Brief Encounter With … Quiet Act of Destruction’s New Art Club
The winners of Edinburgh Spotlight Best Comedy Show 2010 are back at the Fringe this year with their
show Quiet Act of Destruction. Taking a tour of the Cambridgeshire village Meldreth, the show features
church tearooms, chaos, revolution and emotional breakdowns.
Why should anyone come to see your new show?
If you’ve come to Edinburgh to experience something surprising and wonderful and not like something
that you can see on any day on the telly, and yet with a guarantee of quality, then look no further.
Are you worried that this year’s show won’t be as well received as last year’s hit, Big Bag of Boom?
Like a crack army commando unit our motto is ‘No Fear’ or is it, ‘Don’t hit me in the face; not the face’.
Either way we’re very proud of how the new show has turned out. It’s very different from the last one
and that’s all part of the adventure. Who knows what we’ll do next year, but I was thinking drag aerial display.
After building your success on making funny dances do you think it’s a bit of a risk to make a show with
only one actual dance routine in it?
Maybe, but it just felt right. Movement underpins what we do but this time we’re using our physicality
to play games with the audience and tell funny stories.
Physical comedy conjures up a lot of different images from the rampaging Lee Evans to a mime artist
riding a bike through a village in France . Where would you say your physical comedy lies?
I’d say its like I’m riding Lee Evans through a village whilst yodeling the spirit of Monty Python through a
Unicorn’s Anus.
You did one of your preview shows with Doctor Brown do you think your work and his work is of the
same world?
We don’t have a medical background and unlike the good doctor we do talk, a lot. However, like him, we do draw on a level of physical sophistication that only comes from years of arduous training: Then we toss it away in favour of making fools of ourselves.
What are the highlights of this years show?
We don’t have any lighting changes so everything is equally highlighted throughout.
What do you think is the point of comedy?
To allow people to be bewildered and scared and delighted and surprised and provoked and exhilarated
in an environment where you get to laugh at the absurdity of being human.
What is the point of New Art Club?
To provide us with employment. So please come and see our show, our families are depending on you.
New Art Club: Quiet Act of Destruction can be seen at the Assembly George Square from 3-29 August
(excl 9,16) at 18.20.
