Pauline Shanahan is performing her new show, What’s Cooler Than Being a Hipster? A Spinster, at 52 Canoes at this years Edinburgh Fringe. I sat down with Pauline to have a chat and discuss her upcoming show.
Catherine Royle: What is the premise of your show and how did you get the idea for it?
Pauline Shanahan: The idea is just being playful with the archetype of spinster and hipster. Really it was a line that I said in my stand up at one point, “I like to think I’m cooler than a hipster, I’m a spinster.” It’s just me having fun with that word spinster because it’s a negative word, but neither of them is particularly cool. I thought there was some fun to be had in reclaiming the word spinster and just owning it.
CR: In your show, you say that you love lying, what’s your favourite/best lie you’ve ever told?
PS: That came from when I was putting CV’s together and I had gone to see someone about writing CV’s. They had written about me in a way that I could not relate to. I didn’t recognise myself in that CV. I was made to look so bubbly and wonderful, so that came from the lies you tell on your CV and the way you present yourself to the world.
CR: Who would you recommend your show for?
PS: People who are fairly clued into cultural references, who would know about hipsters and spinsters. People who are smart funny and kind. The show is not confessional in the sense that I’m not crying about being a spinster. I’m playful with it, so playful people.
CR: How did you start doing comedy?
PS: I started doing stand-up about four years ago. I had come from an acting background so it was kind of a bucket list thing. I thought, it’s insane but maybe I could give stand up a go. I got through the 2014 Funny Women Awards final really quite quickly so that gave me a bit of confidence. Now I just find that it’s a really amazing art form and it seems boundless. Shows I’ve seen in Edinburgh can go in all kinds of different directions from silly to sublime to tragic so I find it really interesting.
CR: What do you expect to take away from this fringe?
PS: I hope to be clearer about material that works or doesn’t work. To be better at crowd interaction. In Dublin this show flies so it’s about branching out to different audiences…
CR: Why should people come see your show?
PS: If you want to see an arch funny look at two ridiculous stereotypes then I think that this show is for you.
Pauline Shanahan: What’s Cooler Than Being a Hipster? A Spinster at 52 Canoes at 13:45 until August 22nd. For tickets and more information click here!
