a local comedy club anyway, but to have one run on such eccentric basis, so unpredictable, with Martin and Vivienne being able to draw on the massive love and respect comedians hold for them by getting some of the best acts in the country to perform in this mad little club in Peckham – acts like Omid Djalili, Jo Brand, Stewart Lee, Simon Munnery, Richard Herring, Arthur Smith.
Is there anything in particular that differentiates PTOO from the rest of the circuit?
Variety of acts, getting away from the circuit staple of three blokes talking about their knobs. PTOO nurtures unusual talent giving a home to unlikely misfits who then go global- like will happen to Holly Burn and Nick Sun.
Are you looking forward to making your way down to the Hastings show this month?
Sooo looking forward to it. I was at boarding school in ST Leonards till I was 16 and Hastings was the den of all evil from which we were barred, so it’s still a thrill for me. Also some of my friends have moved there – from Peckham and East Dulwich- and one of my sisters lives there so she is coming to the show to see me for the first time I think.
You mention in recent shows that you went back to Edinburgh for the first time in 17 years this year, was it hard going back after such a break, with everything – no doubt – being so different?
Edinburgh was actually easier after all these years. Firstly it was cheaper – I did the free fringe which didn’t exist when I was last there, and being older and wiser I was much better organised, rented a really nice flat and paced myself socially in a very sensible way. This was the first Edinburgh that I didn’t come up in alcohol and fried mars bar induced hives, actually saw the mornings and had loads of old persons sensible energy. Everything in terms of publicity and press releases, renting flats, booking spaces, as been made simple by the internet and the mobile phone.
You’ve been in comedy for around 21 years now, what keeps things fresh and makes being up on stage as exciting as it always was?
Fear! Fear of boredom. Introducing new things! Not just material, I like to take up new ‘skills’ and incorporate them in my act. So I had accordion lessons, I do ballet, I learnt a sand dance. As my old Hungarian Acrobat Teacher Eugene used to say, there was more entertainment in watching me trying to do a back-flip than watching someone who could do one really well. And that’s why I was allowed to be in his very special class among the swan like Germans.
How do the avenues and inspirations from where you draw your ideas from change after so many years in the business?
I get my ideas from my life and as long as your material is true to you, and you are not trying to do gags about pulling birds/boys and smoking spliffs when you are a fifty year old bloke/woman, and be down with the kids, you will be OK. My material is much more interesting now that my life has taken on the trajectory of a boring old fart. I have no one to impress, only the truth to be told.
What do you do by day, when you’re not up on stage?
Nag my children, frighten my husband and cuddle the dog.
Comedy seems to have expanded so much out into arenas alongside big television deals worth huge sums of money in the past decade. How do you think this changes and affects the type of comedy and comedians that are being produced now?
Comedy used to be an outsider occupation. Parents would warn their children that they would come to nothing if they pursued it. Now of course they will become millionaires. Comedy can be a learnt thing, and yet it will always need that other element to make it special. Luckily Pull The Other One is unmoved by the endless factory production line of television friendly possible who are making the circuit so dull and takes genuinely creative risks with its booking policy..
Is there anything you’d like to say to the PTOO audience?
The audience rise to the occasion. They’ve had brilliant acts and have developed discerning taste and open minds.
With the rich history of 80s experimental comedy behind them, the PTOO team aims to generate a real sense of congeniality and affection for the art of comedy and variety, whilst creating a nurturing environment for both artist and audience. To book your ticket in advance click here.