Joseph Morpurgo
Joseph Morpurgo is being incredibly cagey about the show he plans to unleash on Shepherds Bush.
“I can't really tell you,” he says. And then, after a little pause: “It's an unusual adaptation of an old horror story.”
Morpurgo specialises in just this sort of clever oddness – some will know him for his part in Jane Austen-themed improv comedy group, Austentatious.
But this show – part of the inaugural Shepherds Bush Comedy Festival – is very much a case of him going it alone.
The festival, organised by Hammersmith & Fulham Council in partnership with the Bush Theatre and PBJ Management, sees a host of top names perform over the weekend of 1-4 June at the newly renovated venue in Uxbridge Road.
Morpurgo's show is a work in development, which gives him a chance to experiment, and his audience a chance to see the germ of a new idea before it is taken to Edinburgh – all for only a fiver.
“It's less a dress rehearsal, more an excavation of things,” he insists.
Morpurgo says he loves playing smaller festivals like Shepherds Bush, because the closeness with the audience helps him fine tune his material.
And those in attendance are in for a treat: his mix of awkward character-based work, with a heavy dose of improvisation, is always clever, always funny.
He says he is looking forward to the show, and will be keeping an eye out for several other acts in which he takes keen interest: Geins Family Giftshop (whom he describes as 'obsidian black' in terms of darkness), Joe Lycett and Nish Kumar.
You can see Joseph Morpurgo at the Bush Theatre, 1.30pm on Saturday 3 June.Tickets £5.
