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_Q&A: Josie Long

Winner of the 2006 If.Comedy Newcomer award at Edinburgh, Josie Long's new comedy show - Kindness and Exuberance - avoids the whinging cliches many male, white, middle-class comics indulge in. 'It's about the mysteries and joys surrounding little things," she says. "About trying to be kind and giving life a fair old whack. It is also about why it is ok to be a dork."

Are you still giving out free comics and badges at each show?

When I was writing the show I thought, what I'd really love would be to get nice handmade badges every night. It was a stoooopid decision. Before Edinburgh, I got about 20 friends together and we made thousands. Never again! But then I did the Soho Theatre in London and suddenly had to do 300 on my own. And now I'm on tour, everyday there's this frantic rush to get them done before the show. I've probably done about 2,500 already. They're of slogans from the show and things about the area.

The show is very positive…

I'm certainly trying to be, yes. I want it to be joyful. When I was 20 I filled out the census and I put down 'comedian' as my occupation, and I was thinking about that as a challenge. I wanted to be aspirational, to be my best self. The show isn't all positive though, there's some weird stuff and jokes about death.

What inspired you?

This last year it's been really little things that had made me happy, mucking around, second hand things. I just wanted to talk about why I was the way I was.

Winning an award at Edinburgh usually results in TV offers. Anything on the cards?

I'm not really ready for TV. I want to be better at stand up, make sure I'm really really good otherwise you run the risk of having the life bled out of what you do.

www.myspace.com/all_of_the_cool_kids

Interview by Dave Freak for What's On magazine, February 2007. No reproduciton without prior permission.

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Josie Long