Scott Capurro

» Review: Scott Capurro
Capurro’s set was a fearless assault on his audience and the world. Challenging everything, he turned the idea of political correctness inside out and upside down. You laughed and you cringed as he upset everyone with his acid tongue and razor sharp observations. His delivery was near flawless, quick-fire and merciless, only faltering when a drunken woman at the front finally got to him. No problem though, he ripped her apart, ate her alive and then spat her out. Politics, racism, sexuality and his mother – not even she was spared his barbed tongue in what had to be the most blisteringly funny comedy set I have seen in years. Forget Frankie Boyle, Scott Capurro is on fire and taking no prisoners.

Komedia, 26 March
5/5
Andrew Kay

What a relief, this show is new and I’m a bit terrified of it. Some gays complained about the ticket price in Glasgow last night. They didn’t want their money back, they just wanted to stay and watch MORE comics. One (me) just wasn’t enough. And there was me, thinking I was too much. Way too much.
See you at the Pleasance Dome, 8 pm, for the entire run of the Fringe, whenever in August that is.

A LOVELY GUARDIAN REVIEW ABOUT MY CHAT SHOW, WHICH IS ALSO LOVELY.

Scott Capurro’s Position (with Michael Barrymore) – review
Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London
4 / 5

Brian Logan
The Guardian
Friday 8 October 2010 12.19 BST

One day, someone will make a great film, or write a great book, about Michael Barrymore. Maybe he’ll do it himself – but that’s harder to imagine. He experienced extraordinary fame, followed by an extraordinary fall from grace, with evidence of maladjusted vulnerability thrown in. Since the dead body of Stuart Lubbock was found in his swimming pool in 2001, Barrymore has been doomed to live in the image of his earlier celebrity. Whether or not he was in any way culpable for Lubbock’s death (he has never faced charges relating to the incident), he will, presumably, never escape its shadow. All he wants to do is make us laugh – but can we?

Barrymore has seldom talked about his feelings relating to the case and its aftermath. He almost certainly wouldn’t do so on TV. So his appearance at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a coup for comedian Scott Capurro, on whose live chatshow, Scott Capurro’s Position, Barrymore appeared. The first half of the event showcased the best and worst of the format. Capurro’s interview with standup Robin Ince was a clubbable chat between friends, in which Ince rehashed sections of his act and nothing new was revealed. The second guest, Lembit Öpik, yielded more laughs, and insights, as he fended off Capurro’s X-rated questions. “Do you prefer women who are lifeless and dead inside?” asked Capurro. “What is your stance on paedophilia?”.

But only when Barrymore appeared did the show’s bantering backchat give way to something more psychologically gripping. Upfront, Capurro declared himself a Barrymore devotee – and there was real warmth for him, too, among this mainly gay crowd. As Barrymore said, in reference to his once firmly closeted sexuality: “[These people] were brought up watching me. They knew what they were looking at. I didn’t know.” The whole story was recapped before our eyes: Barrymore’s Bermondsey upbringing; his early career as the link between song-and-a-dance, working men’s club comedy and the anarcho-alternative style to come; and his fascinating relationship with his wife, Cheryl, to whom he was “a husband, a lover, a child, and a career”. Cheryl dominated him: she told him what to wear, told him to cure his homosexuality by drinking white wine – and even now, he seems lost without her. (She died in 2005.)

It would take a hard heart not to sympathise with Barrymore as he talks about his efforts to conduct himself “with good grace” on his “journey”. He regrets inviting friends – and strangers – to his house on that night in 2001. “That’s my part in it,” he says. “I didn’t say no.” He talks about the unwatchable failure of his West End comeback in 2003. And even though he’s clenched with nerves throughout the interview, he talks about his recovery. “It’s taken this long to get a tiny bit of peace in here. And I haven’t had that since I was eight.” The crowd claps supportively, Capurro asks his next question – and on an instant, Barrymore turns on his interviewer, for cutting off the applause prematurely. “I think I could have had more there, Scott.” It’s an extraordinary moment, in which Barrymore dares to imply that even his vulnerability is an act designed to please a crowd. That pushy, unpredictable talent to amuse is very much intact. But will Barrymore ever again be able, or allowed, to use it?

