Talking Meat and Massive Testicles: Max Fulham Brings the Puppet Chaos to Edinburgh

Ventriloquist Max Fulham is bringing his debut show Full of Ham to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year; mixing stand-up, sketch and talking meat..? The show gives voice to forgotten toys, a piece of ham and the louder corners of Fulham’s own brain. In this hilarious interview, he reflects on growing up just outside Edinburgh, being praised by his comedy heroes, and why a corkscrew might be the next object to join his cast.

Full of Ham is your Edinburgh debut - why now, and what finally pushed you to take the plunge?

It has been a long term ambition of mine to do the Fringe but I’ve always said I’ll only do it if Oasis turn up in the middle of the Festival for a few days, so this seemed like the perfect year!

Coat-wearing-brothers aside, I wanted to create a show full of ideas I hadn’t had a chance to work on yet, new things that excite me. I’m really looking forward to sharing this show with people as I think it contains some things that people won’t have seen anywhere before, taking things in a new direction.

You’ve been praised by the likes of Rowan Atkinson and Mel Giedroyc. What do those endorsements mean to you?

They mean an awful lot. It is quite unbelievable that people who I admire so much have even seen my work so to have received such praise from them is mind-blowing.

I mean, Mr flipping Bean! An absolute comedy hero. I have such fond memories of watching him as a kid and I would always seek out the original live action series despite children’s TV channels always pushing the animated series.

Mel Giedroyc is another comedy idol of mine. I first saw her in the CBBC sketch show Sorry I’ve Got No Head. We worked together a few years ago under rather unusual circumstances where I was sitting on the floor next to her and puppeteering a squirrel character that had massive testicles.

You grew up just outside Edinburgh - what does bringing your debut to Fringe mean personally?

It means a huge amount. Scotland is where I found my love of performing, I was very lucky to have a Headteacher who massively championed the arts (thank you Mr Simpson). 

My first taste of comedy was watching shows at the Fringe when we would pop into Edinburgh for the day. Performing my own show there this year would certainly blow tiny Max’s mind I think.

What’s the key to making ventriloquism feel modern and fresh?

I think it is important to acknowledge what has gone before in an artform before trying to update or progress it. I’m a bit of a nerd about ventriloquism, if you couldn’t tell already, so I’ve watched and read a lot about it going back to Victorian Music Hall and beyond. I think some people have a bit of a preconception about ventriloquism being stuck in those older eras and it can be a lot of fun to play with the people’s expectations of what they think it is. My primary motivator is always comedy so for me it is about how I can use ventriloquism to do the funniest things. Questions I have asked myself include: ‘Can I do it without a puppet?’, ‘Is it possible to do sketches without any other performers?’ and ‘What would a slice of ham say?’.

How does it feel to take something so niche and make it accessible to a broad audience?

Many people haven’t ever seen a ventriloquist perform live before and so it’s nice to be people’s first experience of it. I really enjoy sharing my nonsense with people and the vibe of my show is pretty much that I have lots of things I want to show you. I love having a sense of unity with an audience, we are all just in a room to have a laugh. The fact that I’m using an art form they might not have seen before to get the laughs is the icing on the cake! 

If you could give any object in your home a voice right now, what would it say?

I would probably have to default to a corkscrew. I don’t drink so it doesn’t serve a purpose to me other than being a little metal man who can stick his arms up and shout “I surrender” or teach an Aqua aerobics class, “come on Linda let’s see those arms right out to the side!”.

Max Fulham: Full of Ham will be performed at 6.40pm in Pleasance Courtyard (Cellar) from 30th July – 25th August (not 11th)

Booking link: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/max-fulham-full-ham