Now in its fourth year, the Go Faster Stripe Comedy Festival owes its existence to a trio of factors, according to GFS founder Chris Evans (not the DJ, nor the actor). First, there’s practicality and economics: “It turns out that filming comedy shows properly is really expensive. We hit upon the idea of filming many shows over a few days, which means we can still pay everyone properly and end up with more stuff in the can when we’re finished.”
Then there’s Chris’ curatorial urge – an enduring passion that first manifested itself as an obsession with mixtapes in his youth. And finally there’s his dream of a festival where “there’s no chance of a clash” and intervals for food, drinks and comfort breaks. “It’s very civilized.”
Chris’ only criterion when booking performers is simply that they are funny. “But because I’m a jaded comedy fan, acts that I find funny all tend to be original in the way they approach things.” That policy translates into appearances by Seymour Mace, “a proper unique genius of a man”; Perrier Award winner Christian Reilly, a purveyor of “funny, catchy and wise songs”; and George Egg, the self-styled ‘anarchist cook’ whose show offers the audience the opportunity to sample food cooked using only hotel-room appliances. However, Chris admits that he’s most excited about The Elvis Dead, which sees Rob Kemp performing Elvis songs against a backdrop of The Evil Dead 2.“He’s got fake blood and a chainsaw and all sorts. It’s quite the spectacular.”
The festival’s combination of idiosyncratic talents and high-concept shows inevitably means not everything works – but for a fiver a ticket, you can afford to take a punt. For Chris it’s evidently the element of risk that’s most thrilling. He names Alfie Brown’s 2018 appearance as one of his festival highlights: “He tried something a bit different that didn’t come off. It was such a glorious failure.”
Having begun in London in 2016, the festival is now in its second year in Cardiff. “I used to work in Chapter,” says Chris, “and it’s where we made our first few recordings, so it feels like our spiritual home. It’s lovely to be back there and to get a lovely crowd of comedy fans coming to see stuff.”
words Ben Woolhead
Go Faster Stripe Comedy Festival, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Fri 7 + Sat 8 June. Tickets: £5 per show. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www.chapter.org