American painter Bob Ross – with his signature perm and love of animals – encouraged generations to embrace their creativity through The Joy of Painting, one of the most-watched TV art shows in history. Inspired by his legacy, renowned cabaret performer Sarah Louise-Young has brought The Bob Ross Effect to audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Lead image credit: Damian Robertson

How do you prepare yourself for the gauntlet of a Fringe run?

This is my thirtieth year of coming to the Fringe. I’ve seen it change a lot. You have to start getting match-fit physically as well as psychologically a good few weeks before. I also don’t drink for the month. You know you’re going to get hit by curveballs and have good days and bad days. Some people go for the reviews, some people go for the fun – I want the joy and the luxury of doing 26 shows back to back, which you just don’t get to do with a new piece of work very often.

The show was partly inspired by your friendship with Edinburgh Fringe icon Lynn Ruth Miller, who started performing stand-up aged 70. 

Bob Ross believed that everybody is creative, and I think a lot of us get that creativity squashed out of us – usually when we get to school, and often because we’re just told it’s a luxury. Lynn Ruth Miller was the living embodiment of: It’s never too late to follow your dreams. She had this great plan – she was going to die on her 100th birthday at Leicester Comedy Festival, but actually she ended up passing away when she was 88. She was also an artist, and her creativity and mentorship continues to influence my life. 

Credit: Damian Robertson

You touch on topics of mental health, grief and addiction in the show. How do you find that balance alongside the more lighthearted content? 

It’s important to me that the audience feel safe and have a wonderful time. Bob is very funny and entertaining and when we started work on the piece, we looked at all the different types of Bob. There’s Bob the teacher; Bob the sex symbol; Bob the art saviour – Bob the unlikely TV personality. So there’s plenty of humour and warmth, but I also think audiences can be challenged. We have a really nice balance between moments of comedy – but if you’re careful about the way a story is mapped out, you can take the audience by the hand and say: ‘Come with me. I’m going to share something with you that’s a bit more delicate.’ 

I did a show which I’m still touring, called An Evening Without Kate Bush, and people come along thinking it’s a Kate Bush tribute. It’s actually a celebration of community. People left that show saying, I was laughing and crying, and that’s what I wanted with this show. With anything I make, I always have in mind that the audience must leave feeling elevated, celebrated, and feeling something we shouldn’t be afraid to feel. We’re so bad in this country with talking about grief. Grief is not an illness. It’s not a thing that we have to get through. It’s a thing that walks with us, and no two griefs are alike. There’s joy in grief, and sudden moments of rapture and hilarity.

How has Bob Ross’ legacy influenced the way you see art and approach your own creativity?

His motto, ‘We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents’ has really helped me feel better about failure and lean into things when they go wrong. I’m 50 now, and people assume that by this point I must know how to make a show, but actually it’s harder to keep going back to zero and saying, “I know nothing.” Painting live on stage terrified me, but I’ve learned to embrace that.

The whole show is steeped in Bob Ross’ kindness and mischievousness. I wanted the show to be about more than the soothing, ASMR-like quality of watching him paint – it’s about that sense of joy and creativity that’s alive in all of us. I’ve been lucky to work with collaborators who share that spirit of just giving things a shot, and in a way, Bob has been this mentor figure guiding us through the whole thing. It’s astonishing to think that he died over 30 years ago and he’s still on air in the States.

Credit: Steve Ullathorne

You invite the audience to put pencil to paper themselves.

There are three moments in the show where the audience gets invited to draw. I’m very aware that for some people that will be a terrifying prospect. But it’s very gentle. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers about what we ask them to do, but there’s one moment where we get an audience member to do something with their eyes closed – and hearing the hysterics in the room at the end of that is really joyful. Some people get quite moved because maybe the last time they drew was as a kid, and then they do something and it’s celebrated, so that’s really lovely. 

What other Fringe shows do you have on your radar?

If I don’t see a show a day, then I haven’t had a good Fringe. I’m definitely going to go and see Elf Lyons is the Woman on the Edge, because I just love her work so much. There’s also Garry Starr, who had huge success with Classic Penguins, and Jess Robinson who is back with Elton Reimagined. 

The Bob Ross Effect runs until 31st August at Assembly Gardens, Piccolo at 4.05pm