Circuit Training 55: An accident-prone chat with Sara Pascoe

Bollocked by Peter Capaldi and revoltingly shagged by Will Arnett, Sara Pascoe's finest thespian moments aren't really suitable for regaling the grandchildren with, one day. Thankfully her assault on the comedy heights is busily ongoing, and bi-pronged.

Roles in high-profile sitcoms The Thick Of It, Twenty Twelve, Free Agents, Campus and The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret must already elicit barely-concealed envy from the majority of her comic contemporaries, but she's turned out to be a blindingly good stand-up too. Acting came first but performing live is strong with the Pascoes - dad Derek fronted mullet-laden '70s pop-rockers Flintlock - and the upwardly mobile Essex girl brings her acclaimed flights of fancy to the Soho Theatre this week.

Our chat originally occurred during a quick break in a series of 'live rehearsals' Sara was performing for the Beeb, but - full disclosure - the interview below isn't actually it. After the calamitous hot chocolate incident with Lee Hurst, I managed not to get any of this one on tape at all, somehow or other. So we redid it over email, pretty much exactly the same as the phone version, but without me having to transcribe it all. Result!

These BBC rehearsals sound interesting - how do they work?

Well it's part of The Salford Showcases, which is quite clever; it's their new way of testing pilot scripts but without going through the very expensive process of filming things that people will never see. So instead they rehearse six studio sitcoms, two for each channel, and get them performed in front of an audience to see how they work with a cast and a director and 'on its feet' as they like to say. For an actor it's like being in a very short funny play!

You do a huge amount of gigs - do they fit in with the acting ok?

Oh yes, really, really well, because most of my gigs are in London and so rehearsing or filming will finish early evening and then I can dash over to my gig. And even when I was filming Stand Up For The Week I was able to film Twenty Twelve in the mornings, before going over for an evening record. If I ever do have to cancel a gig usually people are really understanding about rebooking it in, but most of the time the two careers are really complementary.

Tell us a bit about 'Sara Pascoe: The Musical'. Has it evolved at all since the Fringe version?

It hasn't evolved that much since Edinburgh, the show has a narrative through-line so it wouldn't be a case of putting in new jokes or taking bits out. The show is a few stories that demonstrate why I've ended up as a stand-up comedian, from being a liar at school, to organising performance assemblies, to being forced to join a drama club when my mum couldn't cope with me anymore. It's by far my favourite show I've written.

Have you had many punters in who thought it was actually a musical?

Hmm, well I've had no walk-outs of people shouting "this isn't the new Evita!" but I have spoken to people who didn't come because they "don't like musicals" - to them I sing the entirety of Rent, to try and change their mind. The show does have a little music in it but only as a joke, it's a proper stand-up show. But I've learnt my lesson about misleading titles.

There are some very successful comics from Essex - is the accent quite conducive to comedy?

All accents are pretty good for comedy, I think comedy accentuates voice and manner and people become more cartoony versions of themselves. I've always thought the Essex sensibility lends really well to comedy: a lot of us are ex-East End done good, the first generation to go to university, so you're bright but you don't show off about it, brought up with the ethos of "you can do anything" but "don't get up yourself."

And, I'm sure this happens in lots of places, but when I meet someone else from Essex, we can joke about things straight away because we have a shared understanding of light ribbing and teasing which is how we make friends. Down the market. Wearing our white stilettos.

Was it interesting working with David Cross on Todd Margaret, given that he's more used to US TV? And did you talk stand-up at all?

I would not have DARED to talk stand-up with David. I was a very, very big fan of his work, from Arrested Development, his stand-up and Mr Show, so I tended to be very quiet around him and just enjoy watching him at work. He is a very sweet man and like a comedy machine. When it came to a reaction shot - for instance he has just seen someone out of the window - he would film 50 options so that they could choose which was funniest in the edit.

I think British TV-making is very low budget in comparison to the US. I get the impression that they had better catering and things over there.

Getting ranted at by Malcolm Tucker is a great moment for any actor - any other favourite scenes from your career so far?

Ooh, yes that was very fun indeed, my other funnest has been working with Jessica Hynes on Twenty Twelve - I adore her and she's as funny in between takes as she is in them, I always felt lightheaded at the end of recording from laughing too much. I also liked Todd Margaret because I got to have a gross sex scene with Will Arnett. And I really, really loved working with Matthew Holness, who I think is incredible, in Free Agents.

You've just done Live At The Apollo - is it a bit nerve-wracking waiting to see how the edit comes out?

Yes! I enjoyed the gig so much and was very proud to be invited to do it: my dad was once on Top of the Pops, and my Live At The Apollo will be the equivalent for my children. But, yes I am nervous about watching it, I performed 20 minutes which will be cut down to eight and I have no idea what they'll keep... also it's excruciating to watch yourself. First world problems, eh?

What do comics make of the TV stand-up shows? Any horror stories?

It's certainly a different ballgame. The audience who will come to a free TV record are not necessarily the ones who would come to a proper gig. It can be difficult to feel you're doing well, often in a space not built for comedy, plus you have the added stress of - when a joke isn't landing or you think you're 'dying' - your inner monologue is going "and they are going to put this on TELEVISION?" But usually in an edit they can make it look a lot better than it was. Which is why you learn to make it look like you're having a great time, even if you're not.

What else do you have coming up, on stage and screen?

I've got a sketch show coming out on CBBC in January called Fit, made by the guys who made Horrible Histories, I've got a radio sketch show that I'm writing with some other comics that we'll record next year and I'm also writing my new Edinburgh show and a play, so it's all nice and busy. But not too crazy.

'Sara Pascoe: The Musical' is at the Soho Theatre from Tue 27th November to Saturday 1st December 2012 (no show Thursday), visit www.sohotheatre.com for details.