Emma McAlpine chats to the winner of the Edinburgh 'Best Newcomer' Award 2009 - Jonny Sweet.
Jonny Sweet may have won the 'Best Newcomer' title at the Edinburgh Fringe last August but like many before him, he’s been in the business for some time. Along with friend Joe Thomas (The Inbetweeners), the two began writing together in 2003 while at Cambridge University. They performed their first full length show at the 2006 Fringe and were subsequently nominated for the Writer’s Guild Comedy Newcomer Award.
Since then, the pair have teamed up with fellow Inbetweener Simon Bird to form sketch group House of Windsor and Jonny has made several TV appearances; not to mention scooping the Eddie Award for his debut solo show: Mostly About Arthur. We caught up with him ahead of his West End run to talk about the award and what he's been up to since...
Firstly, do you mind explaining briefly to our readers what your show’s about?
Well. I play a sort of grinny, slightly campy character whose brother recently died, and the show's a sort of hour-long obituary, really. I'm aware that doesn't sound THAT funny. It's got a slideshow, films and music as well so what it lacks in obvious humour it very much makes up for in multimedia.
You’ve done a lot of collaborative work in the past with House of Windsor and Joe Thomas. Was it nerve-wracking performing your first solo show at the Fringe last year?
Yes. I was completely terrified. At my first solo gig in preparation for Edinburgh I looked at the audience before I went on stage and immediately left the venue. I came back eventually but I definitely missed having two other people to back me up and who I knew I could sort of cuddle or drink with if we bombed.
It looked like you were quite taken aback when you received the Best Newcomer Award! Were you thrilled to have your debut applauded by the panel?
Not my finest moment. I was pretty certain I wouldn't win but when I did let myself think about it I thought I'd be reasonably witty and charming; you know, a sort of Daniel Craig/Hugh Laurie type. But I was high-pitched and terrible. I think I just said, "Thanks ever so much" in my poshest voice and proceeded to forget lots of people to thank (Mum, Dad etc).
Does winning the award add pressure or give you confidence for your next solo work?
A bit of both. The show was my first foray into stuff on my own and I had decided that if it went badly I'd probably knock solo comedy stuff on the head for the foreseeable future. So it was good because I felt I could do more of it and get more gigs etc. But the other day my agent told me if I went to Edinburgh I'd be under more pressure than anyone else up there because people would be wanting to see/test/check that I was any good/attack me groundlessly. So I suppose the answer is just yes, it does add pressure or give me confidence.
Are you planning on doing any more with House of Windsor? Where did the name come from?
We're developing things at the moment as a three, though they're not currently live shows. We love working together and not a day goes by that we don't regret being called House of Windsor. I mean, what sort of a name is that? We're supposed to be playing DOWN the posh, Cambridgey thing. Man... House of Windsor. Awful. What does it MEAN? Basically we found it funny (on ONE night, when we all lived together in Elephant & Castle, drunk) that we might be called something that was already the name of something else. I think maybe Nottingham Forrest was an option? Anyway... It's a bloody albatross...
You played David Cameron in Channel 4's When Boris Met Dave. How did you research for the role?
Well. Research-wise, I found out 2 days before I went and sort of arrived feeling quite tired and a little disoriented. And I think you can see the benefit of that research in the final cut. I found out late because apparently Channel 4 were still holding out on Daniel Radcliffe, which I found PRETTY funny. That may be a rumour. But it is PRETTY funny.
What’s in the pipeline after the Soho run – do you have something planned for this year’s Fringe?
First I'm doing a run on the West End of PARTY which is a play I also did in Edinburgh written by Tom Basden and also starring Tim Key, Anna Crilly and Katy Wix. And Tom, obviously. I'm 50/50 on whether I'll have the time/energy to go back to Edinburgh this year. Thoughts?
Mostly About Arthur will be at the Soho Theatre from 10-24th February and the BAC on 24th February.
PARTY will be at the Arts Theatre from 1-13th March.
Photo credit: B.M. Cole
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