Putting some questions to the producer of London's SketchFest comedy event Adam Dahrouge, we took the chance to find out just what to expect this year round and how the festival came about in the first place.
Why did you decide to produce London SketchFest?
Love. Frustration. Rebellion. Righteous indignation! Quite simply we were shocked nobody had attempted to do a festival of sketch comedy before and if nobody else was going to do it, we would. There’s such a wealth of great acts out there and somebody had to put them all together.
This year the event's a four day one after huge success in 2013, how does it feel to be a part of something so loved?
It’s truly exciting but scary at the same time. We know we’re onto something good and it’s amazing to be pulling the sketch comedy community together and vying for our own voice but it’s a huge responsibility also. We have to do things right, I mean just yesterday we had a 20 minute debate on the ethos and philosophy of stage wings and how they work best for sketch comedians.
For those who haven't yet experienced SketchFest, how best would you describe it?
So often we rely on quotes for this, because they’re just that good. But this time I’ll have a go. SketchFest is like the comedy festival you wish you had, it's so peculiar and imaginative and in a funny way, it's feisty and playful and full of costumes. We’re lots of comedians having lots of fun pushing the boat out as far as we can and we’re out to win hearts. We’re a comedy festival that’s alive!
How much work goes into getting something like this off the ground?
We are lucky to still have our partners with us, I can tell you that. It takes about a year to put together, almost half of which we spend scouting, meeting and talking to acts. We’re using the festival to try and develop sketch comedy, so it’s our job to curate the best talent each year, to show everyone just how good British sketch comedy is.
What should those coming to this year's event expect?
Bigger, Bolder, Brighter is this year’s motto. We’re twice as big; we’ve got a line-up full of the brave, the bold and the beautiful; and we went mad with lighting sponsorship from White Light. Expect weird, wonderful and whimsical tales that you never expected. Expect to be whirled away into hilarious worlds. This is SketchFest 2.0, expect to buy a ticket.
What makes SketchFest so different to other comedy events out there?
It’s full of character, both on stage and off stage. A lot of comedy can be pushed to its lowest common denominator to sell to massive audiences but SketchFest is all about discovering that unique, characterful side to comedy and playing to it. That’s probably why we have a different theme each year. Just like the acts we’re imaginative, full of ideas and want to have fun.
Has comedy always been a passion of yours?
Yes, definitely. We’ve even developed our own methodology for using comedy in conflict. We came together because of comedy, in our own sketch group Conflict Relief. So we’ve seen its powers.
Who are some of your favourite comics?
Victoria Wood, Rik Mayall, Mitchell & Webb, Cardinal Burns, Mr. Bean. How far can we go with this?
Do you have any other projects underway you can share some details about?
There’s lots going on in the pipeline and you can expect to see some really exciting and fun things from us in the future - many of which we can’t talk about yet. We’re really big on redefining the sketch comedy format, looking at new and modern ways of playing with it, so you’ll often find us in a development room somewhere.
We’re also working on going international with our sister festivals in the US and Canada doing a swap scheme and we really want to go on tour, taking London SketchFest up and down the country. A lot of bookings come from outside of London (including one in Japan) so we want to save them the travel and go to them (and go to Japan if we can one day).
London SketchFest takes place at Backyard Comedy in Bethnal Green from Thursday May 1 to Sunday May 4. More information is available now at www.londonsketchfest.com.