Climate comedian and veteran podcaster Stuart Goldsmith (Live At The Apollo) brings his second sustainability stand-up show to the Edinburgh Fringe before embarking on a UK tour in September.
Fresh from performing at Netflix Is A Joke for Adam McKay (director of Don’t Look Up), Stuart confronts his climate dread head-on in Canary, a show about how to turn fear into something useful.
Climate comedy could easily be preachy, or nihilistic, or a TEDtalk with jokes in it. Canary is none of those things. Stuart Goldsmith’s second hour of climate comedy is an “expert stand-up” (Sunday Times) discovering his purpose: making an often difficult and frightening topic genuinely funny and accessible to everyone.
While doing doughnuts in his secondhand EV, drinking from a reusable bottle on an aeroplane, or taking a long-haul flight to tell jokes at a climate conference, Stuart interrogates whether individual lifestyle changes add up to a solution, or simply play into the hands of the fossil fuel companies.
What happened to the canary in the coal mine after it stopped singing?
Will Stuart’s penchant for panic keep him and his children safe?
And is being “the climate comedian who’s been all round the world” a contradiction he can survive?
Stuart Goldsmith's internationally renowned Comedian’s Comedian podcast celebrated its 500th episode this year and has over 30 million downloads to date. As host, he’s interviewed many of the comedy world’s household names, including Jimmy Carr, James Acaster, Bo Burnham, Sarah Millican, Ronny Chieng and Bill Burr.
He has appeared on BBC Radio, BBC News, Radio Times, News UK and the Netflix Is A Joke festival, and his TV credits include Live at the Apollo and Conan.
Stuart Goldsmith, ‘Canary', 14:25, 17th - 30th August, Monkey Barrel, Cabaret Voltaire. Tickets here
Tour dates here.
What irritates you?
What is the most dangerous thing you have ever done?
What is the most stupid thing you have ever done?
What has surprised you the most during your career in comedy?
What do your children think of your job?
My kids have recused themselves from appearing in my set and so I'll have to assume that includes this interview (but between you and me I think they're secretly proud).
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
Every aspect of the job is "Valley Of The People Whose Names I Should Definitely Know But Can't Remember".
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into a third category?
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Darren Woods, the CEO of Exxon. It takes real guts to blame a generation of people for using a product that you knew would destroy the world, but from whom you deliberately concealed that information.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
AND NOW THE OPTIONAL BONUS BALL QUESTION...I've asked you 13 questions, now you get to choose a question you can ask about yourself and then answer. It could be "Why do you do comedy?" it could be "Do you have any pension advice?" Or it can be anything in between. Seriously. Anything at all. I look forward to all of your answers.
Is the world screwed because of the climate crisis?
