6 Questions: Dan Simpson
We sat down (well actually we emailed, but that’s close enough) with poet, performer, and producer Dan Simpson and asked him 6 questions ahead of his comedy show here on Thursday 15 November. Get ready for some avocado chat…
Q 1. Your show “Avocado Economics” takes a data driven approach to understanding millennial problems, such as the housing crisis, and the ubiquitous avocado. What do you think will be the next hot veggie for millennials once the glamour of the avo fades?
Avocado will never not be glamorous, and I have the data and songs to back that up. Jackfruit seems to be the thing at the moment: pulled as a veggie / vegan alternative to meat. Though I was talking to someone in the food business and they were telling me how nutritionally empty it is. Avocado wins that battle!
Q 2. You’re fresh (ish) off a successful run of your show “Worried Face Emoji” at the Edinburgh Fringe. What other emoji encapsulates your experience and why?
You could pick any of the smiley emojis – from ‘Sad But Relieved Face’ to ‘Exploding Head’ – and at some point during the Fringe, that was how I felt. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and emoji, as it always is. But I can’t really distil that whole experience down to one emoji .
Q 3. Is the millennial obsession with house plants and horoscopes a ruse to distract them from the fact that, if you’re under 40, you’re half as likely to own a home as your parents were at your age?
We’re extending our childhoods in an attempt to recapture a safer, more secure time in the face of a precarious economic and political future. I think that’s why there are adult ballpits and nursery schools. I don’t think these things are distractions: they’re essential to cope.
Q 4. At what point should young people start selling their organs to try and rustle together a deposit on a home?
It may well happen! Baby Boomers might soon be buying blood from Millennials to live longer, so why not a kidney? But it’s never too early to start saving – HSBC recently told us that children should save pocket money and gifts from birth to help them buy a house in the future. Ugh: young people are so entitled, with their demands for a decent childhood and internal organs.
Q 5. Why should people come check out the show on November 15th?
We’ll be playing with both pogs and fundamental economic concepts – which may well be the same thing.
Q 6. Your shows marry two unlikely bedfellows; comedy and science. When did you first decide to start producing work around these themes?
When I first applied for University, I sent in the same form for both biochemistry and English Literature degrees. Hilarious. It’s a shame we have to choose either science or the humanities in our formal educations. Fortunately, art allows us to bring in any subject matter we like, and so it felt natural to gravitate towards scientific themes in my writing. As for comedy, one of the best ways to connect with people is to make them laugh. It’s an important part of my work, especially as a poet with the seriousness that form sometimes implies!
Come see Dan’s one man show Avocado Economics (Preview) here at Poplar Union on Thursday 15 November, You can also follow him on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
