A question of taste - Nina Conti

BRITISH ventriloquist/comedienne Nina Conti is the daughter of actors Tom Conti and Kara Drummond Wilson. She brings her improvised show, In Your Face, to the Everyman in Cork next Monday.

Best recent book: I’m only one sentence in to Nabokov’s Speak Memory and I’m already devastated. But I’ve been in book mourning since finishing Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.

Best recent film: Klovn, its Danish but worth braving subtitles for some of the wrongest laughs I’ve had in years.

Best recent show/exhibition/gig: Loved seeing Chilli Gonzalez by the lakeside at Latitude festival, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes at Somerset House. Both incorporated the audience in great ways, generous performances, and since that’s what I’m striving for myself at the moment its an enjoyable element for me.

What formats do you access music? Spotify, but I’m not proud.

First ever piece of music or art that really moved you: As a child hearing my mum and dad sing ‘Soave sia il Vento’ together.

The best gig or show you’ve ever seen: Trying to think of best ever has sent me spinning so let’s just say I most recently got to my feet for Kenneth Cranham’s performance in The Father.

Tell us about your TV viewing: Devoured Transparent, chomping for series two; otherwise its almost exclusively documentaries.

Radio listening: I create stations based on songs but I don’t feel any loyalty to a particular station. I like podcasts and old Desert Island Discs.

Name three of your performance heroes: Currently, these are Dr Brown aka Phil Burgers, Simon Munnery, and Tommy Tiernan.

Your best celebrity encounter: When I was 10, a friend of my parents brought John Candy round to dinner and he made me laugh until I couldn’t breathe.

Tech habits: Lots of management of filming on cards and backing up and editing stuff. Always charging Macbook, portable speakers, phone, etc.

Unsung hero — individual or organisation you think don’t get the profile/ praise they deserve: Nurses, teachers and ventriloquists.

You are queen for a day — what’s your first decree? I banish shame.