What do your parents think of your job?
I don’t know that they have any strong opinions about the job of “comedian”, but they are supportive of me pursuing a career that I'm passionate about, which I'm thankful for.
What’s the worst thing about being a comedian?
I’ve always found it challenging to self-promote my shows. Take for instance my upcoming run of Amusements, playing the Soho Theatre from 26 February through 2 March at 7:30pm. I often worry that I spend too much time trying to think of clever ways to let people know that Amusements is playing the Soho Theatre from 26 February through 2 March at 7:30pm. Then I wonder if all that time would be better spent working on the actual material and jokes and bits that I do in the show Amusements - which incidentally is playing the Soho Theatre from 26 February through 2 March at 7:30pm. It's hard to strike the right balance, but I hope to figure it out soon, because my show Amusements is going to be playing the Soho Theatre from 26 February through 2 March at 7:30pm.
I think you are very good at what you do (that’s why I’m asking these questions). What do you think of you?
On a fundamental level, I'm generally confident about what I'm doing. But day to day and moment to moment, I am in a state of (in the words of choreographer Martha Graham) "divine dissatisfaction" and "blessed unrest". I'm frustrated enough with my work to keep wanting to try new things, but not so frustrated that I want to give up altogether.
How much do you earn and how much would you like to earn?
I currently earn this much money… but I love to earn this much money (I’ll leave it to your readers to imagine what exactly I’m doing with my arms and hands when I say that).
How important is luck in terms of career success – have you had lucky breaks?
Luck is important, but so is being prepared to make the most of luck when luck happens, lest that luck become no luck at all, which is a sort of bad luck. Perhaps the luckiest break of my career has been being born after the advent of the microphone, without which I think I’d have a decidedly different act and way of performing.
Alan Davies has said that comedians fall into two categories - golfers and self-harmers. The former just get on with life, the latter are tortured artists. Which are you – or do you think you fit into a third category?
I think I’m a golfer. My material is such that once I start a particular bit, joke or routine, it's very hard to pivot. If it's not landing with the audience, I often have no other choice but to carry on with a stoic-like endurance.
Who is your favourite person ever and why – not including family or friends or other comedians?
Former U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, from whom I’ve learned so much about finding the perfect pair of pants.
Do you keep your drawers tidy and if not why not? (please think long and hard about this question, it's to settle an argument with my girlfriend. The future of our relationship could depend on your response).
Lord knows I want to keep them tidy, and lord knows I try… but chaos is a powerful force in this universe, and sooner or later, my drawers succumb to it. I wish that weren’t the case. But until more hours are added to the day, I don’t foresee the situation changing.
Ikechukwu Ufomadu: Amusements, Soho Theatre, Monday, February 26 - Saturday, March 2. Buy tickets here.
Picture credit: Zach DeZon
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