The Groggy Squirrel

Interview with Asher Treleaven

According to one of the books in Asher Treleaven’s collection of what he describes as the “best…of the worst literature”, Britt Ekland is not a fan of fat females or feminine odours.

Ekland’s guide on how to be a sensual and beautiful woman will be getting the piss taken out of it by Asher during the “Best of the Edinburgh Fest” at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF).

The National Institute of Circus Arts graduate, who was kicked out of drama class in year eight for being a smart arse, intends to arouse audiences with arguably the sexiest Mills and Boon book ever, “Emerald Fire¹”, and some odd dance steps that will have oldies excited for a bit.

That is right, look out for moves that should make some people remember Space Invaders.

If the possibility of forks going up orifices does not get your juices flowing in a way that would disgust the former girlfriend of Rod Stewart, the production also includes Maeve Higgins, Andrew Stanley and Eddie Ifft as the rest of the “Best”.

Asher, a self-proclaimed nice guy and host of the show, thinks Higgins is “wonderful” and “deadpan”, Stanley is full of energy and Ifft is an assured performer.

Of course, as a member of the new school of amusing sweeties, Asher was too self-effacing to big himself up when he was interviewed by “The Groggy Squirrel”, but Steve Bennett from Chortle had this to say about an earlier effort by the funny guy cum clown:

Check any ideas about a cerebral night of thought-provoking comedy at the door, and you’ll find this is possibly the single funniest moment at the festival.

Supporters of multiculturalism might be interested to know that “Best” features an Australian, an American and a couple of comics from Ireland.

Best of the Edinburgh Fest is playing at MICF from 5 to 29 April at RMIT Capitol Theatre, 113 Swanston Street. Tickets available from Ticketmaster or at the door.

¹ On a website that sells second-hand copies of Mills and Boon books, “Emerald Fire” is described thus:

“OK, so Slade McClintoch had rescued her from a few tight situations, but that didn’t make her his property. And now Brionny resolved to take the upper hand! The Trouble was that, having fallen victim to Slade’s powers of seduction once before, she was afraid of making the same mistake again. And, of course, she couldn’t be sure of Slade’s intentions. Did he simply want her for herself? Or was he trying to discover her precious secret?”