Funny Parts interview: "Making people happy is super wholesome!"

This August, Funny Parts is sponsoring four emerging comedians - Steven Mckell, Noah Olaoye and The Gilbert Twins - to take part in improv stand-up comedy at The Variety Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe on 14th August.

We were delighted to check in with Steven and Noah ahead of the show.

What were you doing before being a comedian?
 
Steven: Before all the comedy and social media shenanigans I worked in a few call centres. I was the guy you spoke to, to get a loan, or the annoying person on the other end of the phone convincing you not to cancel your Sky package. I studied acting and performance in college and got my diploma. I always wanted to perform but I was grateful to have those few years after education to just live life and experience things on my own terms as an adult. 

Noah: I've never fully considered myself to be a comedian in the traditional sense, I've just always been funny; well at least I think I'm funny! And I've always enjoyed entertaining people and making people laugh and smile, so that pretty much makes me a comedian I suppose! Before I launched my social media platform, I was training to be an actor in drama school, then the pandemic hit and I needed a platform to express my creativity.

What inspired you to get into comedy? 
 
Steven: Ever since I was a child, I loved making people laugh! I was inspired by comedy actors like Eddie Murphy and stand-up comics like Billy Connolly growing up! They didn't care what people thought about them. They just loved to laugh and make people laugh. I realised the older I got, the more I fell in love with comedy. What inspired me to keep going was seeing people's face light up with laughter and excitement. I know how I feel when I'm watching something funny and comedic. I feel amazing, like I can forget about everything and enjoy these few moments of joy and laughter. If I can do that for just one person, honestly my jobs done! That kind of feeling really is beautiful. 

Noah: Like I said, I've always been funny and I always admired people who made me laugh, and I knew I wanted to do what they did, because it looked fun and making people happy is super wholesome.

What was your very first sketch that you posted online?

Steven: Now you are asking!! Honestly, I feel like it was a variation of Scottish Mums! Which is a character that's based off my actual mum. Where I would create a sketch around very relatable things that Scottish mums and families do. This was back in 2018, so it wasn't as polished as my sketches now. I feel like a lot of my sketch content was based around Scottish people! Primarily female centred. Because I feel Scottish women are some of the best in the world. My mum is a fierce, caring, and tough mother! So, I felt most people could probably relate to that in some aspect.

Noah: Me washing my hands whilst singing the national anthem... allow me to explain myself! This was at the height of the pandemic, and hand washing was all the rage. It was a huge thing that the amount of time you should take to wash your hands is 20 seconds, or as Jacob Rees-Mogg had said, the same amount of time it takes to sing the national anthem. I then, dressed up in my PJs, washed my hands whilst dramatically singing the national anthem with a little bit of falsetto and posted it to my zero followers.
 
Can you tell us more about working with Funny Parts and give us any clues of what's in-store for the future?

Steven: Working with Funny Parts has been amazing. What we have planned at the variety show is fun and the audience are going to get a real kick out of it. It will be a great segment of the show that changes the energy which will be brilliant. I'm so excited to be working with funny parts on this. As for the future...keep your eyes peeled. The comedy won't just be on the stage for this one show. Funny Parts and I have something in store for you that you are going to LOVE!!! Don't want to give too much away but what I can say is...Watch this space!

Noah: Working with Funny Parts has been great! They champion some of my favourite shows, such as This Country and The Young Offenders, shows that are just my type of humour! I've learnt a lot working with a talented team of individuals and I've definitely got some stuff I can transfer over to my personal craft! They've created a space where I feel comfortable to express my weirdness, which I'm always grateful for!