Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain?
By Adam Clery on August 16, 2011 in Stage
“My original thought was ‘holy shit, I should go and buy a speedboat’, but I live in Bound’s Green now so I’d probably have to store it on the roof.”
Riddle me this folks, how does a polite, unimposing young lad from Sunderland, end up as one of Gotham City’s most notorious super-villains?
The answer’s simple – an absolute tonne of hard work, determination and being, at times, a little suggestible.
Meet Chris Price, simultaneously one of Batman’s deadliest foes and one of the North-East’s best improvisational comics.
“When I found out I got the part in Batman I downed an entire pint of Guinness. I kissed one of my best mates right on his face. I think I called my agent a “massive, massive liar”, but the whole evening’s something of a blur to be honest.”
“I’ve been acting now since 1999. There’s been hard times and there’s been incredible times. This is definitely one of the incredible times, maybe even the incredible time, who knows.”
“When I first started out I was doing absolutely everything I could get involved with, and I was doing it all for free. I wanted to make this a career though and the idea of getting paid to do something that you love is just incredible. The first few years though I did a lot of part-time work during the day and then act and perform in the evening. It was a real slog at times but it’s just what you’ve got to do.”
“The biggest change for me though was when I met The Suggestibles. I’ve been a Suggestible for about 6 years now and they changed absolutely everything for me, they’re an amazing group of people and very, very close friends now.”
For those of you who don’t know, The Suggestibles are the North-East’s premier purveyors of improvisational comedy. They’re renowned nationwide as being able take the advice of drunken punters and weave it into hours of hilarity. They don’t just let any old aspiring comics join, so it’s no surprise that someone from their ranks has ended up on one of the biggest theatrical tours currently knocking around Europe. What is surprising though, is how Chris came to be amongst the ranks of these lolsmiths.
“It’s a strange story actually, I started teaching at Newcastle College part-time and I met Mr Gary Kitching, the man’s now my BFF, but he was starting on the same day as me. I had met him about 4 years previously in Manchester when we were both auditioning for a Nescafe advert and we ended up getting drunk on the train on the way back. We had an absolute riot together and we promised to keep in touch, but you know how these things go, we didn’t see each other for about four years and then, right out of the blue, we started teaching at the college on the same day.”
“We had a great time there and we got to share an office, which was a huge mistake on the part of the Newcastle College, and he invited me down to watch the Suggestibles. A few weeks later they were invited down the the Globe theatre as part of this massive Shakespearian improv competition called “Shall we shog”. They were competing with far more established acts from London and Liverpool but, somehow, they won, which was a massive, massive deal at the time.”
Chris (2nd from right) in his Suggestible days...
“Immediately after that they asked me to be a Suggestible and I accepted, after I changed my underpants. That was 6 years ago now and I’ve never, ever looked back. Obviously, they’re completely different things, but I’d never have become The Riddler if I hadn’t become a Suggestible.”
Even before Chris was a Suggestible, he was just an aspiring actor from Sunderland who’d managed to cobble together a decent CV of minor stage and screen appearances across the region. Massive, massive applause to any of you who remember Badger, the BBC’s half-hearted attempt to create a drama about wildlife enforcement officers in Northumberland. Massive, massive, massive applause if any of you remember the small part Chris had it…
As is so often the case though, Chris found his opportunities in the region limited and was forced to tread the well-worn path from here to the big smoke, albeit with a stop across the Tyne along the way.
“I moved away from Sunderland in 2004 and went to live in Newcastle, as you can imagine I got a fair bit of stick for that from my friends. About two and a half years ago I left the region entirely and moved down to London. That’s just the done thing though I suppose, that’s just what happens in this line of work.”
“I think it’s always been like that. If there is a big city, a capital city, there’s always going to be a pull or an attraction for people to go there because that’s where people want to centre things. Not necessarily people from up here, there’s incredible acting work going on up here at the moment like Live Theatre and Northern Stage. I miss Newcastle so much and I love the fact that the theatre world up here is making connections internationally. It’s just sad that you still have to move away from the region because it is brilliant and it’s chock-full of really really talented people.”
“You don’t have to move away, but for a lot of people it’s a decision that will make a lot of sense career-wise. There are opportunities up here, but I think the problem is that there are just so many people who deserve them and there isn’t quite enough to go around”.
There you have it then, clear as crystal from a master of mysteries; there’s a surplus of theatrical talent in the region, but it’s the likes of London that’s reaping the rewards of this golden generation.
I hark back to our interview with the cast of Double Act, who insisted that to really succeed as an aspiring performer from the North-East, you have to “be prepared to risk more than you can afford to lose”. It really is all or nothing up here, but if people like Chris are anything to go on, it’s the opportunities that need to increase, not the desire.
Related Posts:
- Another Play Another Season: Live Theatre Preview
The Power Of Suggestion – Why Improvised Hilarity Might Save Your Life
8 Responses
Leave a Reply
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/qirVAPI
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/OVyQvkg
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/OVyQvkg
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/qirVAPI
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/qirVAPI
RT @kyeotv: Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/5qbWCKM
Interview | Riddle Me This – How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/qirVAPI
Riddle Me This, How Does An Improv Comic From Sunderland End Up As An International Super-Villain? http://t.co/KlImx3g