Rich Fulcher, from Wonka and The Mighty Boosh, comes to the Leicester Comedy Festival for the second time 20-21 Feb. 20:30 at the Firebug - Upstairs. He presents his absurd take on the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election with the latest news, video clips and answers the burning questions: Will Trump or Biden Survive the Election…and by Survive He Means Continue to Breathe? Can you get a Diploma from the Electoral College? Will There be Cheese-Related Snacks?
Rich has been seen recently in Apple’s Still Up, Black Mirror and Curb Your Enthusiasm. 2024 is also the 20th anniversary of the original airing of The Mighty Boosh on BBC3.
Ahead of the shows at The Leicester Comedy Festival we caught up with Rich to discuss the show.
Where did your comedy journey begin?
Believe it or not, it began in law school. I was in charge of the yearly Law Revue show and it was a lot more fun than studying law. I decided after graduation to do improv and sketch comedy in Chicago.
How did you approach a career in comedy?
My plan was to go to Second City in Chicago, do Saturday Night Live, then do movies. If that didn’t work out, I’d fall back on my law degree and go insane.
How would you describe your comedy style to those who don’t know you?
I try not to go from A to B, I go from Z to B or M to A, but never Z to A! I don’t know what I’m saying.
What can you tell me about your show?
It’s basically me, an American, telling the Brits about the U.S. presidential election. After the show, everyone says, ‘Ahhh, now I realize why the Yanks are so aggressive and f’d up.'
How do you prepare the material for a show?
I am a political junkie so I like to distill all the news I see and explain it as if I were a plumber describing pipes to a child.
How do you feel Brits generally view American politics?
They think it’s quite silly, really. National elections here are less than a month long but in the States it’s like two years — that’s longer than my fourth marriage!
This year sees the 20th anniversary of The Mighty Boosh, how do you reflect on the time working on it?
Even though we worked the better part of a decade together, the time we spent doing it was like lightning in a bottle. I feel like it came and went so fast. It’s made me think about investing in time machines.
You’ve recently been seen on the big screen in the simply brilliant Wonka. What was that experience like?
Most of the actors were comics so naturally it was very, very serious on set. I remember carrying those hot hand warmers in my pockets all the time because a lot of shooting was outside in the dead of winter. We would play pranks on each other and replace the hand warmers with cough sweets or fruit.
You’ve had a wonderfully varied career on stage, on screen, on the page and more but what’s the one stand-out moment from your career that you’re most proud of?
I guess playing the O2 with the Boosh was pretty stand-out. It was a very surreal moment and I wished I had savored it more in my mind. Instead, I just ate all the peanut M&Ms backstage.
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| Photo: Matt Stronge |
If you could have dinner with 3 fellow comedians who would you invite and why?
This is tough. I guess Bill Bailey because I haven’t seen him in ages; Melissa McCarthy because I took her chair once and need to apologize; and Sam Campbell because he could break the ice during awkward moments like arm wrestling.
If you were a biscuit, what biscuit would you be and why?
Hobnob but without the chocolate. I’d be tasty and a bit of a laxative so I’d have a fun ride on both ends!
Where can people see your show and follow you beyond this?
I’m at The Bill Murray 13 Feb 21:30 in London https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/rich-fulchers-us-election-show-13th-feb-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202402132130/
and at the Leicester Comedy Festival 20-21 Feb. at The Firebug - Upstairs at 20:30 https://comedy-festival.co.uk/events/rich-fulchers-us-election-show/
As far as beyond this, I’ll be at the Tamworth Morrisons every Thursday.
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