On stage, Demetriou also perfected characters’ physical quirks: “All the tics, tricks and comedic devices I use in my performance on TV, I generated on stage.

Emotional behaviour juxtaposed with masculine bravado, done well, is a treat.” “Stath is pure friction because he’s a clash of cultures – a wide boy who desperately wants to be a dad and is insanely loving. He tries to avoid cliches, looking to portray interesting “friction” instead.

The experience honed his character creation: “I start with a trait that’s difficult, but endearing, that I’ve seen enough times that people watching think: ‘I’ve met that guy’.” (With people-watching so important to his work, Demetriou admits that the pandemic has made writing series three of Stath challenging.)ĭemetriou performing on stage. That ended up being an amazing baptism of fire.” Demetriou swiftly created companions: “I’d spend all night talking to myself in different character voices, then pick up a wig on the way to the show. That first character was Big D, a shoddy rapper who’s confused to find himself playing a comedy show. By the end, he’s got this big following,” White says. “At the beginning of the month, he had one character and three people in the audience. He invited performers including White to open, naming the show People Day (and Special Guests). In the summer of 2012, Demetriou had a choice: attend an interview for a BBC traineeship or fill an hour at the fringe with only 15 minutes of material: “I shut my eyes and decided to go to the fringe.” By the time you’ve left uni, you’ve got that out of your system and learned a bit.” “That’s the beauty of student comedy: you can get all your grotesque, rubbish little ideas on stage. “I learned that characters are funniest when they don’t really know what they’re doing.”Ĭrucially, it offered space to experiment. “I definitely did a version of Stath,” Demetriou says. Many involved characters failing at something – a trademark of Stath, who serially fails to let out any flats. Ellie White and Jamie Demetriou with the Bristol Revunions.

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