Chloe Radcliffe
Originally from Minnesota, CHLOE RADCLIFFE is all smiles, no matter how exasperated she is with the world around her. She balances being incredulous with being delightful, and draws from her experience of having a huge birthmark on her cheek (but she doesn’t talk about it too much…or, just enough? Whatever’s correct). She has gratefully opened for: Dave Attell, Nate Bargatze, Rory Scovel, Joe List, Arsenio Hall & Hari Kondabolu.
Get tickets here to see her show CHEAT on Sept 17 at the Bill Murray in London!
What's the most unusual, unexpected, miraculous or magical thing that has happened while building your career in comedy?
Every single success has been something that I couldn’t have predicted a year prior. I could isolate various jobs or connections as the “best,” but the magic is actually that they all feel knitted together. I couldn’t have gotten cast in Command-Z without being staffed to write on it, and I couldn’t have gotten staffed without going to a writers retreat for women and NB people a year prior (St. Nell’s in Pennsylvania, run by the inimitable New Yorker cartoonist Emily Flake) - a retreat that I almost didn’t go on because I was worried it would take me away from the NYC scene for too long. This is the kind of woo-woo answer you get from someone who’s taken too many hallucinogens in their life.
How does CHEAT feel different from your previous material? Is there anything new you're talking about in this set that feels particularly freeing, vulnerable or new for you?
Well, building my first solo show where I’m talking about committing infidelity - a topic that a lot of people can relate to but almost no one admits openly - is inherently both scary and liberating. The show isn’t just about cheating: it’s about not knowing how to measure the quality of a relationship, it’s about operating on a scarcity mentality when it comes to romance, it’s about insecurity and desire and resistance to connection. I keep having women tell me, “I’ve had all those thoughts, but I’ve never felt able to say them out loud.” I hope that the show can be a vicarious release for anyone (especially the women!) who sees it.
What are you up to after Fringe? What are you working on next?
I’m sticking around London for a couple weeks to run my show at The Bill Murray on 17 September! Live performance is the only thing that’s still permitted with the double strike in the US, so…please come to my London show! (And then tell Mr. Hollywood to call me when the strikes are over)
If your younger self could see you performing today, how would she feel? What would she do?
She would be over the moon to see that she has a legitimate career as a performer. Her mind would be absolutely blown by the fact that she’s written on a late night show, sold a movie, and acted in a miniseries from the guy who made Ocean’s 11. And if you asked her, are you proud of your future talent as a performer, she would say, um, duh, I’d better be good!?
Can you tell us about some other female-driven shows you've seen at Fringe this year that you would recommend checking out?
Sofie Hagen’s Banglord, Maggie Crane’s Side By Side, Courtney Parouso’s Vanessa 5000 and Urooj Ashfaq’s Oh No! were all so impressive - and ranging from personal to physical, they were all so so funny.