Comedy duo Black Liver spoke to us at the Blackpool Comedy Festival launch all about the upcoming event.
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00:00Hi, I'm digital reporter Amy Seddon. This week I attended the official launch of the Blackpool Comedy Festival, which arrives in town between May the 23rd and June the 1st.
00:12Whilst at the launch, I had the opportunity to chat to one of the acts performing at the festival, Black Liver, who were also involved in running and organising some of the events too.
00:22Take a look at what they had to say next.
00:25My name is Ruth and I'm from Blackpool.
00:27My name's Keith and I'm from Liverpool.
00:29And that makes us Black Liver.
00:32That's the last time we're ever going to show you that.
00:35And we're here today at the launch of Blackpool Comedy Festival. Can you describe to me what we've done today, essentially?
00:41Well, today we've been in Blackpool Comedy Station venue, which is a comedy club that I actually opened. I was one of the first people on this stage.
00:53Really?
00:53Anyway, today we've been talking about all the different things that are going to be happening at Blackpool Comedy Festival, which is starting on the 24th of May, right through till the 1st of June.
01:06So we're doing things at the beginning. Sorry, I'm just going on.
01:09Carry on.
01:09And we're doing some stuff down at South Shore at the beginning of the festival. And then we're closing the festival with our show, Black Livers Game Show.
01:18Show.
01:18At the Grand Theatre in Estudio.
01:21Can you describe what that show is for people who've never heard of it?
01:24So we start, this show has been commissioned by Showtown.
01:29Yes.
01:31Go on.
01:33And what is it? What's the show?
01:35Well, you might as well carry on.
01:37You were on one.
01:39I was on one, right.
01:40It was commissioned by Showtown Museum, and it was a Funny Bones residency.
01:46See, I would never have said any of that.
01:48See.
01:48And it's a game show where...
01:51I would have said that bit.
01:52You learn about Blackpool and Liverpool and some others.
01:56And other parts of the country.
01:59And other parts of the country.
02:00But is it the strange, strange things that you learn through the questions?
02:04Yeah.
02:04Strange little facts that a lot of people don't know about their own town.
02:08Things based on mysticism, gossip, and strange stories all mixed in.
02:15And we're going to have guest stars in it.
02:17I don't want to drop any hints, but it could be a certain lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
02:24He could be turning up.
02:25You never know.
02:26Is he turning up?
02:26He might be turning up in puppet form.
02:29And then we've also got...
02:31Who else have we got?
02:31We've got the...
02:32Who?
02:33Oh, yeah.
02:34We've also got a certain man, Timothee Chalamet played.
02:39He might be turning up.
02:40Yeah.
02:41Again, maybe in puppet form.
02:42Well, maybe.
02:43But they're there.
02:44They're there.
02:44And also, people get the chance to be contestants in this game show.
02:50Yeah, the contestants.
02:51Well, they're actually going to be team members for Ruth and team members for me.
02:54And so we're going to compete against each other to win the show-off trophy.
02:58Right.
02:58So the show was on last year.
03:00It was on at the Winter Garden last year.
03:03And this year, we're bringing it to the ground.
03:04Yeah.
03:05So we've got loads of songs, sketches in the middle of it and all that.
03:08I will be playing my wine glasses.
03:11Of course.
03:11Of course.
03:12Due to popular demand, I will be bringing back my wine glass forte.
03:17Forte.
03:18Yeah.
03:18It brings a tear to the eye.
03:20It really does.
03:22And to the mouth.
03:24And also, find us on social media and you will get the chance to be a contestant in that show.
03:30Yes, you can be a contestant if you want to.
03:34There you go.
03:34And it's just under a month away now, the start of the festival.
03:37So how are you feeling?
03:38Oh, excited.
03:39It's going to be great fun.
03:40Yeah.
03:41I usually can't contain my excitement.
03:43Ever.
03:45So right now, you're managing.
03:48No, I'm still quite as excited.
03:49Oh, that's okay.
03:50Well, I'm not excited.
03:51I'm asleep.
03:52That's true, yeah.
03:53And even then I'm dreaming of exciting dreams.
03:55Yeah.
03:57Yeah.
03:57It's going to be a good fun time.
03:59Ruth, you already mentioned you're from Blackpool.
04:01So how does it feel to have such a huge comedy festival in your hometown?
04:04Oh, it's essential.
04:05We've got to build this festival to great heights because I saw, I learned about comedy in Blackpool.
04:15I was a child watching the summer season shows, working at the Grand Theatre.
04:21That was one of my first ever jobs, working at the Grand Theatre, tearing tickets as a volunteer when I was like 14, 15.
04:28It's really nice to have that kind of cyclical, is that the cyclical nature of life, coming back and doing shows there now, being part of the summer season?
04:39Sorry, I've stopped being excited.
