EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Bethany Black

BWW speaks to Bethany Black about her 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show (Extra) Ordinary.

Tell us a little about your show

In 2011 I was hitting my thirties and thought I had my life all sorted - the flat, the job, the fiancée. It all fell apart when I got home from a week on the road gigging to find that a few short months before we were supposed to get married, she was leaving to join an all-female improvised anarchist sound-art project called Womb.

I ended up in shared accommodation with other comics - over the next two years a series of disasters occurred and I nearly ended up bankrupt before I accidentally ended up making history and getting an acting career, starring first in Russell T Davies' Cucumber-Banana-Tofu trilogy and then in a guest starring role in Doctor Who. The show is about that time and how I dealt with it all. The fall and rise of Bethany Black.

For anyone who doesn't know - what is Cucumber?

Cucumber is one part of a trilogy by television genius Russell T Davies about two gay men in their forties whose lives fall apart after a marriage proposal is turned down and one walks out, ending up sharing a house with a bunch of younger LGBT people. It was an eight-episode story, and Banana was a series of eight one-off stories about each of the younger characters. I played Helen in Helen's story, a young(ish) transgender woman whose life is turned upside down when ex makes her a victim of revenge porn.

Who would you recommend comes to see (Extra) Ordinary?

Anyone who's up for a really funny story, who doesn't mind a filth bit of home truth, young and old, male, female and non-binary, gay or straight. I've honed my craft over 13 years on the comedy circuit and this is a show for everyone. Except Germaine Greer.

Have you performed at the festival before and do you think you know what to expect?

I have, twice - seven years ago was my last. I was preparing to return last time when my life fell apart, so I know to expect three weeks of watching Australian comics in Scotland for the first time confused by the weather and how to dress, comedians talking to you but not listening, just waiting for their turn to tell you how their show's going, panicking at noon about what reviews will be out at 2pm, panicking at 4pm that not enough people have bought tickets for my show, and spending my "day off" doing loads of short gigs. It'll be great!

What's next for you after the Fringe?

I'm going to go on a holiday and do nothing for a few weeks, then I've got some meetings about some writing projects my partner and I are working on. It's all busy all exciting and all "I'm not allowed to tell you anything"

Timings and ticket information for (Extra) Ordinary are available on the edfringe website.

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