Nina Conti: The Ventriloquist Who Found Her Voice
About this episode
Nina Conti discusses her unique journey in ventriloquism and performance with James O'Brien.
Nina Conti has built a career out of saying the unsayable, turning ventriloquism, improvisation and audience interaction into something far stranger, deeper and more daring than anyone expected. From early struggles with shyness and self-doubt to creating a completely original form of performance, Nina’s work has always lived somewhere between chaos and control, invention and instinct. In this episode of Full Disclosure , James O’Brien sits down with Nina to explore the unusual path that led her from an acting dynasty and an uneasy start in the profession to becoming one of the most distinctive live performers in Britain. Nina reflects on growing up in the shadow of famous parents, her complicated relationship with acting, and the influence of the late Ken Campbell, whose mentorship helped unlock the ventriloquism that would ultimately become her artistic home. She explains how improvisation, risk and an appetite for the unexpected shaped her work, and why putting words into other people’s mouths became the key to finding her own voice. They also discuss performance, shyness, subversion, film-making and the strange alchemy of making something feel alive in the moment. Along the…
People in this episode
Host: James O'Brien
Guest: Nina Conti
Topics covered
- ventriloquism
- improvisation
- performance
- self-discovery
- artistic expression
Keywords
- ventriloquism
- improvisation
- Nina Conti
- performance
- self-doubt
- artistic journey
- audience interaction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Full Disclosure, Global
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