This is Nina Conti, a very funny (and quite accomplished) ventriloquist. One of her bits is to take people from the audience and turn them into puppets. Here's an example. And for you trivia fans, she is actor Tom Conti's daughter.
9 comments
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JR
said...
Did you watch her in Family Tree? Very disappointing that it's not getting a second season.
I saw Nina Conti perform in Glastonbury Festival several years ago. At the time I thought she was the best thing I saw at the entire festival. Her act was hilarious, highly original and, possibly aided by the thick haze that permeated the comedy tent, utterly mind-bending, as she alternately knocked down the fourth wall and rebuilt it again, playfully messing with our perceptions of her act. I later booked tickets to watch her London and thoroughly enjoyed that too, although it wasn't *quite* as mind-bending that time. This clip is clever and amusing, but it only hints at the stuff she can do when her mischievous sense of humour is at the fore, but how anyone can make a ventriloquist act remotely relevant, let alone fresh and interesting, in this age is astonishing to me. A very talented woman.
To be fair to Nina Conti, it's not the gimmick of the masks on the audience members, it's how she reacts to the things SHE says. I found it electric watching her react with (what appears to be) genuine embarrassment to something she'd make another character say. It's the mixture of performance and honest reaction, and not really knowing where one begins and the other ends, that makes her interesting. (At least to me.)
9 comments :
Did you watch her in Family Tree? Very disappointing that it's not getting a second season.
Easter Tip: Don't waste your money buying a red rooster and pink bunny thinking you are going to get a ton of free colored eggs.
I saw Nina Conti perform in Glastonbury Festival several years ago. At the time I thought she was the best thing I saw at the entire festival. Her act was hilarious, highly original and, possibly aided by the thick haze that permeated the comedy tent, utterly mind-bending, as she alternately knocked down the fourth wall and rebuilt it again, playfully messing with our perceptions of her act. I later booked tickets to watch her London and thoroughly enjoyed that too, although it wasn't *quite* as mind-bending that time. This clip is clever and amusing, but it only hints at the stuff she can do when her mischievous sense of humour is at the fore, but how anyone can make a ventriloquist act remotely relevant, let alone fresh and interesting, in this age is astonishing to me. A very talented woman.
Those who enjoy her work should check out the movie she made:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2081260/
I loved it.
FYI: Joel Hodgson, creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000, invented this gag in the 80s for his standup act.
Link: http://joelhodgson.com/
I saw ventriloquist Ronn Lucas doing it before Joel Hodgson.
To be fair to Nina Conti, it's not the gimmick of the masks on the audience members, it's how she reacts to the things SHE says. I found it electric watching her react with (what appears to be) genuine embarrassment to something she'd make another character say. It's the mixture of performance and honest reaction, and not really knowing where one begins and the other ends, that makes her interesting. (At least to me.)
Well, she's no Jeff Dunham.
I saw ventriloquist Ronn Lucas doing it before Joel Hodgson.
You may have seen Ronn before Joel, but Ronn actually licensed it from Joel. Ask Ronn. Credit where credit is due.
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