EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Abi Roberts

BWW speaks to comedian Abi Roberts about her 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show Anglichanka.

Tell us a bit about your show

ANGLICHANKA (which means "Englishwoman" in Russian) is a comedy show about living in the former Soviet Union, studying opera in Moscow in the 1990s and returning to Russia this year to become the first UK comic to perform in Russia in Russian. I talk about hardcore vodka, living in minus 20 degree temperatures, my "adventures" with a Soviet soldier Dimitri, Putin and Gay Rights and the perils of eating borsch on an Aeroflot flight after seeing an engineer banging the wing with a lump hammer.

In the show, I ask important questions: did I play a part in the break-up of the Soviet Union? Did I get to sing opera for Gorbachev in the Kremlin? Did I see a Russian bear shit in the woods? Will Moscow ever have a Gay Pride march? Come and find out what Russians think of us and our strange habits, what we think of theirs, and discover what we need to know about the country described as "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, freezing its bollocks-ov".

Not many people can even say they have been to the USSR, let alone lived and studied there. I also had to leave.. erm...quite quickly and that's the nub of the story. All is explained in the show. If you want hilarious, unique and poignant, with a HUGE finale, a show with an unbelievable story and universal humour, a show that really is a SHOW, come and see ANGLICHANKA.

What was the inspiration for the show?

Russia. I love the place and the people, but I'm not enamoured by what's going on there. I'd lived in Moscow in the Nineties and saw a lot of massive change, and I got asked to go to Moscow to do three nights, so I went back after all those years to see what's changed. When I went back, it was like, "Boy, for ex-communists, you fuckers do capitalism REALLY well". There was a Bentley dealership on Red Square. ANGLICHANKA is the story of why I was in Moscow, learning opera with Bolshoi primadonna Bella Rudenkova and why I went back in February and how I got heckled by a man with a huge bulge in his pocket...and not in a good way.

You were the first UK comic to perform in Russia - how did that come about?

There was a Russian promoter from the main Comedy Club in Moscow who saw my Edinburgh show at the Voodoo Rooms last year. He came up to me after the show and asked if I'd do three nights in Moscow. The rest, as they say, is history. And I did. I was amazed - it's a very new thing in Russia, like an underground thing. They love stand-up out there. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they worship UK stand-ups above even the Americans. They love our culture. Even though most Russians speak very good English and tend to know more about British art, literature and science then we do, it REALLY helps if you can speak the language.

But the two languages are so different, with two different grammar and syntax systems - it's like rubbing your belly and tapping your head at the same time. I did it in a mix of Russian and English, and one night almost all in Russian. Some of it, whilst having to do a faux Ukrainian accent for the purposes getting a heckler to shut the f**k up.

Who would you recommend comes to see Anglichanka?

It's a stand-up comedy show, with a tiny bit of music, so comedy fans, natch. Anyone who has an interest in Russia, Putin, Musical Theatre, Opera, soul music and Boney M. Anyone who likes to laugh at a comedy show. It's already been described as "a unique brand of comedy total original, a weird and whacky fusion of energy, language, comedy and song". Anyone who has seen my last two Edinburgh shows.

What's next for you after the festival?

I toured my last show, so I'll probably be touring this one, especially into next year as it's, of course, the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. We're also taking this show back to Moscow, St Petersburg and a couple of other places next year, in both Russian and English. I've just finished filming of One Under by the wonderful Ruth Pickett and I've got as couple of other TV filmy things coming up too in the autumn, plus my usual club gigs. Hopefully, we will also be doing FRANKLY ON GAYLE TUESDAY live shows (the character act with me and Brenda Gilhooly) again next year at some point.

ANGLICHANKA is on at the Voodoo Rooms in West Register St (venue 68) 6-28th August at 4.15pm

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