BWW catches up with Ali Woods to chat about bringing Best Friend Ever to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Tell us a bit about your show Best Friend Ever
It's a hilarious stand-up comedy show based on my friendships with other lads in my life,and especially my housemate Dan.
I was originally going to take it up to the Fringe in 2020, but it got pushed back for somereason, so I've been working on it for years and I'm proud of the show.
Come along if you're looking for a laugh, and especially if you feel like you're not good at those conversations that are a little bit deep and a little bit emotional. It's something I and a lot of my friends have struggled with, and I'll be unpacking that in a silly way.
This will be my debut solo show at the Fringe; it's a bit nerve-racking but I'm really excited.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
Why bring it to Edinburgh?
It's always been a dream of mine to have my own show at the Fringe!
I'm half Scottish, and when I was a kid we would visit my Grandpa in Airdrie then all go to the Edinburgh Fringe together. So to now be one of the performers is a pinch myself moment.
Best Friend Ever has a place at the Fringe I think, because the show is addressing something a lot of us will go through: having someone close to you struggling in life. It's awful. And I hope this show makes people feel they're not alone, and ultimately positive about life and what they can do to help.
What did you do to occupy yourself during lockdown?
Started making videos!
Me and my housemate Dan were having a rubbish time, and I was really missing gigging, so we started making comedy sketches and posting them online. We hoped people would enjoy them, but honestly it was really just to cheer ourselves up.
I couldn't have predicted how they would affect my career though, some of them really blew up online! I've even had the pleasure of meeting people who started following me in lockdown, and they said it helped them get through the days. That felt pretty special.
If there's one thing I learnt from that experience, don't be afraid of judgment from friends, family, peers or anyone, if you're thinking of posting videos online. That's what held me back for years, and getting over that was definitely a huge positive from a tough situation. Believe in yourself!
If you want to check me out on socials it's @aliwoodsgigs
Tell us a bit about your podcast All I Do Is Fail
It's a super fun and light-hearted look at failure and trending news that I co-host with my friend and fellow comedian Tom Elwes! We have regular sections Agony Uncle, where we try to solve listener problems, and FailMail, where we have listeners message in their fails
related to a certain topic.
I love recording it and it's been such a pleasure to meet listeners! We hosted a live show recently and had fans come from the Netherlands just for one night to watch. Unbelievable stuff.
There's a new episode every week so give it a listen if you fancy having something silly on while you're going about your day.
Who would you like to come and see your show?
Sir Alex Ferguson. I would just like to meet him.
But if he's busy, then I believe this show is genuinely for anyone over the age of fourteen who likes English-speaking stand-up.
I would especially love to see lads like me who have avoided difficult conversations with their friends. This one's for you emotionally-stunted geezers!
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