Scott Capurro’s Position
Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London
Runs weekly, Thurs nights

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2011

Apparently I have the sour honor of being one of the top 30 stupidest characters from the Star Wars series. Well, Greg and I. We played a 2 headed sports announcer. I thought we were funny and playful, but this magazine article disagrees. I do like the shape of my head in the photo though. I think pointed heads are sexy, but then I’m an old hippy from San Francisco.
x
http://www.totalfilm.com/features/30-stupidest-star-wars-characters/fodesinbeed-annodue#content

Apparently my racier stuff got pulled, but it’s still a fun interview. But then, like my boyfriend just asked, ‘Capurro, do you always want to be a cunt?’
Now THAT’S the question of the epoch.

Comedy Interview: Scott Capurro

Behind American comic Scott Capurro’s fearless and provocative brand of comedy lies a sharp, subtle wit and a warm heart. Not that the latter is obvious mind, as anyone in the front row will tell you! With absolutely no subject off bounds, Scott has a tendency to upset his gay counterparts far more than the rest of the audience, but he tries to include everyone. Going deeper than just shock-value, Scott’s act has earned him a reputation as one of the finest stand-ups around and he is also a respected actor, author and playwright. As we sat nervously at the front of his comedy chat show we found him endearingly shocking, extremely funny and a master of dead-pan. It was with some trepidation that we set about asking him some questions…

Raised in San Francisco, you were originally an actor and appeared in the hit films Mrs Doubtfire (Aunt Jack) and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. How did you end up as a comic living in the East End of London?
There’s a lot of work for comics in London; the East End is the most affordable central London location I could find. And I have a lot of friends living nearby. (Read: poor artists.)

Your material could be seen as pretty controversial and offensive. Has it got you into any scrapes and, if so, how do you deal with the fallout?
Most audiences play along. I guess some people might be offended but then the great thing about comedy is there’s something offensive for everybody! Women get nasty, because it’s a comedy club, and all nastiness is allowed. Or should be. After 20 years in comedy I consider babysitting one of my greatest talents, so I have restrained some people, and I’ve been strangled, but nobody ever said jokes were popular.

Generally, what response can you expect from a London crowd? Do you use the same material here as you do over the pond?
I use the same material everywhere. Comedy, like love, is on TV, so it’s universal. The response I expect is laughter. The English find this embarrassing, I know, so I depend on Polish tourists.

Have you got any particular favourite comedy venues here in London, and where do you head out to after a gig in the capital?
In London, I like the Balham Banana, and the Soho Theatre is a great venue. Of course the RVT in Vauxhall is one of my favorites as well. Headliners in Chiswick is lovely. I’m sure I’ve left some off the list. I really only play venues I like. I’m too old to wrestle with a rotten room. After a gig, I go home. Again, I’m old.

What do you think of London’s gay scene?
I don’t know the scene. I read..

Are you playing any of the fringes this year?
The Camden Fringe is fun. I’m doing that.

Scott Capurros Postion, your live comedy chat show at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, was a roaring success and with guests such as Vivienne Westwood, Stephen Merchant and Matt Lucas keeping you company. Is their another series coming up and who are you going to be asking along?
We’re just now creating another series, starting September 30 and running every Thursday for 6 shows. We’ve not got a guest list yet, but it should be exciting. I really enjoy the chat show format, and even if i shared the stage with David Mills every week and no one else, that would be enough for me. He’s very funny. The audience might not come along, but we’d have some laughs.

We hear you’re a big yoga fan – do you just like being bendy or is there more to it than that?
I like having a calm mind, and yoga helps with that. I also have old injuries which resurface when I skip my practice, so I try to do at least 90 mins every day. Keeps me sane.

Have you ever been sick on the tube?
I prefer cabs darling. They’re the only public transport I support.

