Catherine Cohen
Published: Friday 11th February 2022
Look at her! Way back in 2019 the New York cabaret queen Catherine Cohen won the fiercely contested Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Fringe, and has now belatedly returned, to bask in the residual glory at London's Clapham Grand. The show?
"The Twist? She's Gorgeous is an exercise in glamour, a study in sensuality, a comment on joie de vivre," Cohen explains. "It's also a comedy show with songs."
It is - and here's a sample. Not that Catherine was twiddling her thumbs this last two years. She popped up in big deals like Home Sweet Home Alone (alongside Rob Delaney and Aisling Bea) and the latest series of What We Do In The Shadows. And recharged the set.
"Lockdown was, of course, hell on earth," she says, "but it gave me the chance to write some new material I'm excited about."
And she's trying it out over six nights at Soho Theatre, before that Grand show. But first: history.
First gig?
Broadway Comedy Club in New York City, 2014. Someone dropped a large tray of cocktails during my set which felt like a sprinkle of applause from the universe.
Favourite show, ever?
Probably the last extra show we added in Edinburgh in 2019. It was the very end of the run, I was manic, spewing out pure chaotic energy and then drinking seven beers... bliss!
Worst gig?
I opened for the Countess LuAnn from the Real Housewives Of NYC and bombed in front of 1000 wine moms in Long Island. I still yearn for their approval.
Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?
My dad makes me LOL every day. He's my bestie :)
And who's the most disagreeable person you've come across in the business?
Unfortunately, I believe everyone is beautiful in their own twisted little way <3
Is there one routine/gag you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?
I once wrote a ballad about bringing a stick of pepperoni to a dinner party that didn't really LAND as they say in the biz... probably because pepperoni is divine! Nothing funny about that.
You recently played a siren in What We Do In The Shadows. How tough is it to out-sexy that cast, particularly Colin Robinson?
Everyone on that show is a total genius. It was an honour to swoop in for an episode....
Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?
I was once described as "super niche" which is... rude? I think my work is universal. And groundbreaking to boot!
How do you feel about where your career is at, right now?
Ha ha ha, it's never enough! But as long as I get to perform my slutty little songs on stage I'll always feel like the luckiest girl in the garden.
The Twist? She's Gorgeous is at London's Clapham Grand on March 2nd: claphamgrand.com
And Catherine Cohen is doing a week of WIPs at Soho Theatre, from February 21st:
sohotheatre.com
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