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Comedian Arthur Smith

Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Arthur Smith has been making people laugh since he was eight years old. But it wasn’t until the playwright, author and comedic performer was in his twenties that he realized he could make a living at being funny.

Smith, who is a regular performer at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest and a frequent personality on BBC radio, is sampling his brand of humor Wednesday 3 June in Geneva as part of Théatre du Léman’s “Funny Laundry” series. He spoke briefly this week with GenevaLunch about his work.

Smith, who spent the last year working on his autobiography, My Name is Daphne Fairfax, conceded that he probably respects writing more, whereas performing is natural to him.

“I was always performing as a kid. I have never [consciously] honed my performance skills per se.”  Smith added that when he is working on a big writing project, he enjoys a stand up performance every 3 weeks or so for mental stretching. “I like being the life of the party, and to be a stranger in the crowd at times as well.”

GenevaLunch: Given your work as a playwright and a novelist, how much time do you devote to performing comedy? What is the relationship between these endeavors?

Arthur Smith: About half of my time is spent writing. Sometimes I will go six months only writing, then six months performing. They kind of balance each other out, performing is very social, people want to buy you drinks, want to sleep with you, etc. One is very vicarious and social, the other is much drier. There are comedians who are only happy on the stage but the stage is a very false kind of world, you show up, perform and leave. For me, performance is noise and writing is silence.

Smith incorporates comedy into his theatre work as well such as in his production of Hamlet

GL: You incorporate comedy into your theatre work, such as in your production of Hamlet. How did that work out for you?

AS: The first night was a disaster, but I reinvented the show in Edinburgh and it came off well. My ambition is to not only get laughs, but to do something thoughtful as well.

GL: Is your audience in Switzerland significantly different than other English-speaking crowds?

AS: I have performed in Zurich and in Basel as well. Crowds in Geneva are richer, maybe younger, and people are usually very prompt.

GL: What is the hardest audience you have ever had to perform for?

AS: I performed for a herd of cows once. Maybe you can find me a cow to wrestle when I’m in town – I’ve heard about the Swiss fighting cows.

Catch Arthur Smith in Geneva Wednesday 3 June 3 at 8:30 pm, with Frankie Boyle and Craig Campbell in the Funny Laundry series at Théatre du Léman. He also appears 4 June at Off the Shelf for a book-signing session.

Review of My Name is Daphne Fairfax:Independent