The comic on starting the career her ex was planning, how Jaffa Cakes help you judge people and why standups need Tupperware
How did you get into comedy?
I was dating a comedy nerd who wanted to try standup, so I researched comedy courses for them as a gift. The same day, I quit a job – which I hated – and my ex decided this was also a great time to break up with me. (It was always their empathy I admired.) Anyways, I got an email saying a space had become available on the course the following week and did it myself.
What inspired your show She’s Got the Look?
When I started out, I got into the last round of a competition and was told I “sound good but look a mess”. So the show is me trying to figure out which bit of me is the mess and why we make assumptions about people based on how they look – when we should really judge people based on whether they think a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit. That’ll tell me everything I need to know about you.
What is a wrong assumption people make about you?
When you’re a more curvy, voluptuous person, the thing most people tend to think is you don’t understand what healthy eating is. Let me be clear, I am fully aware of what healthy food is. I know what a carrot is – it transports dip into my face. Yes, I have my hand in the pick and mix, but it doesn’t mean I think aubergine is the name of Dior’s new fragrance.
Louise Atkinson: She’s Got the Look is at Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh, until 25 August