When ventriloquist and comedian Nina Conti brings her new show Whose Face Is It Anyway? to Brighton Dome on Saturday October 25, audiences can expect more than just a night of puppets and punchlines.
For Nina Conti, performance is as much about connection as comedy – and Brighton, she says, is the perfect place to make that happen. “I love the Brighton Dome,” she beams. “Every time I’ve done a gig there, it’s been one of those that makes you go, ‘I love what I do.’ The audiences in Brighton are second to none. On tour, when I see Brighton in the diary, I think, that’s the one. It’s like coming home. It refreshes me.”
That sense of mutual energy, the performer drawing from the audience, and the audience from one another, sits at the heart of Conti’s work. She is known for her hilarious masks, which transform unsuspecting volunteers into comic co-stars.
Ventriloquism might seem an unlikely route to self-expression. We asked her what she’d be doing in another universe and she revealed that during lockdown she dabbled in psychoanalysis lectures. “I didn’t get very far,” she laughs, “but I’ve always been fascinated by what goes on in people’s minds. We’re such a ridiculous species, nothing adds up. So you either laugh, or analyse. I’ve gone for laughter… for now.”
That interplay of analysis and absurdity fuels her comedy. “I like chaos,” she explains. “I like when something breaks the boring boundaries of social convention. A puppet can do that, it’s not accountable, it doesn’t have to play by the rules. Monkey [her long-time sidekick] is definitely an extension of me. A horrific protrusion, maybe,” she grins, “but probably the best part of me too, the least self-conscious.”
Nina confesses she didn’t set out to reinvent ventriloquism, though many would argue she has. “I started with one of those creepy old dolls, speaking in a voice that wasn’t my own,” she recalls. “It was freeing, but the minute I thought, ‘I don’t have to use this creepy doll I can use anything,’ everything opened up. Monkey was more like the Muppets I loved as a kid. I didn’t intentionally set out to modernise ventriloquism, I just needed something that made sense for me. And Monkey’s face was funny before he even spoke.”
That refusal to stick to a script carries through to her live shows. While some comics meticulously plan every detail, Conti thrives on improvisation. “If I’ve planned something, it dies,” she says. “The minute I try to steer it, I leave the audience member behind. The lesson is always: stay in the moment, look at the person, see what they’re giving off and work with that. Otherwise, it becomes coercive, and that’s never funny.”
So how does she choose her onstage volunteers? “I look for connection. Not someone shouting ‘pick me!’ and not someone avoiding eye contact. Just a person I naturally relate to, like, if I’d just arrived in the room, who would I sit next to? That’s usually the one.”
In Whose Face Is It Anyway?, Conti opens the evening with Monkey before inviting the first audience member to join her. From there, the show evolves organically. “I let the audience guide it,” she says. “If they’ve really responded to someone, I’ll bring that person back. I try to start with a completely untouched canvas and let it grow itself. That’s when it’s joyful.” And Brighton audiences, she says, are ideal collaborators. “They’re eclectic, they’ve got a strong sense of identity, and they love supporting each other. It’s the perfect environment for this kind of show.”
Nina isn’t just busy with live comedy. After seven years of work, she has a new film Sunlight on the horizon, the first she has ever directed. “I put my life into it,” she admits. “I don’t think I can do that again immediately! But I’m proud of it.” The film, co-written with Shenoah Allen of comedy duo The Pajama Men, is set in New Mexico and follows a road trip between a suicidal radio host and a woman who refuses to take off her monkey suit. (The irony isn’t lost on us) “It’s a love story, but a very odd one,” Conti laughs. “Christopher Guest is executive producer, and we’ve got this incredible soundtrack with Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Pixies… I still don’t know how we pulled that off.”
Brighton audiences may not have to wait long to see it. “I think it’s coming to Duke of York’s Picturehouse soon,” she says. “We’ll confirm the date, but it’ll definitely be in Brighton.”
Even away from the stage, Conti’s connection to the South coast is strong. “Last time I went swimming at Seven Sisters,” she recalls. “I love walking around this part of the world. It always feels good to be here.” For someone who insists that “nothing about us adds up”, Conti has built a career making sense of the nonsensical by making us laugh at it. And with Whose Face Is It Anyway? bringing her back to Brighton Dome, audiences can expect an evening of sharp improvisation, surreal humour and the kind of shared joy that lingers long after the curtain falls.
Nina’s directorial debut film Sunlight will be in cinemas from 18 Oct.
Book tickets here
Photo: Steve Best
