Nina Conti's New VENTRILOQUIST'S STORY - HER MASTER'S VOICE and MAKE ME HAPPY: A MONKEY'S SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS Slated for BBC4

Since Nina's last live performances in early 2011, she has been busy film-making, the fruits of which can soon be seen on BBC4. A Ventriloquist's Story - Her Master's Voice (winner of the audience award at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas) and Make Me Happy: A Monkey's Search for Happiness will be broadcast in June (tbc).

When theatrical anarchist/ comedic philosopher/ ventriloquist/ eccentric genius/ mentor Ken Campbell died in 2008, the entirety of his estate was left to Daisy his daughter except for one small corner – he left his ventriloquist dummies to Nina, Britain's foremost ventriloquist. On the verge of abandoning her career and struck by the death of her mentor and sometime lover, Nina decided to embark on a road trip with Ken's dummies to Venthaven, Kentucky, the resting place for puppets of dead ventriloquists and host to an annual international ventriloquist convention. A Ventriloquist's Story - Her Master's Voice follows this pilgrimage - personal, historical, hilarious and moving.

Produced, directed and self-funded by Nina, the film sees her venture across the pond to meet her 'family', accompanied by her own acerbic partner Monkey, Ken's own puppet of himself, and his others: horror movie style Jack; loyal and woebegone Dog; passive-aggressive martyr Owl; and the insightful, Scottish pensioner Gran. We travel with this posse and their impossible peculiar demands in the real world.

Hot on the heels of A Ventriloquist's Story - Her Master's Voice comes Make Me Happy: A Monkey's Search for Happiness in which Nina Conti (and monkey) delve into the world of new age and alternative therapies in the quest for self-knowledge, enlightenment and happiness.

Nina, mostly happy, gauche and open, is unraveling a little. Life is flying by and she is fearful of what she is becoming: a flakey stressed-out mum. She wants to feel less angst, more grounded and happy. Monkey is skeptical and the voice of her self doubt and to him it's all rubbish, the so-called therapists are nothing but charlatans trying to make money.

In this programme, both comical and bizarre in equal measure, Nina's subjected to therapies ranging from naked yoga, laughter therapy to shamanic ritual, before heading off for an unsettling 3 day retreat in the wilds of Scotland to undergo primal screaming and rebirth.

But will it make her happy?

Conti will also present her new show Dolly Mixtures at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Pleasance Dome, 1st - 27th August.

To post a comment, you must register and login.