Still only 19 years old, Bo Burnham is already being hyped up as a potential comedy star of the decade, and his show at the Edinburgh Fringe has been a constant sell-out - especially after the rave five-star reviews that he’s received.
So what’s he made of his first time in Edinburgh? Bo told us: “It’s nice. It’s a bit confusing, it’s a bit wet, it’s a bit dark... It’s everything I expected it to be, which is nice.”
As it turns out, he’d heard of the Fringe long before making the trip over for this months’ show. He explained: “I’m a big fan of a lot of European comics, so I’d heard about it.
“I’d heard that it’s a bit of a battlefield, that if you hadn’t done it you really hadn’t seen the comedy world at all, so I wanted to at least try it and see what it was like.”
Though well known for his viral videos on YouTube, his spoof songs gathering him a massive fanbase, his appearances at the Fringe has marked the first time that many people have heard of the comedian. So how did he com to be in Edinburgh?
Bo said: “I posted some stuff online when I was little - or 16, I was still tall - then people seemed to enjoy it.
“I did some stuff in America and I hooked up with some people that had done some European bookings and stuff. I did a festival in Dublin a couple of times, I did a run at Leicester Square Theatre in London, and people kept wanting me to try this [the Fringe], but I didn’t want to come over here until I had a brand new hour ready. I finally did, I finally decided to do it, so here we are.”
His astounding wordplay seems almost impossible for a comedian of his age, so we asked Bo what inspirations are. He told us: “The big influences are like Tim Minchin, Bill Bailey, Hans Teeuwen , who I’ve worshipped in the last year, I really want to see him.
“Yeah, I found that I just wrote jokes more lyrically. I’m not a great musician, I’m kind of a hack when it comes to that, but I find that I write jokes lyrically, I guess, poetically. Tim Keys is another one who’s incredible like that... Not saying that I’m incredible like that, but he’s another one who writes lyrically, and is incredible.”
So is he more influenced by comedians than musicians? “Oh yeah, I have no musician influences,” Bo reasoned. “Maybe lyrically... I like Eminem, there’s some people who I think write cool and funny lyrics, but I’m not smart or intuitive enough musically to even be influenced by anybody.”
FOR MORE BO BURNHAM
- Video preview of Bo's show: see for yourself what the fuss is about
- Read our review of Bo Burnham's much talked-about show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe
He first became at an internet star at the tender of 16, so did he ever have any concerns about putting his music in such a public sphere?
“No, because when I did it it was 2006, and people didn’t know what it was,” Bo replied. “When I posted on YouTube people had no idea what it was, and they had no idea that it had the power it did.
“This was before viral videos were known to even have that potential, so when I posted it I had no idea what it could do. I don’t know if I would have did it, if it was now, but I got lucky. I got very lucky.”
Bo’s show Words, Words, Wordsends on August 30, and his plans for after that? “I’m going to do some touring in the United States, probably write a lot more,” he told us.
“My favourite part of this festival is that it makes people write a new hour each year, which I think is really healthy for comedians and for comedy in general, but I’ll probably go back and work. I’ve been away for like a month or so overseas, so I’m looking forward to going back, but I’m looking forward to finishing this as well.”
Though he definitely plans on returning to Edinburgh, he’s not sure it’ll be in a year’s time. Bo explained: “The one thing is I don’t know if I can write another hour over the next year, because I have to do some other stuff, but I’m definitely going to come back, I definitely want to come back - it’s just a question of when, or if I can.”
And what of his stated plans to work with Judd Apatow? Bo told us: “That’s one of the things that I’m writing, this musical - and if that ends up going through I probably won’t be able to write another hour in the next year.”
On writing the musical, he explained: “I’ll probably need somebody if it goes down the line to arrange it - I don’t know where oboes come in, or anything. But yeah, it’s been fun, I’ve learned a lot. I’m still learning a lot about my stand-up too, but most of what I do, even being here, I’ve thought I’d come out of this a better comedian, so I may as well do it.”
And as for where his career goes in future? Bo laughed: “Oh no, I really don’t care, I don’t care. As long as I’m not doing the same stupid stuff, or as long as I’m never the 25 or 30 or 40 year old who’s acting like he’s not still a kid, I just hope I can move out of it. But whatever, I might be laying brick in five years, and as long as I’m having fun I don’t really care.”
Bo Burnham is performing Words, Words, Words from August 4-30 at 9.35pm at the Pleasance Dome.
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