The Metropolis

We grab a minute to talk Jane Austen, Alan Partridge, and making people cry with improv comic Rachel Parris

Gavin Mecaniques | Tuesday 4 December, 2012 14:09

Rachel Parris is a comedian and actress, and a founding member of acclaimed comedy show Austentatious: An Improvised Novel. Their next show is their Christmas special on 9th December at Leicester Square Theatre.

I was drawn to improv theatre because…. you’re creating and performing at the same time, and so no-one, the actors or the audience, will ever see that moment again. That’s where the joy comes from: that assurance of it being totally new, and totally unrepeatable.

The strangest Austentatious suggestion we’ve done yet was… perhaps The Ladyboys of Bangkok. That was the suggestion we got from the audience. The story ended up being really heartfelt! It also featured an erotic dance by Andy. I also enjoyed the suggestion “The Pedestrianisation of Norwich City Centre”. An absolute classic.

The best thing about my job is… the lack of routine – you never know what you’ll be doing the next week or month. It can be the worst thing too!

The most famous person to come to our show was… probably Ian Hislop – he came a few weeks ago and was totally lovely. He bought us all a drink afterwards and had a nice chat! We’ve also had Richard Herring, Reggie Watts, all people we are fans of, so that’s nice.

My favourite experiences with Austentatious… when you are in the middle of doing what you know is a really good show, and you can all tell, and you glance around at each other from the wings when you’re right in the middle of it, and you can all feel this buzz, and you don’t know what is going to happen, but you feel sure it’ll be great. It’s the best feeling, the excitement you get mid-show.

What I want most in the world is… to be proud of what I do. And diamonds.

Home to me is… my cold, tiny flat in Stockwell. I definitely feel most at home in South London now, but at Christmas, home is in Leicester with my family.

When it comes to head vs heart I am… usually heart. It helps with acting, less so with the bank manager.

What I really want to do next is… a gritty acting role! I’ve been doing comedy for 3 years – I want to make someone cry!

Photographs © Gavin Mecaniques

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