The Dramaturgy of Belinda Carlisle: Glenn Moore @ Edfringe 2017

Glenn Moore’s new stand up show ‘The Very Best of Belinda Carlisle’ will be at the Just The Tonic @ The Tron for the month of August for tickets go to www.edfringe.com

What was the inspiration for this performance?

I had the idea in my head for ages about solving a murder mystery on stage. I also wanted to keep it in the realm of stand-up comedy though, so gradually the show changed, and then became about me relating the story of solving a missing person mystery. It then also became about relationships with family members, romantic relationships, and careers.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

It is, because it lets you see someone’s taken on an idea in a way hopefully nobody else is doing. I don’t think it can solve any major problems, but it’s such a major part of culture that it would be awful if it stopped being relevant.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I was involved in some very, very pretentious theatre productions whilst at university, and whilst I enjoyed it, I wanted to be involved in a performance where the audience were smiling. Now, 5 years on, they’re still not but at least I’m trying.

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

I have two notepads: one with structure ideas for the show, and what it’s going to be about, then another notepad which has about 900-1000 jokes in that could sort of go anywhere in a show. After I write each part of the structure, I read through the other notepad and pick out any jokes that could be adapted to work in that section.

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

My first stand up show was last year, and was essentially every joke I’d written up until that point, and put into the structure of one long story. This time around, to make the show flow as well as possible, I chose the story first, and have written all of the jokes around it.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I sincerely hope the audience experience emotions that subsequently lead to laughter, and/or grins. I’m not necessarily trying to make the audience ‘think’, but I want to be giving them jokes that they remember afterwards, and suddenly pop back into their head days later.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I tried out bits of the show - sometimes just a minute at a time amongst older material - at stand-up gigs from around the beginning of October. At the time of writing this (June), I still am, and will be refining it word by word until the night before I travel to Edinburgh.