We’ve been fans of Susan Harrison ever since we first saw her work up at the Edinburgh Fringe, so it’s always great to hear that she has live performances coming up. This week she heads to Soho Theatre with her latest solo show ‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’, which already has a successful run at edfringe behind it.

If you’re not yet aware of this, she’s a brilliant purveyor of character comedy shows, as well as acting, improvving with ‘Showstopper’, writing and more. I wanted to find out more about the upcoming show, as well as finding out more about Susan in general, so put some questions to her ahead of the upcoming London dates. 

CM: Can you, for anyone who is unfamiliar with your work, just begin by explaining what kind of format and genre of show to expect?
SH: Sure! My show is a funny, upbeat character comedy show full of surreal characters and playful moments.

A theme that runs through the show is whether it’s OK to keep living a haphazard creative life as you get older. Mainly though, it’s a comedy show, so this question runs through it in a playful way. It’s feel-good and fun. 

CM: What kind of characters are involved and what are their stories like?
SH: I play six characters in ‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’ – ranging from a Sindy doll with low self esteem to an aggressive panda who is fed up of the zoo keepers trying to make her have a baby. 

There’s another character who has accidentally swallowed a small girl in a well which I think gives you an idea of how surreal these characters are! All of the characters are female and are living life a little bit differently…

CM: As someone who rejected Barbies as a child, I’m pleased to hear about the Sindy representation. Were you a Sindy girl? Or are you too young? 
SH: I was a Sindy girl and also a Sylvanian Family girl, it was a blended toy community in my childhood bedroom! In the show, audience members who used to have Sindy dolls often feel quite loyal towards my Sindy character, it’s very sweet! 

CM: Can you tell us a bit about how your creative process works when creating your characters? Where does the inspiration come from?
SH: Sometimes I’ll start with a voice – as with the girl in the well – and at other times I’ll start with an observation or premise.

With the Panda character, I observed all of the “cute” panda videos online and thought it would be interesting to explore a panda who is annoyed at being used as a cute click bait. 

Once I have a few characters I’ll look for what else the show needs as a whole. In this show I wrote a character whose lifestyle was close to mine – a contortionist! – so I could explore the theme of continuing to live a creative life, in a lighthearted way. 

CM: We first discovered your work many years ago at edfringe and have been fans ever since. Presumably you are still a fan of the Fringe? What keeps you going back?
SH: Thank you! It’s a great place to hone a show and make discoveries because you get the chance to do it every day for a month.

I loved performing ‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’ for edfringe audiences and it really found its groove as the month progressed. 

The Edinburgh Fringe is also the best place – other than Soho Theatre – to see a huge range of comedy and be inspired.  

CM: You’ve got a really eclectic ‘CV’ in terms of your output – live shows, TV, radio sitcoms, podcast appearances, improv etc – is there any one thing that you like best? What takes up more of your time? 
SH: That’s a great question! It varies from month to month. Last year I was doing a show called ‘Sherlock Holmes And The 12 Days of Christmas’ for several months, so for a while scripted theatre took up a lot of time. 

But then this spring I’ve done loads of touring with ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’, so it varies as to what I spend most time on. 

It’s hard to know what I like best. I suppose anything that’s collaborative, whether that’s in the context of an improv company, or collaborating with a director and the audience in my solo shows. But live stuff – with interaction or opportunities for improvisation – is where my heart is. 

CM: How did you come to be working in this field? Is it something you always pursued? What steps did you take to begin your career? 
SH: I always wanted to be a character actor and I loved comedy, but I didn’t know that comedy would be something I could pursue.

So I trained as an actor and accidentally discovered sketch comedy and then improv along the way. After that I made as much comedy work as I could and never looked back. 

CM: What have been the highlights of your working life thus far? 
SH: Working with nice people is always a joy. I loved doing ‘DNN’, which was a topical sketch show for CBBC. I worked with a great bunch. We were a cast of writer-performers and we got to do different sketches and characters every week. Heaven! 

‘Showstopper’ in the West End makes me very grateful every time I do it and doing ‘Mischief Movie Night’ at the beautiful Regents Park outdoor theatre was lovely. Watching the sky change from the matinee to the evening show felt magical. 

But doing my solo show at Soho Theatre really is a highlight too! I’ve always wanted to perform my own work there.  

CM: What aims and ambitions do you have for the future? 
SH: I’ve just set up a production company – One Size Productions – with my writing partner Lucy Trodd and we have a taster of a sitcom in the works there, starring some exciting people. Our aim is to one day make this pilot into a full sitcom. Stay tuned! 

CM: What’s coming up next for you after this?
SH: Oh, see above! Also I’m taking my solo show to Zurich and working on a ‘work in progress’ show with brand new material for Mach Fest in Wales. It’s a lovely festival full of die hard comedy fans and I can’t wait. 

Susan performs ‘Should I Still Be Doing This?’ at Soho Theatre from 24-25 Apr. See the venue website here for more information and to book tickets. 

LINKS: sohotheatre.com | susanharrisoncomedy.com | instagram.com/susanharrisoncomedy 

Photo: Matt Stronge