Tell us a London secret?
Less than 2 percent of the population are foreign born.

Scott Capurro plays the Camden Fringe, 13-15 August 2010, Roundhouse, Camden Fringe

By Suke in Miscellaneous on May 14, 2010 2:00 PM 0

The ‘as the years go by’ line made me shudder. But I am pushing 48, hard. Have I been around the comedy scene in the UK forever? Or does it just feel that way? Anyway, this review feels good.

Comedy review: Scott Capurro

Published Date: 10 April 2010
By Brian Donaldson
The Scotsman
SCOTT CAPURRO ****

THE STAND, EDINBURGH
AS THE years go by, could Scott Capurro be losing his edge? Track down any review of any of his previous shows, from his 1994 Edinburgh Fringe debut Risk-Gay on through Fowl Play, Loaded and the Perrier-nominated Love and Affection Tour and you will more likely than not read about an audience member or 20 “storming out”.

On Tuesday night, though, as he performed his current show Scott Capurro Goes Deeper, the clatter of the exit door behind another shocked customer was not heard once. Either the San Franciscan is toning it down these days or his audience was too broad-minded. Or, Capurro concluded, having paid for a ticket, there’s no way a Scottish crowd would leave without getting value.

But if you thought he has stopped culling all those sacred cows, you’ll have to think again. There are extended, arguably death-defying sequences about the Koran in this show, stacks of gags about his lustful feelings for Jesus, and plenty of borderline shout-outs for the McCanns, Fritzl, the Holocaust, Diana, Christopher Reeve and Obama.

While no-one in the crowd deemed any of this stuff sufficiently offensive to head for the safety of the street, they did little to prevent themselves from becoming a target: chief among them a Texan who had left her hubby in Houston while she hunts for the Loch Ness Monster.

Whatever anyone thinks of Capurro, there’s little argument that he is a technically-gifted comic with each barb softened by a comedic hug before the set-up empathy has acid poured all over it again. And when it comes to stretching stand-up comedy’s boundaries, Scott Capurro really does go much, much deeper than the rest.

Hey kids, if you wanna catch up on what I’m up to in the Uk, give these a try:
This host is hot and he’s interviewing me on a radio thingy for the BBC to promote my gig in Machester on April 7 2010:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/

And a podcast for something, like, I dunno, a radio station. or something. This is to promote my new live chat show in Vauxhall (London – DUH!) at the RVT. Loads of celeb guests, the first night, April 1, was amazing. For this chat, however, I’m a guest, and I’m lovin’ the host. She’s smart and fun and gets it. This interview is sort of long ish. 30 mins I think. Strap in, it gets a bit rough in places. I do rattle on.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/
viewPodcast?id=304888408

Cheerios!

JOKES
Comedian of the week: Scott Capurro
By James Mullinger
For GQ

Since winning the Perrier Best Newcomer award in 1994, Californian comic Scott Capurro has been predominantly based in the UK. Catty, fiercely intelligent and often controversial, it’s no wonder the Guardian called him “the most fearless and technically perfect stand up on the circuit”.

He famously played Robin Williams’ make up artist in Mrs Doubtfire, but it is his work on the London comedy circuit that he is most loved for. Here are some of his funniest (printable) lines, prompting Time Out to say he is “One of the few genuinely challenging acts out there… a thoughtful, intelligent comic whose act has far more to it than pure shock value. He’s not preachy, he’s just camp, crude and incredibly funny.”

1. “Sleeping with prostitutes is like making your cat dance with you on its hind legs. You know it’s wrong, but you try to convince yourself that they’re enjoying it as well.”

2. “In combat if I came face to face with the enemy and he was hot, all I’d be able to say is, ‘OK soldier, on your knees’.”

3. “I’m glad Obama’s president, because it’s time to let the black guy f*** it up.”

4. “Of course Jesus Saves. He’s got no overhead.”

5. “A scruffy Christian handed me a flyer saying ‘Jesus is coming’ and I thought, ‘Jesus is coming and that’s what you’re wearing?’

