Jake Mace
Jessie Nixon’s upcoming stand-up hour Don’t Make Me Regret This is headed to Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month. She’s claiming that if you’re mentally ill, a lapsed catholic, queer, occasionally distraught, too smart for your own good or have ever cried in a changing room: then this is the show for you. As someone who fits into more than one of those boxes, I thought I’d catch up with Jessie for a pixelated pint to find out more about the show.
You can catch Jessie Nixon: Don’t Make Me Regret This at The Crate at Assembly George Square from July 30th to August 24th (not the 11th) at 19:20 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Jessie! You say your putting your life on the line for your upcoming comedy hour Don’t Make Me Regret This – tell us what you mean by that and what the audience can expect.
Jessie: Hello! Of course! So whilst I do have a penchant for hyperbole and my life will at no point be in danger, this show is so personal and confessional, so based on my experiences that it does feel like it’s born from the life I have led. I’ve also worked for years in the civil service to be able to save up to debut at the Fringe, and have spent basically my life’s savings. This means the stakes feel high and I have fire in my belly to enamour and impress all who walk through the doors of my gorgeous little baby shipping container looking venue.
Jake: Tell us about your process for writing comedy – the show covers plenty of themes – how do you bring them all together and find the comedy in them?
Jessie: God I wish I had a snazzy, comprehensive answer to this. Some people have phenomenal writing processes, routines and exercises. I am in the camp of ‘wait for a funny thought to drop in’ but as I find I need more material faster I am learning you can’t always wait for inspiration, and sometimes you just have to sit down and grind it out.
However, I have found that it wasn’t hard to make the show feel cohesive as all the material fits together very nicely in terms of themes. I think this is because it all comes from my obsessive brain and my raucous life, meaning there’s nothing that sticks out as incongruous because it’s all just ‘Jessie’. Finding the comedy I think comes easily and often all it takes is discussing it with a mate and I can see threads of humour.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Jessie: Ok so this show IS accessible and enjoyable for everyone but I can’t lie about having written it for the girls. It’s them I want to impress. Really the girls, gays and theys. I want them to see themselves. I want them to see the moments of shame and deprecation and grief in the show and be able to laugh at them not just on my behalf but also on theirs. I don’t know if this will get across to audience members or not (I don’t want it to be a ‘self love’ show) but this show is about striving for acceptance and authenticity and I want them to get a taste of that. Also obviously I want them to laugh, but I’m less worried about that.
Jake: Tell us what you’re most excited about for EdFringe 2025.
Jessie: I’ve done a few fringes now, but all on Free Fringe. Whilst I love Free Fringe and think it’s integral, it’s going to be a real treat to make a show with all the bells and whistles. A venue with a tech, a normal showtime that isn’t 11:45pm, really good marketing, swanky posters and a flyering team. I’m excited to feel like I have a team behind me. And the team I have is absolutely amazing! I’m also excited to walk 15k steps a day and eat nothing but bread and cheese in different iterations for a month, meet tons of new people and get tipsy on my night off!
Jake: If your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Jessie: I mean how could it not be the Jessie Nixon Signature Cocktail (copyrighted) the Cider Margarita? Made with no mixer and only booze. Mix together cider (a nod to my west country roots), cointreau, tequila, ice, rosemary and a dash of maple syrup. Tastes like apple juice but you’ll be under the table two glasses in. It’s unapologetic, intoxicating, sweet but deceptively hard hitting and a bit weird. Just like me 🙂
A reminder, you can catch Jessie Nixon: Don’t Make Me Regret This at The Crate at Assembly George Square from July 30th to August 24th (not the 11th) at 19:20 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Rebecca Need Menear
