FESTIVAL COMEDY | Vegan Comedians Julio Torres
T T E K C O R C T T A M
: O T O H P
Sara Pascoe
Dave Chawner
58 THE LIST FESTIVAL 3–10 Aug 2017
bourgeois image. ‘In the States, there’s this assumption vegans are wealthy, Hollywood types who hang out in spas and gyms. Vegan restaurants are way more expensive too.’ The Saturday Night Live writer is more a cheap-bagel kind of guy (his local Bushwick deli now serves ‘The Julio’, his favourite of tofu cream cheese and vegetables), who also went vegan during an unhappy phase. ‘I didn’t have a job, I felt directionless and stressed. I wanted to clear my head and simplify. Part of the joy of being vegan is removing choice and thriving within limitations.’ The El Salvador-born comic says he’s never been religious, but veganism is his attempt to control the choices he makes and dei ne his identity. Learning what’s off-limits is quite an education. McCoy’s steak and chicken crisps are i ne apparently, but vegetarian Percy Pigs, bananas and orange juice often contain parts from a sentient being. And that’s not even getting into the more hardcore territory of those who avoid laptops (made with animal glues), mattresses (containing silk spun by spiders) and fossil fuels (compressed dinosaurs).
Aware of the joyless stereotypes about vegans, comedian Sara Pascoe wants to debunk a few, with the following blurb on her website: ‘while some people can have preconceptions about what vegans are like (preachy, judgemental, angry, paper thin with no energy), it is the thing I like most about myself. And every day, I feel I do an incremental, very small piece of goodness.’ Frustrated by industrial farming and animal cruelty, Pascoe gently evangelises that full veganism is not essential for those who share similar feelings: ‘you must feel powerful, even if you simply start by having occasional vegetarian meals or something.’
Pascoe’s friend and fellow comedian Jessica Fostekew raves about feeling healthier since going vegan, but takes a l exible approach to it all. On holiday in France, she confesses, ‘there’s no way I’m going without cheese for a week. I don’t react well to absolute rules. It doesn’t have to be rigid. But I i nd it exciting discovering all these amazing substitutes and delicious Thai, Mexican and Indian recipes. Fake bacon is pretty rancid, but tofu has been relatively revelatory.’ Fostekew reckons the main moaners about veganism are, ‘bitter, grumpy, old white male comedians’ who don’t embrace change very easily. ‘My subconscious seemed to know that eating meat was making me miserable’
Dave Chawner, a vegan
comedian whose previous shows have dealt with masculinity, mental health and anorexia, says he wants to be ‘balls to the wall honest’ with his Fringe show, C’est La Vegan. ‘It’s hard to make it funny when you’re passionate and angry about the environment, or linking veganism to the Big Bang or existential philosophy, which I do. But actually, being vegan is really just about being open to improving yourself.’ Chawner admits it’s a tough lifestyle choice, summed up neatly by Romesh Ranganathan, who he was backstage with recently at Brighton’s Komedia club: ‘yeah man, it’s hard! Dairy is the shit!’ Thankfully for those comics heading to the Fringe, the consensus is that central Edinburgh has plenty good options for vegans these days with Hula, the Mosque Kitchen, Holy Cow and Jordan Valley all getting a thumbs-up. Whether Fringe crowds will stomach this banquet of right-on comedy remains to be seen, but hopefully the vegans are about to convert carnivores to the idea that it’s not all puritanical stuff: vegans can have a GSOH too. Or as Amstell puts it, ‘I’m not an activist, I’m a clown’.
Simon Amstell: Work in Progress, Pleasance Courtyard, 17–19 Aug, 11.20pm, £15.
Carl Donnelly: The Nutter on the Bus, Heroes @ Bob’s Blundabus, 3–27 Aug (not 9, 16), 7.30pm, £7 (£6) or Pay What You Want. Julio Torres: My Favourite Shapes, Underbelly Cowgate, 5–27 Aug (not 14), 5pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50). Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £6.50.
Sara Pascoe: LadsLadsLads, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–27 Aug (not 14), 7pm, £10–£13 (£9–£12.50). Previews 2–4 Aug, £7.
Jessica Fostekew: The Silence of the Nans, Just the Tonic at The Caves, 3–26 Aug (not 14), 4pm, £6 (£5) or Pay What You Want. Dave Chawner: C’est La Vegan, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 3–27 Aug (not 25), 7pm, free.