6. “In America the coastal cities are nice because people in them still read. But the farther you get from water, the dumber Americans seem, but maybe they’re not dumb. Maybe they’re just dehydrated.”

7. “I’m gay, so why would I want to get married? I’d prefer my sex life to continue.”

Scott Capurro is on at the Leicester Square Theatre on Wednesday 14 April at 9.30pm. His live comedy chat show Scott Capurro’s Position, featuring Matt Lucas, Barb Jungr and Gail Porter, is on Thursday 1 April at 8pm at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Published 23 Mar 2010

It’s just a bit from the review for She Stoops to Comedy. A bit about me. Printed before Christmas, but I’m only just adding it to my site, which just goes to show you:
A.) How bored I am in cold, lonely London, and
B.) How busy I was in lovely SF. I miss the cast. And the burritos. And the yoga. Whenever I bring up yoga in London, people smirk. Just a bit. Or maybe they’re burping. Hard to say with the locals.

That leaves us with Capurro’s Simon, who delivers the show’s most electrifying moment. Could it be significant that the play’s best speech is also its least funny one? At about the 60-minute mark, Simon gets the stage to himself, and his monologue is worthy of Jaques’ darkest complaints. Identifying himself as “the stereotype of a self-loathing homosexual,” he excoriates himself for embodying, despite his best intentions, even the most tiresome gay clichés. He retires drunkenly to his hotel room, waking in the morning to take another handful of HIV meds. Set amidst a riot of sexual shenanigans, the monologue is a bleak retreat from the play’s otherwise comic vision: Greenspan, like his heroine, might just be well-suited for tragedy.

Smart, sharp and hilariously catty, Scott Capurro – one of the UK’s best known comic personalities – hosts London’s most uncensored chat show every Thursday in October at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

Scott Capurro’s Position pokes and prods a high-profile roster of guests in pursuit of the most personal revelations, the most intimate insights and a few hours of guaranteed hilarity.

We spoke to Scott about how he intends to titillate and shock us.

Tell me a little about Scott Capurro’s Position – what can we expect?
Light chat about whatever we like. There’s no plugging and no cameras rolling, so hopefully we’ll stumble upon a few dark truths as well.

It’s been called ‘London’s most uncensored chat show’. Are you setting out to be shocking and sexy?!
‘Sexy’ maybe, depending on the hot-ness of the audience. ‘Shocking’ is usually just a by-product, a result of doing what we like.

Just how deep will you be poking and prodding your guests in pursuit of personal revelations?
I don’t wear a watch, so quite deep, hopefully.

How would you describe your interview style?!
Dick Cavett is a hero of mine. His American chat show in the 70s and 80s was erudite, informative and entertaining. He gave each single guest an hour. We try to book only a few guests, the temptation is to have all my friends on stage, but we want the audience and the guests to connect. I want them to do all the work.

What do you want to get out of your guests?
Spontaneity. I research each person – but the less planning and rehearsal, the better.

As far as chat show hosts go, are you more Graham Norton or Alan Carr?!
I’d be honoured to just share a stage with either. Actually, Graham did appear in the first season of this show, in the spring, and he was lovely. Charming and candid, he wrapped the room around his pinky finger. I admire his mischievousness. If I can emulate anything about either Alan or Graham, it’s their playfulness.

“One guy saw my naked photo on line and said I was too chunky. Chunky. I’m 6’2 and weigh a little over 12 stone. I wondered if he was either blind, or a model. Or both, which would have been sinister and delicious.”

I love the title. So what’s your favourite position?!
Bent forward and inquisitive.

You’ve got some greats appearing with you. Was there any criteria for who you were looking for – I notice that the majority of them are gay?!
I wanted people who were restrictive with their use of exclamation points. Oh! And I hoped to book people whose work I admire, and who use spoken language as their greatest means of communication. Dancers are great to look at, but a bit slow in the uptake.

So do gay guests make the best guests?
No, but they make the best pets. They’re great at self-cleaning.

