Catherine Bohart

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 26th February 2021

With post-lockdown now in sight we're starting to wonder what cool stuff will stick around once this weird year is over. Catherine Bohart's new-material bash Gigless, for example, which happens every Thursday with co-host Helen Bauer and has now spawned a whole online festival. Gigfest is on 20th-21st March and features ten work-in-progress shows - but how did it all begin?

"I really wanted to make a space for comics to keep trying out new material and [to] workshop shows for whenever we are able to do them again," Bohart explains, of Gigless. "The fact we can get some people paid every week is a bonus too."

For this two-day event those acts include Sindhu Vee, Stuart Goldsmith, Rosie Jones, Nabil Abdulrashid, Maisie Adam - strong line-up. So are there plusses to running a festival online, rather than in person?

"I think there's huge bonuses," Catherine continues. "When you host a gig online, people can tune in from all over the world, and the venue is accessible to everyone. It's also easier to make it cheap and grade the prices whether you're on Zoom or the livestream so it's open to everyone and more inclusive, which I love.

"There's also a genuine intimacy to the gigs because we have such a regular audience and comedians have gotten really good at gigging from home and making people feel involved. Plus, audience members can ask questions and participate in the chat function in a way they can't at a live gig.

"On top of that, with the festival, you can pop into shows as and when it suits you throughout the day. A lot of people have been using the weekly show as a way to do something with their friends, even though they aren't in the same house. I'm hoping the same will be true of the festival."

Long may it continue. Right now though, Bohart looks back.

First gig?

My first gig was Comedy Virgins at The Cavendish Arms. I remember the disco fries, they had onion rings and brie on them - worth the gig anxiety just for that.

There were maybe an audience of 20 and the same number of performers. They don't give you a running order so you just have to wait, nauseous all evening wondering if you're next on as they pull each name out of a hat! I don't know how it went or what I said but I clearly thought it went okay because I'm still doing this almost six years later.

Favourite show, ever?

Edinburgh 2019, I had an extra show put on in the Cabaret Bar at The Pleasance. I love that room so much and I just had the time of my life. The show was on really late, maybe at 11pm and I'd been doing it at five for the whole run. The show was fairly sex heavy so doing it to drunk people was way more fun!

Worst gig?

I once did a gig in a gay bar in Manchester, I said I was bi onstage and this woman booed. We got talking and she did not like me! She turned out to be a police officer and she was at a table full of police officers. I replied to a heckle in a way she didn't like and suddenly she was on the stage going to hit me.

Thankfully, the table of coppers stopped her and, to be fair, comedian Chloe Petts was there and was basically my bodyguard for the evening. Chloe is actually performing at Gigfest because I never forget an act of loyalty.

Anyway, we then got into the car to drive back to London and got stuck on the motorway in snow for so long that the whole drive ended up taking us eleven hours. I think I got paid £40.

Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?

My agent, Hannah Chambers. She expected more of me than I expected of myself and because of that, I'm a more hardworking comic. Not a very funny answer but it is true. Oh and my mum, she's hilarious and I frequently quote her onstage. That's where all my sex gags come from.

And who's the most disagreeable person you've come across in the business?

A police officer in Manchester.

Is there one routine/gag you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?

I had a bit about a pigeon being shot in my local church. I adored it and I'd get so excited to do it. I can't tell you how few people cared.

How have your lockdowns been, generally and creatively?

They've been hard, but who's hasn't? I'm lucky, I've got a nice place to live and a job, I've gone back to teaching (on Zoom!). Creatively, I've poured my efforts into making Gigless an inclusive and fun place to be every Thursday and I think that's what we've achieved.

It's been utterly rubbish not having live work, cancelling tour dates and Edinburgh and missing out on work that was in the diary but, equally, I've been able to write and gig from home. I've also gotten to see people perform who I wouldn't have otherwise and I've been really inspired by what other comedians have made happen during lockdown.

Kiri's Covid Arms is astounding and inspiring, Sarah Millican's Playground gives great comics a platform, Joy Multiplication is joyous, Stu Goldsmith's Infinite Sofa is so much fun! Plus, I met Andrew White who is a wonderful comedian and runs Gigless with me and his tech wizardry never fails to amaze me, so I'm feeling creatively encouraged.

Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?

I try not to read reviews or give them too much head space. Heckles are fun! Mainly, the thing that comes to mind is times when family or friends have come to shows and either said nothing afterwards or worse, said I was really brave. Truly, a knife in the heart of any comic.

How do you feel about where your career is at, right now?

Like I'd really like to be able to perform in comedy clubs again, please.