Is Nina Conti the new Cilla Black? This comparison might same strange given that one is a ventriloquist-comedian of much note and the other was a Liverpudlian pop legend who became the ITV queen of light entertainment.
Yet, Nina is emulating Cilla in one regard with her new touring affair which will be immediately apparent when you learn its name: The Dating Show (who of a certain vintage can forget Cilla and her Saturday night matchmaking revolution via Blind Date?).
The idea for this new show came to Nina pretty much by accident during a previous stage hit, In Your Face.
‘I thought, why resist?’
“When I did masks before with an audience, I often ended up with love matches. The audience members could be a bit friendly and a bit flirty, and I remember thinking, ‘I have to stop things going like this or people will think I’m a sex maniac!’
“But then I thought that maybe it’s not me forcing it, because it’s happening every time, so why resist? And why not do something called The Dating Show?”
Nina has beavered away at the comedy game for over 20 years, cornering a market that remains relatively and perhaps surprisingly untapped.
David Strassman’s darker act was perhaps the last major mainstream vent hit to tour theatres and arts venues in this country).
But now she has inadvertently struck gold on one aspect of the zeitgeist with her use of elaborate masks.
For The Dating Show, all Covid-safe procedures will be firmly in place with masks which cover the bottom half of a person’s face so that the eyes are on display while Nina adds her voice to proceedings.
A show with masks
“We’ll probably be working with about 14 masks in total, as they have to fit the shape of the face or have their skin-tone, and be male or female.
“I just ordered a bunch of new ones that you can change by adding a moustache or painting the lips differently. I have a macabre dungeon of faces hanging off a rack.”
In case you think Nina Conti might be a one-trick vent-pony (but what a trick), she has also done a fair bit of acting in her time.
The Conti CV includes appearances in Black Books and Holby City, both without having to attach her hand to a puppet and lent her voice to Radio 4 comedy Clare In The Community).
And more recently she’s joined the many ranks of people (both famous and not) to launch a podcast.
Richard & Greta is a collaboration with Shenoah Allen, one half of the ground-breaking New Mexico comedy duo Pajama Men, whose shows are narrative rollercoasters where they play dozens of characters in a variety of situations relying only on their extensive clown, mime and acting skills to bring those worlds to life.
Here, Shenoah gets to talk freely as Richard, with the pair doling out advice (usually bad) to those with relationship woes.
Two hours of improvising
“For the podcast, we improvise for two hours or something and then cut it down to 20 minutes,” says Nina.
“And that takes ages: it could take a week if you want to do it well. But the later ones we’ve done are definitely tighter.
“We’re also making a Richard & Greta film shot on phones. We’re not doing any of that pitching thing to people, we’re just going to go and do it, which is much more exciting.”
A nightly baptism
But as she prepares to hit the road once again, Nina’s anticipation of live work has her pumped up.
“Doing the show is enlivening and a stark contrast to what’s happening to your body before you go on when you might be peeling yourself off the floor.
“It’s quite a healthy nightly baptism thing; it’s hardcore and you get used to it. The main pro of touring is getting to know the vibe of the people.”
Another link with Cilla Black?
If you’re being unkind, perhaps three’s another link between Nina Conti and Cilla Black, buried in this concluding statement from the talented ventriloquist.
“First and foremost, The Dating Show is a funny show, I’m not actually trying to matchmake. I’m putting songs in it.
“I did an ‘improvathon’ with the Showstoppers guys, making a song up as we go. I’m really bad at singing, but it’s funny when the date breaks into song.
“And it turns out that a bad song is better than no song!”
- Nina Conti: The Dating Show, Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, Saturday January 29.
