Jessie Cave gets family involved in Edinburgh Fringe debut Bookworm

Laura Ennor
25 July 2012

This article is from 2012.

Lavendar Brown from Harry Potter in 'prop-heavy, slightly strange' debut

Jessie Cave brings her ‘strange’ book club show to the Fringe and assures Laura Ennor that she is fine. Honestly...

Summing up the life stories of put-upon younger siblings everywhere, Jessie Cave says of her upcoming Fringe debut: ‘it’s definitely a one-woman show, but my little sister’s in it …’ Luckily, 14-year-old Bebe is a willing participant and an emerging actress herself; nor does the familial involvement stop there: a younger brother is doing the sound and mum has been roped in for her DIY skills.

The show, which Cave promises is ‘prop-heavy’ and ‘slightly strange’, centres on a character called ‘Jessie’ (who, like Cave, played the role of Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter films), preparing for her first book club with a degree of care that sails past obsession and right into mania. ‘Hopefully you won’t quite know whether it’s about me or not,’ she pauses before admitting that, ‘unfortunately, it probably is me!’ Combining storytelling and comedy, she’ll tell how various fictional characters have shaped her life for better and worse.

Cave only experienced the Fringe for the first time as a punter in 2011, but she’s no stranger to the comedy scene with the videos on her website – pindippy.com – featuring the likes of Simon Amstell and Daniel Sloss. Getting such a high-profile role at the age of 20 was a turning point for her – until then, an art student set on a career in illustration – and with the next acting job not arriving as easily as perhaps expected, she set up her site, a treasure trove of awkward character comedy skits and distinctive illustrations.

While in Edinburgh, she plans to interview fellow comedians ‘in a Pindippy kind of way’, as well as doing something ‘quite loud’ and involving a cardboard cut-out beaver on the Royal Mile. ‘I’m trying to just keep it really fun and light but it is a bit … weird. I hope people aren’t worried for me!’

Jessie Cave: Bookworm, Underbelly, Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 4–26 Aug (not 13), 2.30pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6.