THERE’S plenty of people in Glasgow who’ll admit the weather isn’t always the finest.
But for Scottish stage mentalist Colin Cloud, it’s one of the things he misses the most having lived in the city’s west end.
“It’s currently 43C in Las Vegas. It really is mad so I’m looking forward to being back in Scotland,” he told The National before making his way to Edinburgh for this year’s Fringe.
“I love Scotland. I do get homesick. When I lived in the west end, I loved the atmosphere, the weather, the grey skies, the rain.”
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Unlike last year, when he could only be in the capital for a few days, Cloud is in Edinburgh for most of the month with his latest show Consequences.
In an exclusive interview, he spoke about why this year’s show is something of a “send off,” getting personal on stage and the impact the famous festival has had on him.
‘A final Fringe’
It’s safe to say it’s been a pretty good year for Cloud since we last spoke. He’s more than happy to share his footage of his trip to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour – an artist he named as one of the ten things that changed his life in an interview with the Sunday National.
On top of that though, he’s recently signed a three-year deal with Caesar’s Entertainment to have his own headlining show in Vegas.
“The reality is with that contract I won’t get back to the Fringe for a number of years, certainly for a full run anyway,” Cloud (above) explains.
“So I suppose this is a little bit of a send off for a little while before I’m able to come back and do that again.”
He says he’ll forever be grateful for the Fringe though, given that’s where his career path first got started.
“I’ve done all these crazy things that as a young boy from Scotland I’d never imagined – I’ve headlined in Vegas, I’ve done the Royal Variety Show.
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“The Edinburgh Festival was pivotal in all this. Just the buzz of the place, watching comedians every year push themselves to write a brand-new hour.
“The ethos of it has turned me into the performer I am and I’ll always be thankful for that.”
Consequences
The idea that this could be his final festival has made Cloud want to do something extra special.
And that’s saying something for a man who’s previously taken snake venom on stage before.
He promises his latest show Consequences will be “bigger and better” than before and that he always likes to challenge himself.
“Because I’ve had Vegas, I’ve run a lot of material here and it’s stuff I haven’t done before. It’s dangerous, it’s exciting,” he says.
“I don’t want to give too much away but it starts with one of my earliest, most traumatising memories with regards to a phone call we had at our house.
“It goes from there and the impact of how this then dictated how I view the world and the choices I made, the things I’ve done and achieved.
“It’s all about the consequences of these things. But what I’m attempting this year, things will really have to align for this ‘miracle’ to function.”
A personal touch
Plenty of what Cloud does will leave you puzzled but that’s not to say he doesn’t try connecting with his audience.
In last year’s show – After Dark – the performer touched on his own mental health struggles and the toll this had on him.
“I didn’t want to hold back,” he says.
“I think 10 years ago I’d have just turned up and done a ‘look how clever I am’ type thing but people like a personal approach.
“You’re connecting through deception, so being more authentic and opening up humanises you.
“Last year, rather than being self-indulgent I wanted to share and turn the tables. I always try and be unexpected.”
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If there’s one thing he wants people to take away from this year’s show though, it’s that anything is possible.
“Hopefully any other young people, who think they’re from the middle of nowhere and that they can’t be on TV and be on stage, that used to be me. I want them to know that anything is capable.”
Go see Cloud’s show and you’ll see it’s advice he’s chosen to live by.
Colin Cloud's Consequences is playing from August 9-12 and from 14-26 - click HERE for more information on tickets.
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