“…I think my show suits a theatre environment really well and I look forward to bringing it to Greenwich…”
Harry Wright, comedian, is telling us about their background in theatre. “…I don’t really have one!”
This doesn’t seem to discourage them at all in finding ways to share their story! Harry continues;
“…I’ve been a stand-up comedian for about 6 years and am always looking for new spaces to perform.”
Harry Wright’s Smalltown Boy is a celebration of queerness and not ‘fitting in’. They explore their autism and their sexuality, and how these intersect with their class identity, growing up in a deprived area of Yorkshire.
Harry has never been able to find a good male role model and examines how sex, relationships and music have helped them become a better man, in theory anyway. Oh, and there are numerous dick jokes!
Harry says that they’ve built the show up over time in comedy clubs and festivals and their work has paid off. Harry was nominated for the BBC New Comedy Awards 2021 (now available to watch on BBC iPlayer) and a Finalist in 2Northdown New Act of the Year 2019, Max Turner Prize 2020 and Bath Comedy Festival New Act 2021. Harry is also the first-ever online Winner of the Comedy Store’s King Gong 2020.
So, what’s the core message of Smalltown Boy?
“…I mean, it’s my life story, which is inherently fairly interesting to me (is anyone bored by their own life story?) But I talk a lot about disability and sexuality in my stand-up (I’m gay, autistic and non-binary), and I want to make those topics accessible in a humorous way to people, without punching down. You’ll have to see the show to find out more!”
“I think the message is that you can and should be proud of who you are.”
Smalltown Boy was due to be programmed as part of the impressive Vault Festival, but in early January 2022 came a devastating blow as the Festival announced its cancellation due in part, to the on-going challenges of the pandemic. It was very encouraging to see so many theatres offer opportunities and support for the 600-plus stranded productions. We at Greenwich Theatre are pleased to be able to offer our support to this production too. Harry goes on to explain;
“I’ve always been a fan of Vaults Festival and what they do for emerging performers, and it was important to me to perform the show at an established festival after 18 months of very interrupted work due to Covid. I’m really grateful to the Greenwich Theatre for taking Smalltown Boy on, and it shows how strong the comedy community is and how much venues value what we can bring that they’re prepared to give our work a chance in their space.”
Well, after Greenwich, what’s next for Smalltown Boy? Harry explains;
“I’m doing the Brighton Fringe in May and looking to line up more performances in-between, plus I’m always gigging and working the clubs with new material.”
Book tickets for Smalltown Boy at Greenwich here.
You can continue the connection to Harry’s work on; Twitter: @HWrightComedy; Instagram: @hwrightcomedy; Facebook: @HarryWright