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Interview with Jody Kamali

What inspired you to become a performer?

I loved making kids at school laugh. They’d look forward to what I’d do in GCSE drama. That became addictive! Thirty years late, here I am!

 

Your performance has been praised for its physical comedy and inventive use of props. Who are your biggest influences in physical comedy, and how have they shaped your style?

As a kid, I was a big fan of Charlie Chaplin. I loved how he could communicate without words. Slava’s Snow Show was also a huge influence. The show is funny but also magical and makes you feel warm inside. Also, the theatrical clowning troupe Spymonkey. They helped me find my funny and to be unashamedly stupid. I love to make comedy shows that are theatrical, children-like and enchanting.

 

The concept of Ironing Board Man is incredibly unique. What sparked the idea of transforming ironing boards into tools for an epic Hollywood romance?

Ten years ago, in our rented flat in London, my wife had just finished ironing her blouse for work. She left it on the ironing board and placed it upright. I glanced at it from afar and thought, ‘That looks like a woman’. Then I thought, what would it be to live a life with an ironing board? I took the ironing board to a scratch night and did a wordless routine to music of meeting and falling in love with an ironing board. It was an instant hit and had people on their feet. I thought I needed to make this world bigger with not just one but ten ironing boards – all different characters in a fictional world. Here I am!

 

What can audiences expect from your performance, and what makes Ironing Board Man a must-see show for this season?

Prepare to lose yourself. You won’t be watching Ironing boards; you’ll be watching people, and you feel for them. I guarantee it! You’ll then struggle to explain what you just saw to your friends. In all seriousness, Ironing Board Man is unique and original. It’s high energy, fun, sad and unhinged!

You can catch IRONING BOARD MAN on Saturday 20 July at 7:30pm. Book your tickets here.

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