Monday 4 June 2018

Jumping on the bandwagon... Congratulations Lost Voice Guy

He only went and did it! Lost Voice Guy has won Britain's Got Talent 2018. He's the first comedian to do it, and the first comedian using an iPad. Fantastic news and we couldn't be happier for him.  


When we last spoke with Lost Voice Guy in April we stumbled upon an in-joke, maybe inappropriate joke? With the sad passing of Professor Stephen Hawking in March, we realised there was a gap for a person using a synthesised voice. 


Lost Voice Guy on stage, smiling, pressing his keypad. There's an Abnormally Funny People pop up stand to his right.
Lost Voice Guy, with Abnormally Funny People 
Soho Theatre, 2012
I think Lee (real name) first worked with Abnormally Funny People in 2012. He is a stand up comedian on the mainstream circuit where he earns his living. He writes his own material and has done multiple one hour, one man, Edinburgh shows. Like all the Abnormally Funny People comedians, he dips in and out to do occasional shows and have fun with us. Abnormally Funny People has always been an ensemble cast but to remind you, we try to have a token non-disabled comedian, to give them a chance. The first was Steve Best, co-founder of Abnormally Funny People. We're all about inclusion. 

Lee has a tendency to cut it fine, be almost late for a show. As a producer, with a packed audience in the venue, waiting for your last act to turn up is stressful. Of course he always made it but there was never time for him to then type out the reason why he was nearly late. 

We introduced improvisation in to our 10th Anniversary show at Edinburgh in 2015. We were taught by the best Lee Simpson (of Improbable Theatre and Comedy Store Players). We decided to play the three headed expert game. It's fast paced, requiring a single, different word said by three different people in succession, trying to keep a coherent sentence going. 
                                                                                                                                        
This is a hard game for anyone, made more interesting when you then have comedian who uses an iPad to speak and has to type his word out as Lost Voice Guy does. He wasn't the only one who found it tricky: Steve Day and Caro Sparks can't hear, Laurence Clark can speak but does so differently with his CP or Jess Thom, with Tourette's meaning she won't stick to one word. Tanyalee Davis used to throw up her short arms in despair. Luckily Juliette Burton was the most excellent interviewer and just about held the show together. 

Abnormally Funny People Edinburgh 2015
L - R Juliette Burton, Lost Voice Guy, Laurence Clark, Tanyalee Davis
And the schmaltzy take away bit of this story? It's about taking a risk. There is no way we should have played that improvisation game. I spoke with Jess (Touretteshero) after one show and suggested we couldn't have picked a harder game for her. She replied that she loved it, only with Abnormally Funny People could she play such an inappropriate game with her being integral and free to enjoy it. 

The photo to the right is a peach. At the left hand end, Juliette is keeping the audience onside, at the other end, Tanyalee is watching, ready to pounce. Laurence is already laughing and the best bit, Lost Voice Guy is corpsing, laughing uncontrollably, as he knows the one word he wants to say but can't get it out quick enough. Because he is corpsing, we have to wait even longer for him to answer. Pure joy!

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