Full of the joys
From Christian cults and dark humour to escaping Midwest America; stand-up comedian Spring Day makes her Cambridge Fringe debut
An American transplant whose comedy career originally took off in Japan, you may recognise Spring Day from BBC’s Live at the Apollo, or from one of the seven solo shows she has performed at Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Don’t let the hopeful cheer of her name fool you – it’s the darker side of humour where Spring thrives best. She’s known equally for her sassiness and her shock factor. “I provide dark comedy for nice people,” she tells us. “Many people have developed a dark sense of humour to cope with various things life throws at them, but are afraid of being perceived as a terrible person.” Through her comedy, Spring endeavours to give those people a safe space to be themselves by ‘being irreverent in a way that will hopefully land on the right side of history’.
Describing her style as ‘sharp, dark and bubbly’, it was during her time at university that Spring realised comedy was the path for her, after watching a gig by legendary American comic Paula Poundstone. Other formative influences for the comedian also include Kathleen Madigan, Sam Kinison, Jonathan Winters and the Coen brothers. “I just assumed stand-up was this thing people already on TV did.”
New horizons
American-raised, a fluent Japanese speaker and now a resident Londoner, Spring’s global trajectory continues to inform her comedy, particularly having come from a place where such adventures don’t fall within the usual status quo. “Where I come from, no one takes gap years or invests in international travel to ‘broaden one’s horizons’,” she shares. “I was never supposed to leave Midwest America, let alone live abroad for almost the entirety
of my adult life.”
Spring’s upbringing is unpacked in her new work in progress, Exvangelical – a show in which she dives into the defining chapter of her life, when she spent 13 years (aged 13 to 26) living in a Christian cult, and why she eventually decided to leave.
“It’s a show about giving yourself permission to change your mind about something that used to completely define you,” she shares.
Later this month, Spring will be trialling the show on Cambridge audiences as part of the Fringe – a prospect she looks forward to as her first time performing in the city.
Outside of her performance, you’ll find Spring catching some of her favourites do their stuff: Maureen Younger, Yuriko Kotani and Aaron Twitchen. “They’re all extremely funny and I’m happy to hear they’ll be performing at the Cambridge Fringe.”
Spring Day will be performing her show, Exvangelical, in The Boathouse at 3.30pm on Sunday 26 May as part of Cambridge Fringe.
Tickets available at cambridgefringe.co.uk
