RORY BREMNER The Scottish impressionist talks satire, the Irish economy and the trouble with impersonating David Cameron talks to EOIN BUTLER
What is a satirist's primary duty, pointing out political folly or making people laugh?Both, ideally. But much of what gets labelled satire is actually fairly broad comedy. It's superficial, it's perfunctory, it targets the well known and the well worn. I'm as guilty as anyone in that respect. Real satire is darker and more literary. When you think back to someone like Swift, his work was always much more discomforting than that.
How come you aren't on television any more?Ha ha, good question. At the beginning of my career, I suppose I concentrated almost exclusively on impressions. I rather painted myself into a corner though, a very monochromatic corner, because politicians in Britain these days are utterly bland and characterless.
What about Boris Johnson?Well yes, there's Boris. There's William Hague . . . But I'm not sure how much mileage I'd get from David Cameron. "I'm terribly sorry, your face is frightfully familiar. Terribly sorry . . . " Politics is very technocratic and managerial these days, which sends people like me scuttling back to the more familiar territory of George Bush and Tony Blair.
Much the same was said about Tony Blair (that he was bland and characterless) when he first came to office. Then he invaded Iraq and suddenly everything he did was infused with "messianic zeal".To vote against Tony Blair in 1997, I think, was to vote against hope. Even satirists were glad to see the end of 18 years of Tory rule. We really couldn't turn around therefore, on day one, and begin laying into the guy. It was similar to when Obama came to power; he had inspired so many people. Perhaps it's the same with your new Taoiseach here?
Hahahaha . . .Well, it's a humdrum spell for satire, let's say. It's a period during which we try to get a handle on the new guy. With Blair, it was like trying to nail jelly to a wall. He was all things to all people. But the breakthrough came sooner than Iraq. It came when we realised that the government was defined by the relationship between Blair and Alastair Campbell. Previous governments would ask, what are we going to do? Under Blair it was more like, what are we going to say?
Cameron is very much Blair's heir then, in that respect?Absolutely, he's very presentable, smooth and fluent. But he also has that very English public-school-boy thing of not thinking things through, of assuming he knows best. That's why he's been forced into so many policy U-turns already. There was a great visual explication of this last week when he visited a hospital ward with his entourage only to be ejected by a consultant in front of the cameras. This contrasts with Gordon Brown who couldn't decide what to have for breakfast without lengthy consultations.
What about Nick Clegg?There's a story I like to tell about meeting Nick Clegg. He said, "Can you do me yet?" I said, "No. Can you?"
On a different note, how many times must someone meet you socially before it's acceptable to request an impression?You can ask right now if you like, Eoin. It's my party trick, it's what I do, although I did it a lot more often when I was younger. It can be hard, of course, when people ask for Cameron and I have to tell them I haven't got it yet. Recognition is a little like a pretty girl walking past a building site. The lady is thinking, oh God, please don't let them wolf whistle at me. Then one day she walks past and they don't whistle and she wonders, why have they stopped?
During the peace process, you sent up several Northern Irish politicians. But have you tried to impersonate a politician from the Republic?Does Gerry Adams count?
Um, technically.Horace Walpole said that life is comedy to those who think, tragedy to those who feel. What's going on in Ireland, at the moment, seems to me to be a colossal tragedy. People have been lumbered with all this debt for something they had no part in and, indeed, can't even understand. That seems to me the kind of grotesque injustice that really needs a Swift to coruscate. I hope there's somebody to take that on. I did a radio show last year where I got to meet people like Barry Murphy and Mario Rosenstock. They're both amazing performers. As an outsider, I'd be reluctant to wade in. I prefer to listen.
Rory Bremner will be performing at the Trim Swift Festival in Trim, Co Meath on July 1st-3rd