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| Paul Merton's wife needed an actor to play a neurotic comic. She didn't have to look far … | Paul Merton's wife needed an actor to play a neurotic comic. She didn't have to look far … |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| When Suki Webster was looking for an actor to appear in her two-hander debut play about the neuroses of an embittered fictional British comedian, she decided to give a newcomer a chance. That newcomer was her husband, Paul Merton, who opened alongside Webster in his first lead acting role in a comic drama at the Edinburgh festival fringe this weekend. | |
| "I am having a ball doing this," said 57-year-old Merton. "I find the whole thing fascinating. Each time we perform the play it has been different. I am enjoying figuring out the way the lines work best." | "I am having a ball doing this," said 57-year-old Merton. "I find the whole thing fascinating. Each time we perform the play it has been different. I am enjoying figuring out the way the lines work best." |
| Webster's short play, My Obsession, looks at modern expectations of fame and the fragile balance of power between an adored performer and the fans who keep him in the public eye. | Webster's short play, My Obsession, looks at modern expectations of fame and the fragile balance of power between an adored performer and the fans who keep him in the public eye. |
| The couple, who married in 2009, already work together regularly as part of a comedy improvisation troupe, but have now ventured into straight theatre in a show with themes that are pretty close to home. | The couple, who married in 2009, already work together regularly as part of a comedy improvisation troupe, but have now ventured into straight theatre in a show with themes that are pretty close to home. |
| "I know comedy and am around comedians a lot, and I wanted my first play to be about something I knew well," said Webster, who wrote the half-hour drama by improvising the scenes out loud. "I stood up on my own in a room mumbling it all and imagining lots of different comedians speaking the other part." | "I know comedy and am around comedians a lot, and I wanted my first play to be about something I knew well," said Webster, who wrote the half-hour drama by improvising the scenes out loud. "I stood up on my own in a room mumbling it all and imagining lots of different comedians speaking the other part." |
| While Webster points out that her anti-hero, comic Danny Heywood, is a composite of several performers, she agrees that the play was also a response to her life as the wife of one of the best-known names in British comedy. | While Webster points out that her anti-hero, comic Danny Heywood, is a composite of several performers, she agrees that the play was also a response to her life as the wife of one of the best-known names in British comedy. |
| "It was a strange experience for me when we got together, because suddenly I was in the spotlight. At least Paul had come up gradually through the ranks to fame. So it is a question that is alive in my mind." | "It was a strange experience for me when we got together, because suddenly I was in the spotlight. At least Paul had come up gradually through the ranks to fame. So it is a question that is alive in my mind." |
| Although Merton may have partly inspired the role he now plays, he points out that he was not his wife's first choice. "Suki is missing out an important part of the story. When she wrote the play in January, the first guy she asked could not do it. Then the second person could not do it either, so we had a conversation over the breakfast table one morning about how she couldn't think of anyone else she could put into this play. So I said to her, 'You mean the part of the standup comedian in his fifties?' I looked at her and she looked at me and then I said, 'Well, I'd do it'." Webster claims that she was astonished that her husband would consider it. "I didn't think I'd get the likes of him!" | Although Merton may have partly inspired the role he now plays, he points out that he was not his wife's first choice. "Suki is missing out an important part of the story. When she wrote the play in January, the first guy she asked could not do it. Then the second person could not do it either, so we had a conversation over the breakfast table one morning about how she couldn't think of anyone else she could put into this play. So I said to her, 'You mean the part of the standup comedian in his fifties?' I looked at her and she looked at me and then I said, 'Well, I'd do it'." Webster claims that she was astonished that her husband would consider it. "I didn't think I'd get the likes of him!" |
| At the centre of the play is a night-time encounter between an obsessive fan – "a bubble-headed barmpot" – and the standup comic she has studied compulsively for years. The celebrity seems to have all the power, but soon it becomes unclear who is the more obsessed: the fan, or the comedian who craves the approval of his public. | At the centre of the play is a night-time encounter between an obsessive fan – "a bubble-headed barmpot" – and the standup comic she has studied compulsively for years. The celebrity seems to have all the power, but soon it becomes unclear who is the more obsessed: the fan, or the comedian who craves the approval of his public. |
| Webster said: "I'm interested in the way comedians, including me, are so concerned with themselves, and in the awkward social situations that are caused when a fan believes they actually know a performer." | |
| Webster herself has been approached by an obsessive fan in the past and wanted to use the idea to look at the lure of fame: "Paul's fame affects everything for him. Absolutely, that was what was in my mind. I can go to see other standups' shows while we are here in Edinburgh, but he can't really, because he is aware it might put off the act if they spot him, or even distract the audience." | Webster herself has been approached by an obsessive fan in the past and wanted to use the idea to look at the lure of fame: "Paul's fame affects everything for him. Absolutely, that was what was in my mind. I can go to see other standups' shows while we are here in Edinburgh, but he can't really, because he is aware it might put off the act if they spot him, or even distract the audience." |
| "It is odd," said Merton, breaking off briefly to oblige fringe-goers by posing for a photo. "I don't know whether I should feel self-conscious about it or not, but you certainly want to make sure you're not sitting in the front row." | "It is odd," said Merton, breaking off briefly to oblige fringe-goers by posing for a photo. "I don't know whether I should feel self-conscious about it or not, but you certainly want to make sure you're not sitting in the front row." |
| A key theme of Webster's play is the addictive appeal of performance. It is something the couple can both relate to. "I remember Paul telling me about the first time he did a great open spot at the Comedy Store in the 1980s and can also remember the feeling the first time I did really well," she said. | A key theme of Webster's play is the addictive appeal of performance. It is something the couple can both relate to. "I remember Paul telling me about the first time he did a great open spot at the Comedy Store in the 1980s and can also remember the feeling the first time I did really well," she said. |
| "It is a life-changing thing in a way," agrees her husband. "Because you have all the dreams and fantasies in your head, then when you actually have a success it proves what you thought was funny really was funny. When it happened to me rather early on it got me through the next 18 months of mediocre gigs." | "It is a life-changing thing in a way," agrees her husband. "Because you have all the dreams and fantasies in your head, then when you actually have a success it proves what you thought was funny really was funny. When it happened to me rather early on it got me through the next 18 months of mediocre gigs." |
| Merton was widowed in 2003 with the death of his second wife, Sarah Parkinson. He and Webster became close when they took their improvisational show to India. "Up until then I thought he didn't like me, but I think he was just shy," said Webster. | Merton was widowed in 2003 with the death of his second wife, Sarah Parkinson. He and Webster became close when they took their improvisational show to India. "Up until then I thought he didn't like me, but I think he was just shy," said Webster. |
| In deference to their roles as single people in the play, the couple have left their wedding rings in a safe in London. But can they put their marriage aside so easily on stage? "Well, we haven't spoken about this yet, but I am amazed how courteous we are to each other in a really genuine way," said Merton. | In deference to their roles as single people in the play, the couple have left their wedding rings in a safe in London. But can they put their marriage aside so easily on stage? "Well, we haven't spoken about this yet, but I am amazed how courteous we are to each other in a really genuine way," said Merton. |
| My Obsession, directed by John Nicholson, is on at the Pleasance Courtyard Upstairs until 15 August |
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