Comedy / paul foot
‘Dissolve’: the deeply personal show which reveals Paul Foot at his boldest and most brilliant
From his hair and eccentric style alone, Paul Foot is immediately recognisable as a man of whimsy and artistry. On stage, his fans know and love him for his unique brand of florid language, elaborate storytelling and imaginative, often absurdist humour.
Despite taking shows up to the Edinburgh Fringe for over 20 years, until recently, he has never been associated with frankness or candour.
But 2023’s Dissolve marked a seismic shift in Foot’s comedy. It marked a change that garnered huge acclaim from audiences and critics alike, not only for its authenticity, but for truly demonstrating a master at the top of their game.
is needed now More than ever
Paul Foot
Since then, Foot has toured the show extensively, and will be returning to Bristol for the fourth time on November 10, this time performing at Tobacco Factory Theatres.
Naturally, Dissolve is replete with deftly placed fanciful digressions, act-outs and time jumps along the way, including Foot’s musings on how society might look if we could build it again from scratch.
But the story hones in on a single moment in Paul’s life, in the spring of 2022, to which Foot attributes his sudden, miraculous recovery from a lifetime of depression, anxiety and trauma.
“Life is a stress,” he contends, “full of rushed breakfasts, angry people, internal conflict, and Jacob Rees-Mogg. But what happens when everything you thought was important – your problems, grievances against others, your very identity – simply disappears?”
Thematically speaking, this show contrasts sharply with those you have done before. Why did you decide to share such a personal story this time?
“I didn’t have much choice really. After the incredible event of 20th March 2022 occurred, I initially thought I wouldn’t ever talk about it on stage. It just didn’t seem very relevant to my comedy, or even very funny. But then, a few months after the event, I started writing a new show, and the more I was writing, the more it just felt there was this elephant in the room. This amazing thing had happened to me, something that has to be extremely rare, an almost unexplainable human phenomenon, and I am a comedian already! I already get up on stage and tell people things. How can I not tell them this?
“So anyway we decided to do a show about it, myself and my writing partner, Aaron. We worked out how to make it funny, and how to incorporate all my signature silliness and surrealism and mucking aboutness, and included all the comedy ideas I had been writing already while the elephant was there, such as King Tutankhamun humour et cetera. And all these things were carefully crafted together over many months and eventually became Dissolve.”
While it certainly must have been different to write, how does Dissolve feel when you are performing it?
“It’s my most technically challenging show to perform. I have to really concentrate all the way through, especially on the transitions when the show unexpectedly flips from a serious bit to a funny bit and vice versa. Hence, the show is quite tiring and I usually have a lie down afterwards between the hours of roughly 1am and 10am. Also, I am sharing some personal details in the show, which was a challenge initially; but now, like a punch-drunk boxer or an initially-idealistic-turned-jaded-and-corrupt council official receiving backhanders or an experienced assassin, I’ve got used to it.”
Have you felt a renewed or deeper connection to your audience while touring this show? For those unfamiliar with your work, who do you think it would most appeal to?
“It’s a comedy show, so it appeals to people who like to laugh at comedy. And it also resonates with many people, who have had mental health problems or experienced depression. Or just with people who have always felt that there’s something slightly missing in their lives – a low key sense of unease.
“After the show, people come up to me or write to me (by email or social media, not a physical letter – it’s not 1978!) and sometimes they just say that the show made them laugh and sometimes they say that the show really affected them and maybe even gave them hope or improved their lives. I don’t want to sound too grand about it – I am just a comedian doing a comedy show – but some people have been very greatly benefited by the show. So, yes, I do feel a great connection with my audience.”
To what extent has the depth of critical acclaim for Dissolve surprised you?
“It’s an exciting show, so I hoped it would be well received. You never quite know until you actually do it though, so, in that sense, it is a surprise. My whole career is a surprise. When I started out doing open spots in London, performing my comedy that nearly everyone at the time hated, it all seemed so intangible that I would one day be a professional comedian and in any way successful. Every time the phone rings (it’s usually email these days, actually – it’s not 1998!) with an offer of work, I am constantly amazed and grateful.”
In terms of the future, what might inspire you to write material? Are you looking to continue making work that blends the personal and the absurdist?
“Who can say what the next show will contain? Well, I suppose I could, as I have a pretty good idea already. Suffice to say that, as an artist, I like to be constantly surprising. Doing the same as last time is so last year.”
Paul Foot: Dissolve is at Tobacco Factory Theatres on November 10 at 8pm. For ticket availability, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com.
All photos: Jonathan Birch
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