Interview: Fred McAulay

victoria nangle talks independence, feminism… & farts

Hello Fred, how is this week treating you?
It’s been a good week. It’s a mixture of writing and preparing for Edinburgh Fringe and a couple of days off. Just about to go walk our two dogs. 
 
So, your show description says that it’s looking at how Scotland will shape up after last year’s referendum. With the massive landslide victory for the SNP in Scotland being hailed as a move in the right direction by much of England, do you think Scotland might be open to annexing us down south as an alternative to independence?
It’s  a serious question. There’s no doubt that Cameron and Her Majesty were thrilled with the outcome of the referendum… and I reckon that was partly due to a likely rush to self determination for other pockets of the UK. Nicola Sturgeon has been in China this week. I believe the Communist Party hierarchy invited her out there to ask what it’s like to have a one party state!
 
Here in Brighton we responded to the general election with The People’s Republic Of Brighton & Hove – 16,000 likes on Facebook. What do you think to us being Scotland’s Rock Of Gibralta-style southern holiday destination via political alliance (just as a theory, as clearly I have no authority at all)?
It’s a good plan. Given the summer we’ve had up here, we could all do with a southern retreat. I was never great at geography… is Brighton South of the equator? 
 
Your show is also said to look at your own family life. As a comedian you must get lots of people trying to tell you stories “for your show”. Do your family ever bring you stories you have to let them down gently over?
I usually run my lines past my wife. On many occasions she’s added to routines, always making them stronger and funnier. As for other people, well we all get ‘jokes’ and get told we can use them. I’d love to finish a 90 minute gig with “… and a taxi driver told me I could use that”.

Do your family members ever second guess if something they’ve said or done will make it onto radio or your live shows (sorry, I’m making your homelife sound a bit like You’ve Been Framed)? 
No, I’ll usually tell them if I’m working on a routine.

It’s been a delight hearing you regularly on ‘The News Quiz’. and a shame that Sandi Toksvig’s leaving, but a marvellous reason why. How do you think Miles Jupp’s stepping up as chair in her place will change the tone, if at all?
I’m delighted for Miles. I also think it’s a great shout by BBC Radio 4. Obviously he’ll bring a lot of his character to the gig, just as Sandi did. Sandi was very different from Simon (Hoggart) and I think that there’ll be less of a difference between Sandi and Miles. Both are stage performers, principally as comedians, which Simon wasn’t, so they’re much more comfortable with round the table stuff.

You are very generous with your radio time. As well as your own show it’s been good hearing you play all of the regular supporting roles on ‘Bridget Christie Minds The Gap’. How much of a feminist were you before you got involved with Bridget’s show, and has anything in particular from the shows resonated with you more than the rest?
It’s not generosity… it’s a living! I was SO pleased to get the Bridget gig. I like to think that my journey to Feminism has been longer and more arduous than anyone else who worked on the show, given my decades of Misogyny. 
 
Getting back to the show, it’s called ‘2015’ – we’re only halfway through 2015 so what might you foretell for the rest of it? 
Who knows? On the world stage, we’ve got Putin at loggerheads with the G7 over Crimea and Ukraine. I don’t like the resonances with 101 years ago. North Korea has gone quiet for the time being, I’m guessing Kim Jong Un has found a girlfriend, he’s found a girlfriend… he’s found a gir… We’ve got Donald Trump leading the polls for The Republican nomination. Hilary Clinton was seen measuring the White House lawn for the cartwheels she’ll be doing there if he actually does win the nomination. And at home, we’re just waiting for the oil price to recover and to see how ugly the fight between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon will be. 

There has been some discussion as to whether SNP MPs should have the right to vote on policies that only affect England, Wales or Northern Ireland. If you could propose three policies that could only apply to England, Wales or Northern Ireland, what would you suggest?
1) I’d make it illegal to wave your fists in the air in the House of Commons when welfare measures are being debated.
2) I’d make it compulsory for the people of England Wales and NI to have at least one week a year in Scotland. Then you’d understand why we moan so much. 
3) I’d make it illegal to be Iain Duncan Smith (belt and braces for policy number 1 above).

What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud?
A fart. 

If you could have any superpower at all, what would you choose and why?
To fart at will. We all need a laugh.

Fred MacAulay: Twenty Fifteen, Studio, Brighton Dome, Wednesday 21 October 2015, 7.30pm, £15/13, www.brightoncomedyfestival.com