Giving a Voice to Pedal Bins and Slices of Ham: The Surreal World of “Full of Ham”

Comedian and ventriloquist Max Fulham isn’t bringing traditional puppets to the Edinburgh Fringe -instead, he’s breathing life (and voices) into the everyday objects around us. From pedal bins that scream to slices of ham with a mind of their own, “Full of Ham” explores intrusive thoughts, ventriloquism’s hidden freedoms, and the strange comedy lurking in our kitchens. Max spoke to Cultural Dose about where the idea came from, why intrusive thoughts make great comedy, and how growing up near Edinburgh shaped his Fringe debut.

Why did you choose to voice everyday objects instead of traditional puppets in your show “Full of Ham”?

It’s like when people see faces in things, I just take it one step further and bring them to life! I think the first object I gave a voice to was a pedal bin and I’m almost certainly not the only person to have done it. I just started letting out a little scream whenever I stepped on the pedal and the lid/ mouth opened. I also think it is very interesting to explore the world of everyday objects as so many of them are talking to us now. Most people sound like they are doing a ventriloquist act in their kitchen trying to get Alexa to play Radio 2!

What do you think ventriloquism says about how we deal with inner thoughts and emotions?The other voice onstage with me, whether that be a puppet or a slice of ham, has always been able to say the things that I would struggle to. There is a certain freedom to expressing yourself through a secondary voice and I suppose that is mostly the fact that if a character says something outrageous or rude, I can act completely innocent!

Your show talks about “intrusive thoughts” in a funny way. Why do you think people connect with that?I think most people can relate to the idea of another voice in our heads, the one that fires out hasty judgements, alerts us to our insecurities, and shoots embarrassing memories back into our consciousness at the worst moments. I wondered what it would be like if I introduced that voice into a show. Could I perform alongside it or would it derail things entirely. Ask me at the end of the Fringe and I might have an answer!

How did growing up near Edinburgh, and the culture of the Fringe Festival shape your comedy?Growing up in Linlithgow from the age of four massively shaped what I do now. It is safe to say that I wouldn’t be doing ventriloquism or comedy if I hadn’t watched all those street shows on the royal mile every summer growing up. My Dad also used to take me to stand-up shows in the evening, I was well below the age guideline but I was absolutely comedy obsessed. I still can’t quite believe I will actually be performing my own show at the Fringe this year!

What advice would you give to aspiring ventriloquists?I really wish I had an exciting piece of advice or a super simple hack to someone thinking of learning ventriloquism. The reality is that it’s a skill that takes a lot of time to get good at and I feel very lucky that I taught myself when I was young as a hobby, I am not sure I would have the patience to learn it now! My genuine advice would be to just start trying. Don’t clench your teeth too hard or strain your voice but try to start talking without moving your lips. Slowly but surely start to play around with your tongue placement behind your teeth and onto the roof of your mouth to see how you can start to replicate the sounds that require lip movement. You’ll also find a lot of words don’t require you to move your lips anyway, we just do it by habit e.g. “hello”. Keep it playful and have fun with it.

As an artist, what do you hope to take from Edinburgh this year?Edinburgh is the final step in the process of putting this show together so it will be hugely satisfying to perform the show up there. It has been great to see the ideas in this show go from notebook to stage and I can’t wait to share this nonsense with people.

I’m also very excited to watch as many other shows as I can. The Fringe continues to inspire me just as it did when I was watching shows as a kid. I also think my daily step count is going to be pretty good too.

Max Fulham is bringing his show ‘Full of Ham’ to the Edinburgh Fringe the August, every night at 6.40pm in the Pleasance Courtyard. For tickets and more information, visit:: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/max-fulham-full-ham