Originally planned as an Edinburgh show, You Build the Thing You Think You Are is now a film – and a different proposition to live-streamed lockdown comedyJoz Norris’s new experiment starts with a provocation. “To me,” says the comic, “a live-stream show can only ever feel like a rough approximation of what live comedy used to feel like. To me, there’s no room for Zoom.” Live-streamed comedy was quick into the breach when IRL gigs were cancelled – and we’re all invested in trying to make it as successful as possible. But: are they an adequate substitute for the experience they’ve replaced? To Norris, live-streaming “sacrifices a lot of the things I love about live comedy in favour of preserving interactivity”. You get something approximating to the live experience. But do you get much else?Norris’s response is to turn to film-making. Before the festival was cancelled, he had a show ready for Edinburgh 2020, about his recent experience of moving house – and losing himself, he felt, while doing so. The show, so specific to this moment in his life, couldn’t wait until 2021. He didn’t want to can it altogether – but neither did live-streaming appeal. So Norris has turned You Build the Thing You Think You Are into a 50-minute film. It now has a seven-day run online, with each screening followed by a live Q&A. Continue reading…
Via: Joz Norris captures spirit of fringe comedy in crafty new film
Categories: English News