You’ve been called many things, but what’s the strangest thing you’ve ever heard about yourself?
One guy saw my naked photo on line and said I was too chunky. Chunky. I’m 6’2 and weigh a little over 12 stone. I wondered if he was either blind, or a model. Or both, which would have been sinister and delicious.

Have you made any changes to the show’s format for this run?
Yes, David Mills opens each act with a song and he introduces me, which adds a nice warmth to the opening moments. We also only do one break, makes the night less laboured.

How do you test out your material?
I test it on audiences. I used to try it out on friends, so I lost all my friends.

What topics are the most controversial?
In the UK, race. In the US, religion. In Norway, nothing.

What’s the worst and best show you’ve ever had?
My worst show happened when I tried to throw a woman out of a window in Belsize Park. It’s hard to recover the audiences’ attention after that. My best show was in the same club, exactly one month earlier. Show biz is funny.

When did you come out?
When I had a cock in my mouth. Seemed like the right time. Luckily I had a pencil and paper available.

Can you remember your first very date – where did you go and have you kept in contact?!
We went to our shared communal space in our university dorm and drank something awful, like, oh god, I dunno, Chivas Regal. I then gave him a foot massage (oh, that old chestnut) and then he raped me. Not a rape rape. Just a forceful, condomless fuck. It’s what we did in 1982. We met up again in SF years ago, but he was a hooker and seemed bitter.

“When in Rome…fuck a lot of Italians at that spa in the city centre. And you can answer emails there too. It’s all very convenient.”

What’s in your bedside table?
Lube and candy cigarettes.

What comes first: love or sex?
They come separately, like schoolmates masturbating.

Is it better to give or receive?
Receiving can be difficult, if you have as much junk as I do. And I don’t mean in my trunk, ok? (Triple snap). I like to give advice and then ignore the response. Like on the bus, offering instructions to tourists who don’t ask. Makes London seem chummy and a bit crazier than it already is.

If you had to represent your country in international competition, what would it be for?
Teeth. I’ve got lots.

What cliché most applies to you or your life?
When in Rome…fuck a lot of Italians at that spa in the city centre. And you can answer emails there too. It’s all very convenient.

What’s one of the most outrageous things you’ve ever done?
Jacked off to Jesus on Australian television. But then Australia is easy to shock, it’s so suburban.

Finish the sentence: A good night out starts with….?
A change of plans. Let’s stay in.

And it ends with…?
My head on a soft pillow, watching Mad Men.

And finally, what’s next for Scott Capurro?
A kitchen re-fit. The glamour seriously never ends.

Scott Capurro’s Position
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
372 Kennington Lane
London SE11 5HY
020 7820 1222 / www.theroyalvauxhalltavern.co.uk

1-29 October 2009

He’s also doing a show at the Camden Fringe. See him. See me. Be proud.

“If you are not planning to head to Edinburgh, then you are highly recommended to check out the 4th annual Camden Fringe. Fast becoming the best performing arts festival south of Scotland, it boasts new, full-length shows from some of the best comics working today.

Founded by the unstoppable Zena Barrie and Michelle Flower, the first Camden Fringe took place in August 2006 and included 57 performances by 22 acts over a four-week period. It has grown rapidly since and from 3rd – 30th August and will include 399 performances of 118 different shows. Zena and Michelle produced comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 2002-2006 and have run the Etcetera Theatre in Camden (one of London’s best small theatres) since the beginning of 2004, so it comes as no surprise that the standard of comedy on offer is extremely high.

This year you can see shows from some of the best comedians working in the world today. If you thought comics like Ricky Gervais pushed boundaries then nothing will prepare you for Scott Capurro. Having won the coveted Perrier award in 1994, the San Franciscan comic has gone from strength to strength while refusing to sell out, making each show more uncompromising than the last. He is, in my opinion, the bravest and funniest comedian on the circuit.”

I’ve enjoyed writing for this magazine, but all good things must fade away and die. Or something. But don’t worry. Hopefully some other glossy mag will hire me and underpay.
see you at the soho theatre? may 25 – 30. it’s in london, cretins.

