We managed to catch up with The Wee Man (aka Neil Bratchpiece) prior to his Nedator show at The Ironworks, Inverness on the 6th of April 2012.
The Wee Man is quite clearly an internet phenomenon that has seen millions watch his escapades. So we were lucky to catch a few words with The Wee Man and ask him a few questions.
How pleased are you with all the positive feedback for the wee man, and how do you understand his success?
I’m pretty pleased with positive feedback for The Wee Man, although it’s not always rosy. For one thing, it’s amazing how quickly a YouTube comments section can degenerate into a vicious nationalistic or sectarian battle of words. It’s reactions like that that make me glad I’m not often recognized as The Wee Man, especially in case anyone is a Susan Boyle fan. Word of advice, never poke fun at Susan Boyle, even in an apparently light-hearted manner. It’s hard to understand the success, because it’s pretty much quantified in Facebook likes and view counts. If only I’d cottoned on to this Kony guy sooner, I’ve not really researched it but I gather he’s like the African Justin Bieber or something.
Having seen the YouTube version how much of a challenge was it take the Nedator to become a show?
To be honest Nedator was always intended to be shown on a big screen at a live show, like a cinema presentation. It getting put online was really only an afterthought, especially considering certain gigantic film production companies would maybe have issue with their film being ripped off, affectionately of course.
Is there another film that you would like to do with The Wee Man?
I’d be hard pushed to find a film that’s closer to my heart or more ingrained in my psyche than Predator, but there’s definitely some others that could do with a ned spin. Jaiks on a Plane perhaps, or Uncle Buckfast, which would be a much less heartwarming family affair than the John Candy film, and more of a violent urban thriller.
What’s next for The Wee Man and what’s next for Neil Bratchpiece?
What’s next for The Wee Man is hopefully continuing to do rap battle sketches with Scottish rappers (youtube.com/weemanentertainment) and appearing at a couple of the biggest Scottish Summer festivals (you’ll probably have to stir early in your tent to catch me…as I will be in your tent.) As for Neil Bratchpiece, I will be continuing to experiment with other characters, several of which are involved in the comedy collective Endemic, who will be appearing both live and increasingly online in the near future.
We were intrigued to see that your day job was teaching school kids about the perils of drink and drugs (we read it in the Sun so it must be true:)), how did you balance both roles?
I don’t balance both roles, my moral conscience does. By a thread. The Sun only found that out by hacking my Bebo account. Only joking, Mr Murdoch, our dear leader.
The Wee Man in The Nedator will be at The Ironworks on the 6th of April, tickets available via www.IronworksVenue.com.
