Q&A: EDINBURGH 2024: Eddy Hare on THIS ONE'S ONE ME

BWW caught up with Eddy Hare about bringing This One’s On Me to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

How did you first get involved in the world of comedy?

It was my first term at uni and I was sadder than I'd ever been, so I auditioned for a sketch show. That's how I met my friend and colleague from Crizards, Will Rowland. We didn't start doing Crizards ‘til about 5 years later, though. Then I started stand-up a couple of years after that.

Can you tell us a bit about your show, This One’s On Me?

 It's a stand-up about a few different things that hopefully come together to make sense. The things are ageing (specifically hair loss), becoming an uncle and taking it very seriously and a bit about depression too but not enough to kill the vibe. The tone is silly and fun but the meaning and emotion behind all the bits is true. There are two songs in it as well!

What was the creative process like for This One’s On Me?

It's been fun. I've been working with Ben Target as a director and he's been really helpful. We started off looking at the 45-minute work-in-progress show I did last year and then stripped it back to the material I most enjoy doing and seemed like it had the most potential as the seed of a show - we decided a 10-minute set I had about being an uncle seemed best for that. Then we took that apart and I wrote a new show around that, using the uncle material as a foundation. I'm sorry if that sounds pretentious but it's the honest truth! Besides that, it was just doing loads of work-in-progress shows from January to July and constantly rewriting it to hopefully end up with the best version of the show we could.

What is it like to be debuting a solo show versus performing as a member of Crizards?

In some ways, it's easier doing a solo show because with stand-up, you can make a decision about the show on the day and make the changes for that night. It's harder to do that with a narrative double-act show with tech and props, etc. - edits are a bit more labour-intensive because they just take longer to work out and learn. I'm probably a bit more nervous debuting solo this year than when we debuted with Crizards though, just because when there's two of you you have a feeling of shared responsibility for how each show goes, so the pressure you feel is shared too. We both like being able to do both, but I don't think we'd ever do proper solo and Crizards shows in the same year.

What is it like bringing This One’s On Me to the Edinburgh Fringe?

I'm excited about doing the show now - still a bit nervous, but less than I thought I'd be. I've done so many work-in-progress shows now so I feel confident enough that it's not going to be too horrible doing the show every day. The fact I'm not a wreck is also definitely down to having Ben and Georgia House (my producer) helping to set me straight. I think one of the most common fears when you're making a show for Edinburgh is that by the time you get to the Fringe, you realise you don't actually enjoy doing your show that much anymore. I've been enjoying doing mine recently so I'm excited to be able to do it with a regular slot instead of traveling to sporadic WIPs all over the place (those trips are still fun but consistent conditions are a wonderful thing in my opinion).

What is it about confessional standup that you think is so appealing to audiences?

 As an audience member and stand-up fan myself, I think it's quite rare that a comedian can pull off revealing nothing of themselves to the audience and still make the audience feel enthusiastic or invested in what they're doing. There are no hard rules but, in general, I think audiences prefer getting some sense of a comedian's personality and confessional style stand-up is probably the clearest way of doing that (I think).

What do you hope audiences take away from This One’s On Me?

I just hope they have fun for an hour and that when they leave, they realise they haven't really thought about anything else for that time. But once they've left the room, they're free to take what they want from it. I'm getting badges made, so hopefully, they take badges away from it. I'd like them to have some sense of what I'm like as a person as well, which I think is silly but also sometimes serious. I'm a complicated guy and I have at least two modes (silly and serious). Really, I just want them to come away and think, “I'm glad I saw that.”

 How would you describe This One’s On Me in one word?

 Nieces.

Eddy Hare: This One’s On Me runs from 31 July to 25 August (no performance on 12 August) at Pleasance Courtyard Cellar at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

 

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