A change of government means comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival are enjoying “a breathtaking new array of characters”.
Matt Forde is no stranger to the demands of political comedy, having voiced the likes of Boris Johnson in Spitting Image and appeared on panels such as the BBC’s Have I Got News For You.
He told Sky News: “Politics is always volatile, there is always something going on and I love the challenge that presents.”
Although he admits the election result meant some hasty rewriting, Forde – who has two exhibitions at the arts festival – says a Labor government to mock seems like a novelty.
“I’ve only really done these shows under a Conservative government, so to have a new government, a new series of characters to take out the bad and satirize, is actually a huge relief because going back to the Conservative right year after year – as much as I be grateful to the conservatives for writing so much of my material – it’s time for us all to move on.”
But is it so pleasant to try to impersonate the new prime minister?
“People think [Sir Keir] Starmer Maybe it’s a little calmer and maybe it’s less fun than playing Boris Johnson, but he still has his own characteristics, you know,” says Forde.
“There’s something very closed about Keir Starmer; the straight back, the chest, the repetition at the end of sentences and the way he sounds.”
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While there are no announced plans for the new Prime Minister to come to the Fringe to hear how he is talking, plenty of politicians are expected to appear.
Alex Salmond, Ruth Davidson, Raquel Reeves, Humza Yousaf It is Liz Truss are all scheduled to appear at various speaking events.
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Truss is also the focus of not one but two Fringe shows ending her short stint in charge, with all-male a cappella group The Techtonics setting the story of 44 Days Of Liz Truss to music.
And Nerine Skinner, the former Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist who went viral for her parodies of the former frontman, will offer comedy fans the chance to laugh at The Exorcism of Liz Truss.
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss. Photo: PA
Nerine Skinner posing as Liz Truss
The comedian character says the key to a good impression of Truss is “the smile” complete with “empty eyes” that at the same time look “really scared.”
Then, she says, it’s a case of physically wandering around the stage looking “confused and not knowing where to go.”
She says her Truss routine was, at first, just a way to entertain her friends.
“Some friends sent me a video of her and said, ‘You have to do a parody,’ so it all started as a joke.”
But the early election forced Skinner to rework some of what she had originally written.
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“I needed to adapt it, put some labor references in there… and figure out what the tone of the show would be, whether it’s almost nostalgic now or whether it’s still fresh enough,” she says. “It will be very interesting to see how the series develops over time.”
Skinner is among several Fringe political comedians who need to rethink how they mark the end of a political chapter that provided them with many jokes.
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Matt Forde: The End Of An Era Tour runs until August 25th at the Pleasance Courtyard, Beyond.
Political Party with Matt Forde takes place on August 13th and 19th at the Gilded Balloon at the Museum.
Nerine Skinner: The Exorcism of Liz Truss runs until August 25th at Just the Tonic at The Caves.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
