Jake Mace
Content Warning: Discussion of Sexual Violence
Kelly Bachman is looking to reclaim the stage and discuss what defines her comedy career after gaining notoriety following an encounter with convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein. We were drawn to chat with Kelly after she told us that the show looks to handle healing from trauma with raw humour – and with such an intricate, personal, and delicate set of topics it was sure to be an interesting pixelated pint.
We caught up with Kelly to talk all things trauma, healing, spirituality, and virality ahead of the show’s arrival at EdFringe next week.
You can catch Kelly Bachman: Patron Saint from August 1st to 25th at Assembly Rooms, Front Room at 19:45. Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Jake: Hey Kelly, tell us about what spurred the creation of Patron Saint and where you’ve been on an artistic journey with the show since then.
Kelly: In 2019, when I was one year into performing stand-up, I found myself with sudden notoriety after confronting serial rapist Harvey Weinstein at a comedy show in New York. I was asked to talk to CNN, The New York Times, The Guardian, an FX documentary, etc.. Years later, the questions keep coming from journalists and haters alike. What was that night like? Has it pigeon-holed me as an artist?
One of the most common questions I still get is “Are you a comedian because of trauma?’ I’d like to answer or at least escape that question with a fun hour of stand-up about my comedy coming of age. I’ve written and performed parts of the hour over the last five years, and Fringe seems like the ideal place to debut the full story.
Jake: Who are you hoping this show will connect with and how do you think it might affect audiences?
Kelly: The show will connect with rape survivors, recovering Catholics, comedy fans, and anyone who has experienced trauma (everyone). When people tell stories about rape survivors in particular, there is often one picture we see—a withering, damaged person who is resilient despite their immense suffering. We witness violent trauma, and then we see our hero find a way through it, usually through revenge or acceptance.
I’d like to show a different, more nuanced picture that I also know to be true. Rape survivors are a diverse group of people. A lot of us love to be silly. A lot of us love sex. A lot of us have pooped our pants as adults. A lot of us are comfortable talking about, or even laughing about our experiences. I’m one of those people, and it took me a while to arrive at that.
Patron Saint explores what defines me as an artist outside of this one wild moment that I had very little control over. Overall, I want to share the levity and lessons that I’ve found, and most of all, I just want to be silly. Comedy is fun to me no matter what, and that’s sort of the point of the show.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience will walk away thinking/feeling, and how do you aim to achieve this on stage?
Kelly: Best case scenario, I’d like people who are healing from trauma to watch this show and walk away feeling lighter/less alone. I want to tell a story about life that goes on after healing begins. What happens after the credits roll on a ‘traumatized victim’ narrative? What is dating like? What is work like? What is being a comedian like? I find the experience to be very funny in a lot of ways, and telling that story that has invited a lot of healing/community into my life that I’d like to share.
Jake: Now that we’re gearing up for Fringe season, what are you most excited for?
I’m excited to meet people from all over the world! I’ve never performed outside of the United States before, and I can’t wait to find out what that’s like.
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?
Kelly: Communion wine!
Phoebe Bakker
