Rising star Nat Luurtsema has been a welcome addition to the comedy circuit since she made her first appearance at the Funny Women competition in 2007. She talks to Emma McAlpine about her lightening bolt moment and why she's decided to make her debut at this year's Fringe...
Nat Luurtsema started writing her debut Fringe show when she was 13 years old. It’s probably had a fair few tweaks since then but the idea behind it is essentially the same.
“This is a story I’ve wanted to tell for years. I started writing about a big disaster that happened in my life when I was 13 and I always felt like I wanted to do something with it, then when I visited the Fringe, I realised this is the place for it. For the last two years I’ve wanted to do a solo show but I’ve been holding back. This year I feel ready.”
The Edinburgh Festival has been particularly significant in Luurtsema’s life as it was during her first visit there seven years ago that she realised she wanted to be a comedian.
“Edinburgh was where I first saw comedy and fell in love with it. I went up with a radio station and on the first day I was sitting in a funny room wondering what was going to happen and then a man walked right in front of me and started cracking jokes. For the first three minutes I wanted to curl up and die with embarrassment for him, but then after four minutes I was having an amazing time. I just sat there with my mouth open thinking ‘Yes - this is what I want to do.’”
At night, she began to fill reams of notebooks with stories, jokes and ideas, while she worked during the day as digital media producer. It wasn’t until four years later, in 2007, that she finally plucked up the courage to do a gig and then rather bravely entered a competition immediately afterwards: “The first gig went quite well and then for the second gig I entered a round of the Funny Women competition in Birmingham and got through! I just kept going and eventually got to the final.”
Within eight months of solid gigging, building up a reputation as an intriguing newcomer, with an imaginative, offbeat wit; Luurtsema had got to the Funny Women final, been nominated for Chortle Best Newcomer and been signed by an agent. Not bad for a first year on the circuit. She admits that without this confidence boost, she might have given up altogether: “I was full of doubt when I started and I think it took eight amazing months like that to get me into it. It’s a real testament to the fact that I never thought I’d be doing this professionally that I didn’t change my surname, no one has ever been able to pronounce it!”
Having quit her job as a media producer to concentrate fully on her comedy career, Luurtsema (that's "lurt-see-ma" in case you were wondering) has since performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in the 2008 Comedy Zone showcase and last year’s acclaimed sketch show Superclump. For 2010, she’s decided to take the plunge and go solo, but she hasn’t made it easy for herself:
“When I first started writing it, I didn’t want to do my ‘best of’ club material. I wanted to stay creatively excited and then a month ago I was staring at this huge narrative thinking ‘God I’m such an idiot!’ But I believe if it scares you, you should do it. It has led to some ridiculous life choices and some painful body piercings over the years, but on the whole, I stand by it!”
Nat Luurtsema will be performing In My Head I’m A Hero at the Pleasance Joker Dome from 4th-30th August, at 3:45pm. For more details visit: www.avalonuk.com
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