Michael Brunström
Published: Tuesday 5th November 2024
One random comedian, eight random questions; it's the ultimate test of funny person and fate.
This week we welcome a Wormhole-bound Weirdo. It's Michael Brunström, fresh from a bravura turn in the Weirdos Halloween special, QAnon vs Dracula (he's back for their charity panto, too) and this weekend he'll be heading to Nottingham for Wormhole Weekend, an alternative wing of the Nottingham Comedy Festival. His show? Copernicus Now.
"In 1543, astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus published a book that changed everything everyone understood about the universe," Brunström begins. "In it, he explained how the sun doesn't go around the Earth. It's the other way round."
But why a show about Copernicus? Now?
"Huge revolutionary concepts like that don't come along very often, and I think it would be useful for humanity if another one presented itself pretty soonish. Copernicus Now is a show about how it might feel to have a bafflingly big idea in your head.
"I also hope it offers some reassurance to those who find the world disorienting, confusing and terrifying. It's not you: the planet really is spinning madly, wobbling about its axis and hurtling through space."
Fair point. Before that, for Londoners, Brunström appears at Wondersplash tonight (5th November), Alwin Solanky and Mark Dean Quinn's experimental extravaganza, and on 26th November it's Mr B's own monthly mixed-bill oddfest, Clothes Horse Comedy. Not a dry eye in the house.
But now, Michael Brunström, your Random 8 await.
What was your childhood career dream?
As a child, I believed that I was destined to become Professor Yaffle from Bagpuss. I think I am close to achieving that.
Which place you've visited was the biggest anti-climax?
It always bothers me that whenever I cross a time zone, I don't physically feel anything.
What's the most extravagant thing you've ever done?
I insist on getting the highest-quality kitchen bin bags: the expensive heavy-duty ones with the handles and the elasticated tops.
Who's the most interesting person you've ever met?
At a mental health charity vaudeville gig in the 1990s I briefly met Michael Fagan, the man who entered the Queen's bedroom in 1982. He seemed very reasonable.
What's the weirdest thing in your wardrobe?
The wardrobe in my spare bedroom contains miscellaneous props from my previous shows, including a freaky doll with an alarm clock inside, a wrestling mask and a giant egg.
Is there a book or film that changed your life?
I discovered Boris Vian's surreal novel Froth on the Daydream when I was about 18. Dazzling, sexy, hallucinatory and deeply sad. At that time in my life, I didn't know you were allowed to write books like that.
What's the best thing you ever bought a ticket for?
Blackgang Chine (surreal erosion-beset theme park on the Isle of Wight).
How do you feel about cats - the animal, not the musical?
I admire and obey them.
Michael Brunstrom: Copernicus Now is at Fishergate Point Studios, Nottingham, on Saturday. Tickets
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