Actor Stephen Papps: "Time is running out. I do think, 'Well, what do I want?'"
Actor Stephen Papps steps into the Canvas Confession Box
GLUTTONY
Gluttony is about more than food and drink - but that's how you like to over-indulge?
Gluttony is probably my favourite sin. You know, wine, meat, stroganoff, mushrooms, spinach, chocolate, chicken … I want it all. I can overeat. The reason
I'm not fat is that I have employed an enormous tapeworm. The tapeworm has taken over. I am the tapeworm. I've devoured Stephen Papps, I am just doing a very good impression of him.
You're an actor but in recent years you have been doing stand up comedy as well, which sounds terrifying.
Yeah, it's either terrifying or it's exhilarating. Last week I did three nights at The Classic and I had one okay night and then I had a great night and then I had a lousy night. So it was a real mixed bag. You come away scratching your head going, "What? What?" Of course you blame the audience - or at least I do. The material is exactly the same from night to night but even the slightest change in your performance can be the difference between a big laugh and no laugh at all. I am a rookie at this stage, I'm still figuring it out but I love it. Maybe when I was younger, my ego would have been more reliant on having a good show, whereas now I go, "Okay, I am a comedian and this is what I do, it's not who I am." I have a bad night, I shrug it off. Okay, I've got tomorrow night.
What are you trying to convey with your comedy?
My theme is social anxiety. I'm still figuring out the character I'm playing. It's not just me, it's a version of me. I think we have all been shy in social situations, we all find ourselves not speaking out when we should be speaking out, we all hide our anger because we are ashamed of it. I talk about how anger can be really helpful and then proceed to give really bad examples, because it has to be funny, right?
