Comedy comes first: Ellie Taylor on her debut tour
Ellie Taylor's debut show Elliementary arrives for one night at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival as part of her tour. She speaks to us about the importance of crafting that first hour of comedy and having a uniquely supportive mother
There will be many stand-ups whose parents question their offspring's career choice, but this can't be said of Ellie Taylor's mum. When her daughter secured a place on TV's Show Me The Funny back in 2011, Mrs Taylor reported the 'event' to her local newspaper. The scoop was duly reported, albeit through a local perspective -- the paper went with the 'proud mum' angle rather than the 'stand-up success' one.
To some, Ellie Taylor's success in the short-lived comedy competition looks as if it opened-up TV opportunities more than it advanced her comedy career. Perhaps this is even to the extent that people forget it's comedy she's been crafting these last few years: "People can be a bit begrudging," she says, "if they feel I've been parachuted into comedy on the back of TV."
She respects acquiring the presenter role on Snog Marry Avoid? gave her a publicity boost at the Edinburgh Fringe: "Of course, it's helpful to trade off TV credits when they're so many shows in Edinburgh."
However, in conversation with Taylor it's clear all this TV talk is a bit incidental to her main focus. Taylor's gigged solidly and increased the length of her material in gradual increments for some time. Over the last few summers in Edinburgh she has progressed from spots on mixed-bill nights to a half-hour solo show in 2013. Last year she debuted her first full hour Elliementary in The Counting House.
"Stand-up is everything to me," she says. Parachuted in she isn't. Indeed, Taylor has a few 'worst gig' stories but takes them all in her long-stride. "I've bombed many, many times," she says. "There was a particular gig in London... It was as if the whole room had made a collective decision not to listen. I felt like I was in a school dinner hall shouting over the top of everyone."
Describing Elliementary, it's the audience Taylor has first in mind. She expresses her wish was to write a show that people leave feeling "uplifted." She mines material from her former job as a model, and the unglamorous reality of the work makes her experiences relatable to those of us who don't have the fashion industry knocking at our door. There's also the modern-day twenty-to-thirtysomething problems of long distance relationships and returning to the parental nest. However, there's enough barb on body image and equality in Elliementary to show Taylor could take her stand-up in a different direction should she wish.
In Glasgow for just one show and then a quick slot at The Stand, Taylor is rushing back home as soon as she's off comedy duty. The reason? For her proud mum.
"I have to get back for mother's day."