Eppie Brilliant, a refreshingly talented musical comedian, is bringing their latest show to ARC this summer!
In What’s Your Favourite Song? Eppie will take the audience on an odyssey through popular music. From The Beatles to Black Sabbath, all of your favourite hits will come under hilarious attack.
We sat down with Eppie to talk about influences, favourite music, and more!
Hi Eppie, there aren’t many other acts doing what you do in the UK. Who are your favourite acts, and how have they influenced you?
I’ve always been a massive fan of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. When in primary school I begged my parents so I could stay up late and watch Shooting Stars. Their sense of fun and originality is one of a kind. The way they mix absurdity and fantastic joke telling is something I find incredibly inspiring.
Another big influence on the show is The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. They came to prominence in 1967 as part of the comedy series ‘Do Not Adjust Your Set’ where they worked alongside Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin (before they hit it big in Monty Python). Fronted by Neil Innes and Vivian Stanstil, The Bonzos created four albums packed full of hilarious and thought provoking songs. The way they combine fantastic musicianship with comedy is something I try to emulate.
This is your first show at ARC, but you spent some time working on the show here. What did that process look like?
This was an amazing experience and something I’d recommend to any aspiring artist! After chatting with the fantastic team, where we discussed my goals and requirements, I was given access to the Studio in ARC for one week.
This allowed me to really concentrate on the finer details of the show away from the distractions of daily life. By the end of the week the show had become a living, breathing entity rather than a collection of thoughts in my mind.
The time spent in ARC over the week has allowed me to take the show to Nottingham Comedy Festival, Leicester Comedy Festival and I will be taking it to Brighton Fringe this summer.
If someone hasn’t seen one of your shows before, what sort of thing should they expect?
A hilarious journey through popular music from 1950 to today. Rock and Roll, Rap, EDM, pop and many other genres come under hilarious attack.
Audience participation is a big part of the show, where I take song requests from the audience and craft jokes in real time, tailored to the audience member.
It’s really fun, with lots of impressive guitar pieces, laugh out loud jokes and ear worms that’ll stay in your head for days afterwards
The title of your show is What’s Your Favourite Song? so what’s your favourite song, and why?
A very difficult question! As with most people my favourite song changes all the time depending on my mood, current obsessions and the memories that certain songs have. When I was younger, I listened to a lot of rock and punk, as I’ve mellowed over the years I’m more interested in folk and roots music. Currently I’m listening to lots of Bluegrass, which in turn is influencing my guitar playing. Billy Strings, an American bluegrass guitarist is probably my favorite artist at the minute. Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys has also been consistently on my record player throughout my life. Dolly Parton was my most listened to artist of 2022, according to Spotify, so deserves a mention here too.
Eppie will be performing What’s Your Favourite Song? in ARC’s Studio Theatre on Sat 1 Jul. Tickets are on sale now here.