Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan - Tom Neenan on art, identity and Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

BAFTA-nominated writer and comedian Tom Neenan returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan. Known as the head writer of The Mash Report and the creator and star of the BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Hauntening, Neenan's latest show explores art, identity, body image and the exhausting challenge of becoming a version of yourself you can actually live with. Inspired by a disastrous portrait commission of an 86-year-old man and a destination wedding that brings old insecurities back to the surface, the show examines self-perception, creativity and male shame through the spiralling over-analysis that has become a hallmark of Neenan's comedy. We caught up with Tom to hear more about the show.

Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan argues that technology can't replace human creativity. What do you think it is about art made by people that machines will always struggle to replicate?

All a generative AI model can do is replicate what already exists - it cannot create a new, ingenious, fresh idea. That’s what humans can do. Humans create, AI combines. 

Do you think AI has changed the way artists think about the value of their own work?

I think it's made them value their art more. This is work that has had time spent on it, by a living person. I hope people start taking even more pride in what they create. 

The show touches on body image and self-perception from a male perspective. Do you think those conversations have become easier to have, or do they still carry a particular stigma?

Even though it’s happening through strange words like ‘Looksmaxxing’ I think the conversation about male self-image is happening more. And it’s an extension of the conversation about mental health which has definitely been happening more and more. 

You've written for everything from The Mash Report to Spitting Image, but this is a deeply personal Fringe show. Does writing for yourself feel fundamentally different from writing for other performers?

I think it can be intimidating to try and write something ‘personal’ so sometimes it is easier to imagine I am writing for the character of ‘Tom Neenan’ which sounds counter intuitive but maybe provides some much-needed distance from the material I’m writing.  

Your shows are famously tightly engineered. Are you the sort of writer who colour-codes spreadsheets and index cards... or does the organisation somehow all happen inside your head?

It’s all in my head. I save my spreadsheets for Doctor Who episode rankings and Fringe show schedules. I worry the second you open Excel you lose something creative about the process of making comedy. 

You speak about past creative disappointments and abandoned ambitions as the story develops. Did working on a piece about artistic judgement force you to revisit projects you'd rather forgotten about, and if so, what are they?

There are tonnes of projects that have been paused and I’d love to revisit at some point. Film scripts and unfinished paintings. The day I feel I’ve finished every project will be a sad day indeed. 

Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan will be performed at 3:15pm at Underbelly George Square from 5^th-30^th August.

Booking link: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/tom-neenan-portrait-of-a-tom-as-a-young-neenan