GT
June 2009

At a Paris book lunch, the fashion writer rattling on about red carpet dresses couldn’t really grab the crowd in the corner. But then they were young and sleek and local. A chatty Canadian lady with shoulder-length hair wasn’t in their radar.

During supper at George’s, atop the Pompidou Centre, I sat next to her and watched her teeth. She must have had 80. They were glowing, but not as impressively as the Eiffel Tower, which changes from still yellow to sparkly silver. It glitters, every hour, like a disco ball. Our seats were powder pink plastic. The waitress wore Versace. Can Paris get any more camp? Carrie Bradshaw wannabes inhabited every table. The food, like their male companions and their conversation, was irrelevant.

The writer told us, “It’s very important to have boundaries. I have a friend who writes about her family, and they’re angry. I mean,” She continued, “I did write about my ex husband. Twice. For the Observer. But I don’t now. I mean, I have, reluctantly, for the Times, but divorce isn’t chic. I think there’s more interesting creativity happening. Like Oscar night.”

Our bill was huge, to me. But I’m broke. I paid my portion in coins. A drunk gay sat across from me and every so often he rolled his eyes back so far the pupils almost disappeared. He’d met every name the Canadian lady dropped. She quizzed him about a designer’s mother. She was desperate for an interview. Once again the Eiffel effused.

After pissing asparagus juice, I watched my reflection in the snakeskin sink’s mirror. My eyes seemed insular. I looked lost.

Later, at a cramped, fashionless gay bar, a tiny Gaul told me George’s was for wankers.

“And this place?” I was petulant.

“Oh,” he sipped his beer bottle, which was almost bigger than his head, “I never come here.”

And yet here we were. The French are as enigmatic as addiction. And almost as coy.

“Do you speak French?” It’s the only question the French ever ask.

“No. I have a future.”

He stares. Irony isn’t his strong suit. But Parisians adore thin ties and sarcasm.

“Do you have an American flag on your lawn, like Obama?”

“I have an Obama on my lawn. And a Sarkozy in my toilet.”

I’m not even sure what that means, and actually I think Sarkozy is hot. But frankly, my boutique hotel room has one narrow bed, and I’m not sharing it with anyone who disrespects Obama. Not even with Sarkozy. Him, I’d finger in the shower.

The hotel staff is new and obviously trained by some corporate moron to be nice.

“Did you have a good evening?” I’m asked at breakfast. Their smiles are like grimaces. They grip the coffee kettle so hard that their knuckles are white. The tip I leave behind is stared at blankly, as if I’ve deposited a semen sample. I almost buy a Paris mug at Starbucks, until I notice the girl serving me has one eyebrow up. You can’t change custom. Why Americanize French service? Parisians aren’t rude. They’re passively aggressive, but that has kept their city in tact.

At Brasserie Lipp, the lighting is so bright I think it’s closing time. My food arrives quietly, the waiter is ancient and invisible and thankfully without a nametag. There’s fuss, then a profile sweeps by. She’s in black sequined trousers and sports a bright red something on her lapel. It’s Kate Moss. My two friends disagree. But I can hear her common chatter over the buzz.

She’s encased in entourage. Her female friends are younger and more beautiful, but no one cares. They flank the table like bodyguards, while Kate performs for diners. She’s quite gregarious, but then the French adore her. Her French mocks them. It’s a win/win.

She doesn’t eat. She is quite tan. I walk by the table several times. She leans forward and laughs as men come and go. They squeeze in to be close to her, only to be replaced by another designer or a different conceptual artist. She’s 35 and rich and I want to crawl inside her body and molest every person at her table.

Next morning, my bags are packed early. I would usually email my mother and give her all the details, avec photos. Once home in Hackney, I’d call and she’d ask, “Now honey, remind mom. Who’s Katie Moss?”

I miss my mother’s laugh. It’s like time isn’t passing. This I suppose is grieving. Shutters drawn, I curl up.