2017 Funny Women Awards Regional Finalist Maddie Campion is taking her first solo show to Edinburgh Fringe. Although Maddie isn’t technically solo, she’s taking LD, a lovedoll with her for her show 20 Uses for a Lovedoll. Funny Women editor Kate Stone talked to Maddie about her show, going it alone in Edinburgh and why her lovedoll isn’t a real doll…
Kate Stone: Tell us about your show 20 Uses for a Lovedoll
Maddie Campion: I’m desperate to be in a double-act; I meet LD, a lovedoll who is tired of being seen as a sex object, so we join forces and create a sketch show 20 Uses for a Lovedoll… but not everything goes to plan. It’s multimedia/puppetry, with skits, and a tiny bit of stand up, and a lot of pop-culture references. I was aiming for something silly but I think it might ebb on the surreal.
KS: We know you as a stand-up, what has inspired you to move into puppetry/double act territory?
MC: I just want to experiment as a performer and writer! It’s not a permanent move and I work through a lot of thoughts and feelings in the show, so you’ll have to come watch to find out more!
KS: How did you come by LD (as it were)?
MC: The show came about when my dear friend Jill showed me the Real Doll website and we had a long chat about alternative uses for a doll. I was unable to afford a Real Doll and after going to some very peculiar and dark corners of the internet came across the sex doll section on Amazon. After much deliberation and seeking advice from bewildered friends and family members, I settled on the doll which had feet.
KS: This is your first solo show at Edinburgh, how does it feel to be going it alone?
MC: It is daunting, but I’m doing a small silly show at the largest arts festival in the world. Realistically, my dreams won’t come true – but neither will my worst fears. I’m also part of Soho Theatre’s Edinburgh Lab 2018 which means I’m amongst a lovely dozen of comics, writers, and performers who are in a similar boat and ready to support each other. Also, I have LD.
KS: How did you get into comedy?
MC: It was a long-desired secret ambition to do stand-up, which was probably a culmination of a childhood spent watching a lot of The Simpsons, Kenan and Kel, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and wanting attention. Actually booking a gig was the result of being bored and frustrated in London, doing improv and attending a couple of new-act stand-up nights and thinking “maybe I could do that.”
KS: Who are your favourite funny women?
MC: I’m obsessed with Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, the Broad City girls… I watched GameFace in one sitting this weekend and now want to write weird fan mail to Roisin Conaty. Sally Phillips is a national treasure. I remember being on a bill with Desiree Burch at one of my very first gigs, when she’d just arrived in London and she utterly destroyed; I look forward to seeing her take over the world. I could literally list every female act there is because they’re all the effing best
Maddie Campion: 20 Uses for a Lovedoll is at Just the Tonic at the Caves, Just the Spare Room at 18:15, 2nd – 26th (not the 13th) August. For tickets click here!