04:44Oh, right.
04:44I wasn't bored of what you're saying.
04:46Yeah, yeah.
04:47I was just sort of...
04:48The cyclical nature of your energy.
04:50I was...
04:50Yeah, well, I get excited and then get tired.
04:53You know, you get too excited.
04:55Oh, yeah.
04:55I get over-excited about doing the launch today.
04:58Yeah.
04:58And now I think I need a nap because I'm getting cross.
05:01I need something to eat.
05:02You need some sugar.
05:03I need something to eat.
05:04Yeah.
05:05And then I'll have a little nap.
05:07Yeah.
05:08Have a little angry nap.
05:09I won't have a nap.
05:10Yeah, I won't have an angry nap.
05:12I don't want to get you too excited, but I was going to ask you, are you excited to see any of the other performers over the festival?
05:19So, we know quite a...
05:20And the comedy...
05:21Yeah, we know most of them.
05:22Yeah, the comedy world is quite a small circuit and it's really nice.
05:28So, you get to see people in...
05:30It is.
05:32I would say, Hayley Ellis, who's comparing the Winter Gardens show.
05:41She's very nice.
05:41She's brilliant and I'm so chuffed to see her.
05:45She's going to be comparing that then.
05:47Yeah, she's very nice.
05:48I like Hayley.
05:48Yeah.
05:49Perhaps a final question.
05:50Why should people get tickets to see your show at the festival?
05:54Because it's the best.
05:56Well, actually, my stomach is better.
05:57I know you think.
05:58It's through a rumble.
05:59Did you hear that?
06:00If you picked that up, that's because, right, I was excited.
06:03I couldn't eat anything this morning.
06:05No.
06:05And now, I'm getting the stomach rumbles.
06:08Yeah.
06:08Which means I'm going to get angry.
06:10Oh, wow.
06:11You can actually watch that.
06:12Come and pay tickets and I'll deliberately not eat before the show.
06:16So, again, angry halfway through.
06:17Of course, problem.
06:18Probably punch someone.
06:19I'm usually myself because I'm into just hurt myself, really.
06:23I'm quite self-destructive.
06:24No, you're not.
06:26All right, I'm not.
06:27Come to see the show because it's quite unique, actually.
06:29Yeah.
06:29Because if people say, am I just going to sit there and watch people answer questions?
06:33No.
06:34No.
06:35You're not because you're going to be part of the show as well.
06:37Everybody's part of the show.
06:38Even though you might not be the contestants on the stage being humiliated and enjoying
06:43yourself, you can be in the audience and still be a member of the team and win some
06:49fabulous, fabulous prizes.
06:50Ooh.
06:52Yeah.
06:52So, yeah.
06:52Only there's prizes to be won.
06:54Yeah.
06:54So, you're not really paying for a ticket.
06:55You're actually going to get a free gift.
06:57Yeah.
06:57And every show is unique because we, yeah, we work and play with the audience.
07:02Yeah.
07:02There's a lot of out of living.
07:04There's a lot of messing about.
07:05Don't think you have to be part of the show.
07:07You can come and enjoy yourself because I hate being involved.
07:09Oh, you hate that.
07:11Everybody goes, hey, where do you come from?
07:13I just want to, you know, hey, what do you do for a living?
07:15They say, oh, I'll run my own business.
07:16Mind your own business.
07:18You know what I mean?
07:19So, you can just sit there and enjoy yourself.
07:20Whereas I like being involved.
07:22So, you know, I like it to be about me.
07:27I need the angry nap.
07:28I can end it there or I can ask you the final question of, is there anything you want to say to people of Lancashire ahead of the festival?
07:37During Keith's angry nap, I want to say that it's, it is a privilege to be part of such a great festival.
07:51And we are both very proud to be part of the Northwest.
07:54Yeah, we wanted Blackpool Festival to be the start of something that really, when people go to Edinburgh, for example, when a lot of comics go to Edinburgh, they get to do their shows, their previews and stuff like that.
08:07And there's nowhere in the north, really, that gives them a chance.
08:10Hopefully, the Blackpool Festival will get bigger, we get more comics coming in to preview the shows before they go to Edinburgh.
08:18Rather than having to travel all the way down to the South, we'd say go to the Leicester Comedy Festival, which is a brilliant festival, but it did the same thing as a grassroots festival.
08:27That's now the place you have to go to preview your shows before Edinburgh.
08:32A lot of northern comics or even Midlands-based comics can't get to Leicester.
08:37Let's get them to Blackpool.
08:38It builds the empire.
08:40Yeah, you've got loads of great venues here, brilliant audiences, just try your stuff out.
08:46And also, you can do it on the way up from London, get to Blackpool, do your show, get on to Edinburgh.
08:52Further north you go, the funnier it becomes.
08:58There you go, there's a statement.