At this year’s Brighton Fringe I saw the one woman show LAID, in which Natalie Palamides dons an egg costume and wrestles with an eggy dilemma. It’s madcap without being zany and now on at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I caught up with Natalie between shows to talk about her show, comedy and precautions against salmonella…
Kate Stone: Tell us about your show LAID.
Natalie Palamides: It’s about a woman who lays an egg every day, and is faced with the decision: To raise it, or eat it? She needs to make a choice between either love or food… a pretty universal problem.
KS: What inspired you to create LAID?
NP: I had an image in my head of a woman hatching out of an egg, and I thought: what would that world be like? Where women are hatched out of eggs, and also lay eggs.
KS: I’m concerned about the amount of raw egg you must ingest during the show – can you reassure me you haven’t made yourself ill during the show?
NP: Haha I have not gotten sick yet – knock on wood. I try to cook the eggs as thoroughly as I can, but I need to keep the show moving, you know? We also wash off the eggs before every show, to get the chicken droppings off the shell – a precaution to avoid getting salmonella.
KS: Can you tell us how you got into comedy?
NP: I’ve been a performer since I was a kid, and was always making people laugh. I was the class clown. Comedy is something that has come naturally to me, and I’ve always been drawn to it. When I was five years old, I put on my first solo show – a one-time performance of The Little Red Hen for my kindergarten class. I’m realising, the only two solo shows I’ve done in my life have somehow involved chickens… classic. I never thought I had a fascination with chickens until this very moment.
KS: You’ve performed in America, Canada and the UK, have you noticed any difference in the humour of these countries?
NP: Canadian and American audiences seem pretty similar, but audiences in the UK are generally a bit more reserved. It takes a bit more “seduction” to get them to come out of their shells – my show has quite a bit of audience participation.
KS: Who are your favourite funny women?
NP: Amy Sedaris, Lucille Ball, Molly Shannon, Maria Bamford, Gilda Radner
LAID is at the Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker Two, 2nd-27th August (not 14th) at 16:15. For tickets and more information click here!
