Comedian, actor and writer Kathy Maniura debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023 with Objectified, an absurd character comedy show where she brought to life a variety of objects including a paper straw, a wine bottle and an electric scooter. The show and its subsequent tour was described as ‘an exquisitely realised, understated delight’ by The Scotsman. She has written for Radio 4’s DM’s Are Open, and also writes and performs as one half of character comedy duo Horseplay with comedian Derek Mitchell. She was shortlisted for the 2023 BBC New Comedy Awards 2023 and was a finalist in Europe’s biggest drag king competition Man Up! the same year performing as The Cycling Man, Oliver Greaves.
You started out doing sketch comedy as Vice President of the Oxford Revue. What was your experience of student comedy like, especially in a group with such a history?
It was an amazing way to get started. At the time the Revue did a ‘newcomers’ show that had open auditions – they put together a group of 8 people, gave us a performance slot at the end of the term and said ‘make a sketch show’. It’s how I met many close friends and my longtime comedy collaborator Derek Mitchell, and I don’t know if I’d have got into it so quickly without that opportunity. That said, it can be mixed – when you perform with a group with so much history, people come to see you expecting Monty Python and often don’t enjoy the alternative student comedy they get instead. When we stopped performing under the banner of the Revue, we actually found it quite freeing – but it was a great training ground.
You’ve spoken before about Cycling Man beginning from your observations of other commuters in Central London, beginning initially as a five-minute set. What did you see it becoming when you first conceived it, and how did that change – did you always see music being a part of it, for example?
I really didn’t think about it beyond the five minutes, which is wild to say now! At the time, I was doing lots of short character bits – many of them became my first show Objectified, where I brought to life a bunch of maligned inanimate objects. They were all about 3-5 mins. It was only after I did that show that I thought about doing a show as a single character, really diving in. I was also getting into drag at the time, and I suddenly wondered … could that cyclist bit be something more?
In your Out of Character interview with Alex Lynch, you talk about the challenges of developing a character show with a narrative – having to jump pretty quickly to work-in-progresses in order to test how the show flows as a whole, rather than performing bits at different nights. How did you go about developing it as a narrative, and what beats did you know you wanted to hit?
That’s a great question – it’s really hard … I tend to write in chunks, so I have a bit about his divorce, a bit about his weekly cycle ride, a bit about how he got into cycling etc. Through writing those, some narrative elements emerge – I knew quite quickly that his wife leaving him would be a key part of the show, and something he was handling really badly. And then it’s about finding ways to heighten the tension and push the narrative and the character – I put him in hospital after an accident so he’s already on the back foot. But it took a long time to get it all right. I often think of my shows like a huge jigsaw puzzle, and you’ve only got a very hazy sense of what the final image should be. So lots of reordering and trying things that don’t work until they eventually all slot into place!
Cycling Man is your first solo show working with a director, Cecily Nash. How did that change the process for you?
Oh god it was amazing. Cecily is such a brilliant director – she’s got a clown background, and I knew I wanted someone who could help me draw out those playful, physical bits and audience interaction. Having someone who is invested in the show with you, who understands what you’re trying to do and can be a sounding board, is absolutely invaluable. Process-wise, Cecily would do workshops with me or give me notes on work-in-progress shows that were so helpful in clarifying next steps or getting me out of creative ruts. And more than anything, it’s someone who’s on your team and supports you through the process. I would advise any solo performer to have a director to be honest – I found doing my first show quite lonely and introspective, and it transformed the experience having a great team around me this time. Shout out also to Han Sayles, my super talented lighting designer and technician who is on the road with me and makes every show a delight!!
The show makes fun of a stereotype but doesn’t punch down, feeling grounded but still absurd. Was it hard to zero in on that one viewpoint, having performed and written multi-character shows previously?
That’s great to hear as it’s something that was super important to me! Honestly no, I think it comes quite naturally because it’s the type of comedy I enjoy. I never want to make something that makes people feel uncomfortable (except for maybe briefly for the benefit of a joke…) – I want my shows to be goofy, playful and fun. All my silly characters come from a place of curiosity and empathy – why is this person (or object) like this? It’s also funny because in my head I’m much edgier than I apparently appear – a lot of reviews described my first show as ‘gentle’ or ‘charming’ which I found really interesting. I’ve learnt it’s a bit of a gift being seen in that way, because it means you can push things further. The Cycling Man is actually quite horrible, he says some really gross and sexist stuff, but there’s something about me as the performer being visible behind the character that softens it somehow. Don’t ask me how, but it works!
The show has done incredibly well, and you’ve performed as far afield as Australia, having taken the show to the Adelaide Fringe in the spring. You’ve spoken about Oliver being quite a London-specific character, how did he go down in Australia and did you adjust any of the references? Were there any reactions you were surprised by?
It’s always so interesting performing comedy in different places – even across the UK, the responses really vary (Manchester loved all my filthy jokes – I see you, I love you.) My policy is that I’ll change a very specific reference if it makes the joke completely unintelligible otherwise – so for example, ‘I’ve spent the salary of an NHS nurse in Decathlon’ becomes ‘I’ve spent the salary of a nurse in [insert name of local sporting goods store]’. But otherwise there are some specifics that add a local flavour – I explained to an audience in San Francisco what Bovril was and they (rightly) thought it was hilarious. But one of the most surprising things is how universal the middle aged cycling man is – men are doing this all over the world for some reason?? Overall the Aussie audiences were so fun – they’ve got a great sense of humour and were really up for it.
What do you think you’ve learnt from living with and performing the show for so long?
Wow, great question. I’ve learnt a lot about cycling, that’s for sure – I’ve had great chats with cyclists who’ve come to see the show, and recently got invited on a cycling podcast which was a really interesting different angle on discussing the show. The nice thing about performing one character for so long is you really get a sense of who they are – I love the audience interaction in the show, or and moments when unexpected things happen in the room on tour. I know now without thinking how Oliver (The Cycling Man) would react in the moment, and that can be really fun. And ultimately it’s made me a better performer. Sitting with one show means you really push it and play with it, you get very confident with the material and I’ve had the pleasure of performing it in so many different places and to different audiences. This bit is so fun, when you feel really in control. At some point soon I’ll have to start on a new show and then I’ll feel like I don’t know what I’m doing again…
Cycling Man is directly influenced by drag king culture. Who are your favourite drag performers at the moment?
The London drag scene is so excellent and varied, I’m always blown away when I see a show. One of the first kings I saw was Jodie Mitchell as John Travulva – an incredible performer and now friend (who has a great Ted Talk about drag kinging that I highly recommend.) I first performed the Cycling Man alongside Fabio Lezonli who is brilliant, and runs many fantastic nights. Mr IPM (international pussy magnet ofc) performed by Azara won my year of the Man Up! drag king competition and blew me away. And Sofa King Filthy who is… a sexy sofa – one of the best, most creative and weird acts about.
You’ve also spoken before about being a diehard sketch comedy fan – what are your three all-time favourite sketches?
This is… an impossible choice. Ok how about – SNL where Kristen Wiig keeps saying ‘don’t make me sing’, Horrible Histories Richard III song, Brian Butterfield’s diet plan. There are a million more of course and I will lose sleep over all the ones I’ve forgotten.
Kathy Maniura’s show Cycling Man is on at Soho Theatre on the 19th and 20th May, before heading to the Komedia in Brighton. You can listen to her recent appearance on Radio 4’s Loose Ends here.