Adele Cliff is a one woman joke machine, with her lines getting picked for Dave’s Funniest Jokes of the Fringe in 2016 and 2017 and reaching the finals in the 2018 UK Pun Championships, this year she is coming to Edinburgh Fringe with her debut hour, Sheep. Our editor Kate Stone spoke to Adele about her show being her ‘baby’ and how women in comedy are on the verge of a takeover…
Kate Stone: Tell us about your show Sheep
Adele Cliff: Sheep is all about individuality, fitting in and everyone’s favourite farm animal. It’s full of jokes – so many jokes – and nerdy stuff but it’s mostly me working out if I’m a sheep or not. It’s a really fun show and I’d love for ewe all to flock to see it!
KS: This is your Edinburgh debut show, how does it feel to be taking your first show to Edinburgh?
AC: I’ve been up to the festival before performing in other shows and to watch, but this feels so much more like I’m bringing up and presenting my baby. It’s nerve-racking but so exciting to be bringing a show that’s just me for an hour and that I’ve worked so hard on. I just want to show it off and have people tell me how adorable it is, like I imagine I would, if it was an actual baby. It’s also been really expensive, and I’ve heard that that’s a baby thing too.
KS: How did you get into comedy?
AC: I’ve always been very silly and immature and I’ve always liked making my parents and my sisters laugh. I tried to write jokes into my homework at school all the time and when I got to uni I started doing student radio and joined the comedy society. My first trip to the Edinburgh fringe was with friends from the Warwick comedy society and we did a sketch show for the full run which was hard work, but such a great experience. I started doing stand-up properly a couple of years after that and I realised how much I loved writing and telling jokes.
KS: You are known for your puns and one-liners, do you think this style makes it more challenging to create an hour-long show?
AC: I think in an hour-long show people do want to get to know you a bit and sometimes doing puns and one-liners can keep you a bit more anonymous, which does make it a little difficult to connect with an audience… although it does make my life of crime easier.
I tend to make all of my jokes personal to me, so that I have to be the one delivering them and that people get to know me at the same time. Also, my show combines one-liners and anecdotes and it is a self-contained hour not just a list of every joke I’ve ever written.
KS: Have you got a favourite joke in Sheep and can you share it with us?
AC: I have a lot of favourites and they seem to change after every preview. I have loads of jokes about how competitive I am, more than anyone else I’m sure. So one of my current favourites is: I’m super competitive; it’s like being competitive, but better.
KS: Who are your favourite funny women?
AC: My two absolute favourites are Catherine Bohart and Sarah Keyworth. Their shows this year are both ace.
But it’s so hard to pick just a few, there are so many brilliantly funny women at the moment, we’re on the brink of a takeover and I can’t wait.
Adele Cliff, Sheep is at Just the Tonic at The Caves, Just the Wee One at 16:10, 2nd-26th (not the 13th), for tickets and more information click here!
