Claudia O'Doherty: The Telescope

For any silly people unfamiliar with your comedy, tell us a little about you.    

I'm an Australian comedian with brittle brown hair. 

How about your show The Telescope? What’s it about?

A suicidal monk from the 16th Century.  It's about lots of other things too, but the important thing to know is that I wanted to make a show that was as spectacular as a Walking with Dinosaurs arena spectacular. I also wanted to invent a new genre that was as confronting and upsetting as possible.  It's called 'Difficult Theatre'.  It's a bloody rollercoaster.  

The Telescope by Claudia O'Doherty from Claudia O'Doherty on Vimeo.

How did you become involved with Invisible Dot? Have they nurtured your brand of “confronting, upsetting” theatre?

Emails. We got involved through emails. I told them I wanted to revolve without having to use my legs, so they're having a lazy susan built that can hold my weight. If that's not nurturing, I don't know what is.

You’re a hit at festivals – winning Best Newcomer in Melbourne 2010 – what’s your secret?

Go hell for leather.

What makes a festival audience different (levels of drunkenness not withstanding)?

Everyone seems to be really jazzed about seeing comedy, which is great. Often, people have travelled to Edinburgh specifically to see some new comedy, which creates a pretty heady atmosphere.  

Who are you looking forward to seeing at The Fringe this year?

Bridget Christie, Josie Long, Hannibal Buress, Sheeps, Nick Mohammed, Sara Pascoe and lots more.