Abi Roberts on Russia: Comedy Spotlight
Abi Roberts holds the distinction of being the only UK comic to perform stand-up in Russian, and in Russia. The experience informs her new show Anglichanka arriving at the Voodoo Rooms – she answers our special Russian themed spotlight
Our favourite Russian proverb is, 'I ran from the wolf but ran into a bear.' What's your favourite Russian expression and why?
"Алты́нного во́ра ве́шают, а полти́нного че́ствуют. 'The little thieves are hanged, but the great ones escape'. Seems to perfectly sum up human history."
It isn't unusual for Russian names to have meanings we would find funny. For example, Doctor Zhivago author Boris Pasternak's surname means parsnip! What similarly-styled Russian surname would you most like to adopt for yourself?
"Abi Великая (Abi The Great) – see stuff below about hubris."
The Russian historian Orlando Figes was caught out posting pseudonymous reviews on Amazon which praised his "superb storytelling skills" and dismissed his 'rivals' with apparent wit. How would you overplay your hand while praising your own show – and which comedian do you consider your nemesis and would attempt a to sabotage?
"In some ways, I wish I’d done the Russian show last year, because the queues round the block for my show would be something they’d be very used to in Soviet Russia. See what I did there?
"In the original sense of nemesis, I’m my own nemesis. I constantly check my own hubris and I try to focus on doing good shows rather than focus on what anyone else is doing or thinks. Good acts, brilliant acts inspire me to do better and to be a better comic. You are only as good as your last gig.
"I’d never sabotage another comic. It’s a real no-no. If you play regularly in comedy clubs, it’s not the wisest thing to do. If everyone works together on a bill, every one has a great time and everyone wins. Audience are happy, promoter happy, acts happy, everyone gets paid, JD and coke all round."
You like probing other comedian's music collections, what Russian music would you recommend?
"There is nothing quite like the choirs in Russian Orthodox Churches [see here and here for examples]. It’s such a beautiful ethereal, transcendental experience. There is no instrumental back-up in this. It is purely the voices of the choir. This sort of music was being performed 500 years before William Orbit, the Cocteau Twins and Brian Eno... and Enya.
I love it because the close harmony reminds me of the Welsh Male Voice Choir my Grandad used to sing in. And if you like your hip-hop, try this. It’s a bit of an acquired taste. They also do a mean line in dubstep which, in thirty seconds, can turn from hardcore dubstep to Craig David... if that’s your thang."
Anton Chekhov was quite the comic writer in his early years, and one story, Romance with Double Bass, partly inspired Fawlty Towers. He's now best known for the rather dreary interpretation of his plays, yet he always insisted the protracted family drama The Cherry Orchard was a comedy. Was Chekhov having a laugh?
"Chekhov is funnier than Dostoyevsky, but neither are as funny as Gogol. The Government Inspector is one of the funniest plays ever written."
Da! Agreed. What is your favourite photo of Vladimir Putin?
"This one."
It's said that in 1960, Nikita Khrushchev became so angry at a United Nations General Assembly he banged his shoe on the table. As a visitor to Russia in 1998 and then again this year, are there any changes that get you in a shoe thumping rage?
"Well, definitely annoyed that the former beauty of Red Square has been ruined by a Bentley dealership. When I was gigging out there, one of the first comments I made onstage was 'for communists, you f***ers have really nailed capitalism'.
Russia is not a place that makes you angry – Russian people are warm, passionate, generous and gregarious and they love British comedy. The only shoe-banging annoyances tend to come when you’re filling in your visa – the questions and procedures are endless. What hasn’t changed is that Russians do bureaucracy very well and customer service quite badly, but nothing to warrant banging your stiletto on a table about."
Abi Roberts: Anglichanka, Voodoo Rooms, 6-28 Aug (not 16), 4.15pm, PBH Free Fringe.