Q&A with Holly Walsh

Collaboration is at the heart of the Roberts Institute of Art. As we continue to learn about what collaboration can be, we have asked a variety of cultural practitioners to discuss the way they live and work with others.

This week comedian and writer Holly Walsh talks about the writing room moving to Zoom and what it's like collaborating in comedy.

How has the pandemic made you rethink the way the writing collaborative process works?

I was lucky that our writing team for Motherland was a well-oiled machine by the time the pandemic came around. So we didn’t have to get to know one another over Zoom. We had to work out how to not talk over each other and someone had to actually write stuff down, but I liked it. I mean, obviously Zooming is a pain in the arse (especially when you’re fighting for broadband with home-schoolers and people with proper jobs) but it was so nice not to commute. Time was better spent in a lot of ways.  

How does collaboration play out in your work? 

I’m quite a collaborative writer. Maybe it’s after years of being a stand-up which sometimes feels like the loneliest job in the world (imagine getting a train back from Leicester at 10pm when you’ve just died on your arse). I’ve worked with one other writer, and also part of a writing teams and it’s just a lot more fun. Maybe it’s neediness. I like people laughing at my jokes. I also think being together helps make dialogue feel more natural. If you can capture on the page the way people actually talk – all their ticks and mistakes – then it feels more real to me. So we try and write down exactly how we’ve said it in the room, rather than tidying up too much. 

Do you have a dream collaborator?

Too many to mention. I’m going through a massive Call My Agent phase at the moment. That’d be a fun writers room to be in. 

How does writing together build relationships?

It’s quite an intimate process in a lot of ways. Maybe a bit like therapy. You really have to mine your own life and attitudes to find truthfully funny stuff. Even when it reflects very badly on you. So, I suppose there’s an element of trust there.  But really, you’re just a bunch of people sitting around trying to make one another laugh, so it’s just good fun.

What has got you through this locked down time?

TAPESTRY. I sewed my way through the last year. I find it very methodical and therapeutic. I bulk buy all my wool on Ebay (people clearing out their granny’s house) and so I don’t really have a plan when I start. I’ve just finished one of a prawn. I’m addicted to it. I also went a bit bonkers with my tomato plants last year. We’ve got a pizza oven so I made a year’s supply of pizza sauce and froze it. In the depths of January when everyone was at their lockdown lowest, eating homemade tomato sauce reminded me of better days. 

What makes a good writing partnership?

Well, I can only really talk about comedy but I love writing with people who laugh a lot. And don’t mind telling you about the worst parts of their marriage / parenting / moral compasses in order to make everyone else laugh.