MEET THE COMIC RELIEF
Laughter seems more important than ever in dark times, as it triggers happy hormones and brings a sense of release. We celebrate three funny women who have been lifting our spirits
For these women, laughter is the best medicine
Nina Conti reveals how she has overcome childhood shyness to find her own voice as an award-winning ventriloquist.
‘When something makes me laugh, I treasure it’
Becoming a ventriloquist unleashed my voice. I was a shy child who grew up in a house of large characters. My father [Tom Conti] was a successful actor and my mother was flamboyant and threw parties. I grew up wondering how I could possibly fit into this world of famous actors and playwrights. It was very daunting.
Unable to figure out my place in the acting world, I decided to study philosophy at university. I did a pupillage at a law firm shortly after, but was put off by the long hours and reading. Also, seeing people go to prison was very distressing. I wasn’t cut out for it. I went back to acting and I was inspired by performer Ken Campbell after seeing him in a one-man show at the National Theatre. He was an eccentric genius and I was desperate to work with him. My friend told me about a 24-hour play he was doing and that anyone could get a part in if they just turned up, so I did and ended up working with him for four years.
Afterwards, I joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, but I only had small parts and struggled with the voice work. It was Ken who suggested I try ventriloquism. At first, I wasn’t keen, as I thought it was creepy. He sent me a ‘teach yourself ventriloquism’ kit and inside were 30 booklets and a horrible puppet that looked like Chucky from the horror films.
I practised a couple of hours every day and filmed myself. When I watched myself back, it gave me goose bumps, because it really looked like there were two people in the room. I had a sweet-looking monkey hand puppet, so
I removed the stuffing and took the squeezer out of his head. As soon as I made him talk, I thought, ‘This is my guy!’ And that’s how Monkey came to be. I based his character on my maternal grandfather: direct, witty and with a Scottish accent.
Somehow, I found the confidence to enter myself in an open mic competition. I was terrified and I could tell the audience thought that I was crazy when I pulled Monkey out of my handbag.
But they soon started laughing and I ended up winning. Then, in 2002,
I won the BBC New Comedy Award.
It was completely unexpected, but I was overjoyed, and since then, I have performed all over the world.
My father finds it amazing that I never have a script. I don’t plan any of my acts, so I still get nervous before heading on stage. But I find doing my hair and make-up before the show and having some dark chocolate really helps. I have two sons, Arthur, 16, and Drummond, 10, who I coparent with my ex-partner Stan Stanley. They enjoy my shows, but at home it’s much harder to make them laugh. Recently, I’ve been playing lots of video games with them, such as Fortnite – I’m rubbish, though, which they find very amusing.
When something makes me laugh now, I treasure it, because it’s been so hard to do during the pandemic. My partner, Shenoah Allen, who’s also a comedian, makes me laugh more than anyone. We started a podcast together called Richard & Greta,
It will be amazing to see the theatres full again with happy people
in which we play a couple giving relationship advice; it’s quite hippy and ridiculous, but great fun. I did a gig over Zoom during one of the lockdowns and it was wonderful scrolling through the screen and seeing families on their sofas.
These platforms and social media have really helped to keep comedy alive throughout the pandemic and allowed comedians to develop a deeper connection with their audiences because there’s less production in the way.
My new tour, The Dating Show, will start at the end of October.
I’ll be trying to create love matches from the audience while they wear ventriloquist masks, a bit like
Blind Date. It will be amazing to see the theatres full again with happy people.
Laughter is vital; it powers us on.
Nina Conti is on tour in The Dating Show from 31 October 2021. For tour details, visit ninaconti.net