Interview – Eli Matthewson
We are delighted to have had the opportunity to interview New Zealand comedian Eli Matthewson ahead of bringing their show Night Terror to the Edinburgh Fringe next month.
Q. Tell us about yourself and your show “Night Terror”?
A. I’m a comedian from New Zealand with a big heart and a lot to give. I’m 5’7” but my arms are kind of long. I like dinosaurs and hate velvet. I’ve been doing stand-up over a decade and in my home country they even let me on TV – I was in the first ever same-sex couple on Dancing With The Stars NZ and my elimination was headline news for a week (we don’t have that much going on here).
My show Night Terror is about an intense night terror my boyfriend has, which led to me waking up to him trying to kill me. For real. Via strangulation. Full on stuff! It was all after a build up of anxiety from us being robbed four times in just a few weeks, and it was one of the scariest moments of my life… until I woke up and it almost immediately became funny.
Q. How did your boyfriend react when you told him you were building your show around the incident?
A. I am so blessed to have a partner who is happy for me to share stories like this onstage… but this one was a bit of an ask. He put his head in his hands, said “I wish you wouldn’t… but you have to”. I don’t know how he handles me sharing these embarrassing stories onstage, I guess I’m just lucky I’m a good enough smooch that it makes up for it.
Q. What’s the most embarrassing thing you have done by accident?
A. I mean there really is too many to pick just one… but I am constantly haunted by the time I went to a friend’s birthday party where I scanned all the available food and was unimpressed, but then finally landed on some fried chicken and chips. I walked up to the bowl and ate about half the plate, I was starving, only to have my friend’s eight year old sister walk up and inform me that that plate wasn’t snacks for the party but, in fact, her dinner.
Q. How easy is it to explore issues of the three P’s of politics, privilege and paranoia on stage?
A. I would say there is one other thing that starts with P that I talk about just as much. All three of those Ps are thing that give me massive anxiety, and when you’re anxious about something you think about it a lot, and when you think enough about it that just might end up landing you some material. Hopefully my loss (in terms of time and mental energy) is the audience’s gain!
Q. What are you looking forward to most about travelling half way round the world to perform at the Fringe?
A. The stunning 24 hours of flying, where my feet almost always swell to a size where they make my Chuck Taylors kind of burst open, where I won’t be able to sleep at all and where I will somehow navigate the brutal American customs system in my transit through New York. That’s what I do comedy for!
Q. What’s coming up next for you after the Fringe?
A. I’m setting up shop in London and, all things going well, working full time as a stand-up comedian! I’m also writing my first novel. I’m also one lesson into learning French on Duolingo. Big things in the pipeline!
Q. And finally, you said were part of the first same sex couple on New Zealand’s Dancing With The Stars. If you could dance any dance, to any song and with anyone what and who would it be and why?
A. I would do the Apple Dance, with Charli XCX, but let’s do it very slowly to “Time To Say Goodbye”. It could be a beautiful piece of performance art.
Eli Matthewson will be performing Night Terror at Underbelly George Square (Wee Coo) at the Edinburgh Fringe from 30 July to 24 August (not 11 August) at 8.50pm. For more information and to book visit Eli Matthewson: Night Terror | Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
