BWW catches up with Tom Ward to chat about bringing Anthem to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Tell us a bit about Anthem
Wow, a nice, broad question. You could write an anthem with a nice broad stroke like that 'cos anthems are usually quite broad - "Don't you want me?", "Where is my mind?", "Somebody like you" etc.
Well the show is about identity I guess - class, sexuality, mental health. Anthems provide a few minutes of clarity and emotional sharpness. I'm trying to find clarity but it's hard when nothing remains constant. This is just my latest attempt to pin some flags on the map. I'm letting myself be opinionated, which I didn't used to do.
Why did you want to bring it to Edinburgh?
My agent bullied me into it saying that because I don't have a podcast or any other modern method of reaching out to the man (or woman / them) on the street I must kneel at the altar of the art festival's wizened old slag.
Where might we have seen you before?
At previews mainly in London but also in happier, more emotionally stable places outside of London.
Or you might have seen me on Live at the Apollo which was the best thing that's ever happened. People warned me that it could be tough and said "don't worry, they can make it look good in the edit", but I had the best gig I've ever had which felt like good timing. I was just so relaxed, I don't know why - maybe the scale of it was so great that
it felt like it wasn't happening. Waiting behind that big screen thing to walk on to the stage you've only seen from the other angle was so weird. I didn't treat it too differently from any other gig though, which is why I didn't look like I had a rod up my arse (like I did on 'Live from the comedy store' and 'Roast Battle')
Who would you like to come and see it?
People who enjoy sitting down and laughing.
Having performed at the festival before, do you think you know what to expect from the Fringe?
Yes, 6 times. I expect an assortment of extreme emotions that I hope to navigate better than previously (see meltdowns in 2018, '17, '16, '15, '14 and '13). The key I'm told is not taking it personally for good or for bad. But when it's good I take it very personally so I'd miss that feeling.
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Photo credit: Matt Crockett
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