Jake Mace
An hour of comedy songs traipsing the thematic meadows of social justice, the environment, finding joy in life, and everything in between is the offering in Jest Julia – Songs of Joy and Justice, Fife-based performer Julia Knight’s one-woman comedy music show arriving at Dundee Fringe on the 19th September. From her love of avocados to her aversion of extreme sports, there’s lots packed into this hour of salient musical glee.
So we caught up with Julia to try and unpack the big topics and blissful moments shared in the show. Join us for a pixelated pint here in the Binge Fringe Pub.
Catch Jest Julia – Songs of Joy and Justice at Sweet @ Keiller Centre from 19:15 on the 19th September. Tickets are available through the Dundee Fringe Box Office.
Jake: Hi Julia! Tell us about Songs of Joy and Justice and the journey you’ve been on bringing it to the Dundee Fringe stage.
Julia: The show is a collection of songs that I have written over the past few years. Previously, I’ve sung songs in my solo shows, and performed short song sets at comedy nights, but hadn’t performed a full length show. Then earlier this year, someone asked me to do a gig just singing songs and I realised how much material I had! That resulted in ‘Jest Julia’ – a whole hour of (mostly) comedic songs.
Jake: So tell us a little more about those songs, what are your inspirations in creating them?
Julia: I tend to write songs about either things that I love (e.g. avocados, gin) or things that make me cross! The songs about things I love are the joyful ones, obviously. The things that make me cross are often issues that are related to social justice topics, such as the gig economy, the climate emergency or very rich people. I often write these in response to news stories or more generally what is going on in the world, so that keeps them current. That’s where the idea of ‘Songs of Joy and Justice’ came from.
Some of my songs fit into both categories where I sneakily start off being joyful about something, but then point out something less positive (e.g. avocado production has serious environmental impacts). Songs are a great way to communicate, and people often join in with the choruses spontaneously. I write original songs, but also parody versions of existing songs. That means that the audience is already familiar with the tune, and that heightens the comedic effect.
In addition to my own songs, I also sing a few by Victoria Wood in the show. My first solo show, “I Am Not Victoria Wood” included some of her songs and they are so brilliant and funny that I wanted to keep performing them. Especially as she isn’t here anymore to do that herself. She was a great inspiration to me when I was growing up.
Jake: So what are you hoping people take away from the show?
Julia: Hopefully people leave feeling happy and audiences have told me that they go away singing one of the choruses in their head! But I also hope they take away some messages from the more serious topics that I sing about. Using humour is great for that – people feel happy and relaxed, so they are open to some of the more challenging messages. I have had people tell me that they think a lot more about their avocado consumption since seeing my show “Zeit-Heist: more than a feeling”!
Jake: Now that we’re gearing up for Dundee Fringe so soon, what are you most excited for?
Mostly, choosing my outfit! But also seeing all the other great shows at the fringe festival and catching up with friends who are bringing their shows from London and Brighton (both places I previously lived).
Jake: Fitting with the themes of our magazine, if your show was an alcoholic beverage (think cocktails, shots, beers, be creative!) what would it be?
Julia: Given that I sing a whole song about gin and how fussy I am about how it is served, it has to be gin and tonic. Classic and timeless.
Phoebe Bakker
