ComedyClub  Interviews with comedians Eidin Griffin
Interviews, comedy, comedians, standup comedy, humour, humor, South Africa, stand-up comedians, Eidin Griffin
What's the first funny thing you remember saying?
I don't remember what I said but there were crowds of people looking down
and pointing, laughing, laughing, laughing......okay screaming too. They
took me from the space craft then and had me adopted by a human family.
What drove you to choose comedy, when you could have been a mechanic or a doctor or something decent like that?
My career guidance officer mentioned either nursing or secretarial work -
I gagged and told her that i wanted to be a ballerina. She then said ' but
dear, you need grace for that' , I said 'sure, bring me the bitch and
we'll get on with it'
What's your favourite fashion accessory?
My big pink furry coat, except on cold Dublin weekday mornings staggering
home hung-over then it looks really sleazy and dodgy.
How has the way you look affected your identity as a comic?
I am of the female persuasion so thats a bit different... hmm The House Boys had bets on that I was a lesbian because of my clothes...i guess i just wasn't flashing anatomical bits of me around at Hurricanes - there is plenty of that going on there anyway why run with the pack? (Gad, she's a bitch!) - but I am not of the furry cup persuasion. I guess i look quite smartarse geeky middle class white convent girl which is probably the comic stance i feel most comfortable with right now.
Are there things you wouldn't say on stage? Eg, any words you'd never use or subjects you'd never tackle?
I'd have trouble doing politics, nasty dirty subject... in some ways i'd love to be throwing out searing lines about relevant and poignant newsworthy stories but until then, bollocks it will have to be.
Who is your major influence? And your major South African influence?
I have to say that i like Jenna Elfman and if i WAS a lesbian... yes! she would be my Russell Crowe ... French and Saunders, Victoria Wood and Ruby Wax is superb especially on interviews and impromptu stuff. There was also an inspiring female stand-up on 'Whose Line is it anyway?' for a long time, i'm gutted that I can't remember her name. South African influence - definitely Cokey Falkow (oh, he of the beak) and Colin Moss (man-babe) - they have me at knife-point and are holding me hostage, and beside Colin's Mum will perhaps bake me a cake if she reads this. Joe Parker and Magic Man have been the most helpful with kindly criticism and support - thanks Gents!
Is there any figure from your past that you'd like to see in your audience? What would you do to them or for them?
Yes. A girl that i hung out aimlessly with for years when i was in that nasty pubescent stage..all bumps and hair growing all over - it was horrendous, she took it upon herself to inform me that if i didn't get a bra immediately that my boobs (boobs. ha! veritable mole hills) would drop to my ankles and i would have to carry them around over my shoulders for years. This gave rise to vivid recurring nightmares. I would tell her that she was mean and made me feel shit.
What's lacking from South African comedy, or audiences, that it remains such a small scene?
I think its not so bad and it seems to be growing - its only in the States where it's huge.
Do you think all South Africans can all laugh at the same joke at the same time. What kind of joke would it be?
Oohh dunno...next question please
Would you sell your material?
Hope... i am hardly prolific as it is, Barry Hilton laughed at me and told me that he had an hour and a half of material when he started out, i choked and blushed and got my coat.
Which internationally renowned comic would you most like to work with? What would you do to him/her?
Pauline McLynn (Mrs. Doyle from Father Ted) what would i do to her? Probably depress her.
What's the most embarrassing death you've ever seen another comic die on stage? (names not necessary) Describe the incident, and how you felt.
It was at a tiny Dublin pub and this english f**ker was heckling me, ' Oi Dahling', ' come sit on me face' etc. etc. After a while with me retorting and him going on and on the audience was getting well pissed off with him. It turns out that this idiot is on stage next! So he gets up and I settle down on my seat completely amazed and he just dies in a matter of swift and brutal moments, nobody laughs, someone coughs... he skulked out sulking, i think he thought it would be like a workings man club - all blue jokes and tits'n arse. Wow- did that backfire on him.
Where would you like to live when you retire - if ever?
Hhmmm...Rustlers Valley in the Free state of course - i guess you could say that i'm semi-retired already.
How funny do you Really think you are?
To be perfectly honest, not at all... sometimes i'm inspired, other times i am a glum and cheerless creature.
Will you matter 50 years after you're dead? Will it matter to you?
I'll have planted lots of trees and have some great grandchildren who will remember me with fondness because i was the legendary old ancestor with a sharp tongue, a shotgun under her voluminous skirts,a huge capacity for the drink (which I have yet to cultivate) and a taste for young men.
What's the interview question you'd most like to be asked, and what is the answer?
Q: When is the launch of your latest movie Ms Griffin? would you mind signing my autograph. Gosh, you are wonderful.
A: Why thank you Mr Leno.
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