![]() In it, Acaster sets his sights on so-called “edgy” comedians who have built their brands around “challenging” material “slagging off transgender people”. There is one clip from Cold Lasagne, however, that does do the rounds on Twitter. who will post about it online out of context, and there’ll be people whose only experience of the show is the out-of-context clips, or memes, or quotes, and it will become something different.” “I was very aware that, if you release it, there’ll be people. “All the wording in the show is as precise as I can possibly make it so that I can’t be misinterpreted by the audience,” he explains. But given the personal nature of the content, he wanted to maintain as much ownership as he could. Releasing Cold Lasagne independently rather than on an existing streamer was a risky decision for Acaster. So I’m comparing myself to a chocolate bar now,” he jokes self-deprecatingly. You’re just constantly eating a Mars bar every day, and actually, maybe it’s nice to have a Mars bar as a treat every now and again. It’s like having the same food every day. He explains: “Even for them, that’s not actually as fun as they think it is. Yes, they could message him every day on Instagram and read about what he’s having for breakfast on Twitter, but it’s a false, one-sided conversation. If I’m not in full persona asking them ‘Poppadoms or bread?’, it’s up to them to be OK with that.”Īcaster much prefers these interactions to feeling “constantly available” to fans on social media, anyway. “Sometimes you get people being like, ‘Oh, I thought you’d be funnier in real life’ they will respond in a way like that’s what they wanted and you’re not giving it to them. Does he feel like people expect him to be more energetic when they meet him? He considers. “All my stand-up was in this exaggerated persona, but sometimes I’m a bit more myself now. The book may be written from a fictional character’s perspective, but it’s impossible not to read it in Acaster’s voice – or, at least, that onstage voice. His tone is lower and he chooses his words deliberately as he sinks deep into his sofa. The person before me on Zoom is far more subdued. While performing, Acaster walks with a mischievous swagger and speaks quickly and confidently, his distinctive voice constantly fluctuating in pitch and peculiar cadences. ![]() They taught him the importance of cultivating an onstage persona, which has been a crucial part of Acaster’s comic alter ego. Some of his first major gigs were supporting Josie Long and Milton Jones on their respective tours. He’s cultivated a brand of comedy that punches up at those in power, never down, and has won over fans around the world with his unique brand of comedy – “Your modern, up-to-the-minute, hipster humour”, as Rob Brydon called it on Acaster and Ed Gamble’s food podcast Off Menu.Īcaster began performing comedy in his early twenties in 2008, switching from dreams of performing in bands in his hometown of Kettering to stand-up. Despite his total lack of social media presence, clips of him discussing Brexit and Piers Morgan frequently go viral. ![]() ![]() Since the release of his Netflix Special series Repertoire in 2019, Acaster has graduated from his status as a popular member of the UK panel-show circuit to being the internet’s favourite comedian. I was in the audience for the taping of Cold Lasagne in 2019, and it certainly felt like it could have been Acaster’s last ever show. But fame had brought with it an increased number of hecklers who, when combined with the personal material, were hard to handle. His 2019 tour Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999 saw him at his most vulnerable on stage, speaking candidly about his mental health. There were multiple reasons for Acaster not-quite-quitting comedy. Some people were under the impression that I did quit, but I really didn’t.” Really? But the five-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee told one podcast: “Right now, I don’t want to do it again, ever.” His mindset at the time, he says, was about “not putting the pressure on myself to say ‘I have to go back’ or ‘I must never go back’. “I wasn’t going to decide one way or another,” he says from his home in London. He said he’d be “glad” to never do it again. Everyone thought James Acaster had quit stand-up comedy.
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