Words By Susan Ford
Des O’Gorman moved to Edinburgh five years ago and since, has seen a career in comedy and acting come together. Boasting credentials as both an actor and a stand-up comedian, 2013 marks Des O’Gorman’s second year performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Last night I braved the horrific thunder and lightning to catch up with the lovely Des for an interview, to discuss the play he is acting in during the Fringe, and also the comedy projects that make him an excellent local stand up.
SF: Hello Des O’Gorman, how are you?
DO: I’m good. Thanks. Can I just say to all the readers that they are looking amazing today!
SF: Will you be performing in this year’s Fringe Festival?
DO: Yes, I will be performing as part of a play. The play is called ‘Globophobia’ and is an Urban Fox Production. It is basically about different kinds of phobias and how the characters deal with them. I play the character of Michael, and he has a personality scarily similar to my own! I’ll not give too much away though, come down and watch it and you’ll enjoy it.
SF: Is this your first time at the Fringe?
DO: I performed last year as well in a kid’s musical version of Peter Pan. I played the part of Smee, so this is my second time in the Fringe.
SF: How did you decide you wanted to get in to acting?
DO: I moved to Edinburgh five years ago to study drama and acting. I’ve always been a bit of a geek and loved movies so acting was always something I wanted to do. I never intended on getting in to comedy, but it’s great. I’m a big fan of Sam Raimi, Joss Whedon and Edgar Wright and their films which have been a huge influence. I’m also inspired by actors David Tennant, Bruce Campbell, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Chris O’Dowd.
SF: What comedy projects are you involved in at the moment?
DO: I am part of the Geek Comedy night at the moment that is taking place in the Old Hairdressers in Glasgow. The other comedians involved are Billy Kirkwood, Neil ‘The Wee Man’ Bratchpiece, Eleanor Morton, Ewan Denny and Joe Hullait. At the moment the show is in Glasgow, but hopefully one day it will expand over to Edinburgh and maybe even further. The clue to the content is in the name of the show; we are all geeks in real life, even if you think you are not, you are! The show involves a bit of stand up and lots of sketches about topics that we are ‘geeky’ about. The Geek Comedy Night was part of the Glasgow Comedy Festival and it went down pretty well, so we are looking to make it even bigger and better in the future.
SF: When you are not performing yourself, what Fringe shows do you recommend this year?
DO: Billy Kirkwood is doing a one-off wrestling show; I love everything Billy Kirkwood does! There is also a stage adaptation of the Shawshank Redemption with Omid Djalili; that is one of my favourite films so the stage adaptation should be really interesting. I’d also recommend Matthew Ellis’s ‘Britain’s got F**k All Talent’ at the Beehive, and a show called ‘Shit Faced Shakespeare’. It’s a serious Shakespeare play, but the actor is genuinely shit-faced drunk, it’s absolutely brilliant.
Catch Des O’Gorman in ‘Globophobia’ throughout the Fringe at Sweet Grassmarket, https://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/globophobia
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