He may have made his name doing improv, but there’s more to Greg Proops than that. This month, he brings his podcast to St. Luke’s and his stand-up to the Citizen’s Theatre for Glasgow International Comedy Festival, promising three of our favourite things – bitterness, drinking and tears – in an “award-seeking” show. Our own Joe Gardner knows a bit about awards, having won last year’s Class Clowns competition at the Fringe, so he had a quick word with the man beneath the pompadour…
Are you looking forward to coming back to Glasgow to perform?
We dig Glasgow. The last time I was here they had a Ferris wheel trapped in the middle of town. Having a Ferris wheel in the middle of Glasgow is like having a Ferris wheel in the middle of Glasgow.
Do you have any favourite places to visit here? Any attractions or cafes you like?
The traffic bollard on Wellington’s head is always reassuring.
So what is your show all about?
The podcast is about an hour and a half. The stand up is about facts I thought of.
You’re playing the Citizen’s Theatre this year, what do you make of it as a venue?
It is so much better than a roundabout.
What’s the strangest venue you’ve played?
A drug dealer’s living room in St Helena, California, for his birthday.
You’re recording an episode of your podcast on 18 March, it sounds very intriguing. Tell us a bit about it and its format?
I sit and drink and tell stories and then we talk about current events and famous passings. That is the boring preachy part. By the way, I meet everyone before the show and hand out kitten stickers, so there is swag.
Many readers will know you from Whose Line is it Anyway? What was a day of recording the show like? As a viewer, it just looked like one big laugh!
Panic and tears. Kidding Clive [Anderson] was, as always, a nit. We run through for cameras then eat some awful food. Then shoot for hours. We all get along and make each other laugh so it is good fun. We are on our fourth year on the CW network in the USA.
Who was your favourite person to work with on Whose Line…?
I am in a group in the USA with Ryan Stiles so I suppose I had better say hi. Though I did the West End with Josie [Lawrence] so Josie for sure.
Finally, as a young comedian myself, what advice would you give for other young comics starting out?
Get as much stage time as you can, that is key. Do not be afraid to fail, it teaches you everything. Do not take no for an answer. Give them the very devil.
Greg Proops records his podcast The Smartest Man in the World @ St. Luke’s, Glasgow, on Fri 18 Mar; and also plays @ Citizen’s Theatre, Glasgow, on Sat 19 Mar 2016