Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster Guest: Nina Conti Release Date: September 17, 2025

Episode Overview

In this lively, whimsical episode, celebrated ventriloquist and comedian Nina Conti joins Ed Gamble and James Acaster in the dream restaurant to construct her ideal meal. The trio delves into Nina’s comedic career, her unique approach to ventriloquism, the joys and trials of live performance, her new film Sunlight, and her relationship with food—from pistachio trees to the humble Weetabix. Expect trademark Off Menu surrealism, playful banter, and a deep dive into Nina’s world both on and off stage.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Nina’s Comedy & Ventriloquism

• Inventive Stagecraft: Ed and James praise Nina’s originality, particularly her use of masks and audience participation (04:08–04:51). James notes, “She occupies such a unique place on the comedy landscape, the Nina Conti place. ... She’s so funny, so original, so inventive.”
• The Mask Show "Whose Face Is It Anyway?": Nina discusses her touring show where audience members wear masks, becoming spontaneous puppets. She reflects:

  “It’s always good. ... I’m making it very compact. In October, I’m doing a lot of touring.” (11:13)

• Audience Participation Gone Wild: Sometimes, improv exceeds even Nina's expectations, as when audience members ended up flapping their hands and chanting “ducky, ducky, ducky”:

  “Something flipped and suddenly I couldn’t speak. ... I’ve taken this somewhere just so stupid that I can’t speak.” (13:07)

2. Life As a Ventriloquist

• Monkey Puppet’s Origin and Role: The famous monkey puppet is central to Nina’s act (also featured in a Christopher Guest film, 06:22–07:16). Nina shares how the monkey provides both comfort and a creative outlet.
• New Puppets & Creative Challenges: Trying new puppets doesn’t always work. Nina created an elaborate “granny” puppet but found it lifeless:

  “I would look at her and think, ‘Say something, god damn it.’ Nothing. Just a sad, needy look like a dog you have to leave in the house.” (18:44)

• Split Personality on Stage: Nina describes the psychological split of performing with her puppet:

  “I try to have nothing to do with what comes out his mouth. ... I wonder if I’ve grown little separate neural pathways that are slightly different from my own over time. I hope I have.” (49:36)

3. Sunlight — Film Directorial Debut

• Seven Years in the Making: Nina talks about creating and starring in Sunlight, co-written with Shenoah Allen, about a woman who won't leave a monkey suit, representing freedom from identity constraints (26:30–28:04).

  “It’s a love story between a man and a woman who doesn’t want to come out of a monkey suit, which is me.” (26:47)

• The Onstage Monkey Suit Experience: Nina found performing in the suit freeing yet physically challenging—“my happy place because I couldn’t ... it was very freeing ... but it was very stuffy and I couldn’t breathe.” (27:26–27:36)

4. Restaurant Behavior, Loyalty Cards & Rude Delis

• Water Choices: Nina prefers “belting stuff from the Highlands ... stuff that hurts,” when it comes to sparkling water (21:10–21:41).
• Loyalty Cards Reluctance: James confesses to dodging loyalty cards, furthering Off Menu’s habit of food-adjacent social critique (‘It’ll become a stress in my life I don’t need’ – James, 23:32).
• New York Deli Rudeness: Ordering broccoli rabe from a brusque NYC deli is described as a cultural performance in itself:

  “You have to go early in the morning or the rabe will be gone. ... They shout at you to wait and then you go...” (53:14–53:51)

5. Food Memories, Childhood & Family

• Spaghetti Pomodoro: Nina’s main is a family recipe made by her Italian father:

  “My dad makes a spaghetti pomodoro ... with fresh tomatoes, and it comes from his father. ... I made a video of him making it with the monkey.” (43:49–44:51)

• Sugar on Weetabix: Her dream dessert—evoking childhood nostalgia:

  “When sugar was just ... everyone having ... a great fine thing to have a pile of sugar on a Weetabix. So it’s like a snowy mountain with the milk on it.” (68:32–68:39)

• Unusual Food Preparation: Nina shares family quirks—her father’s unique methods for porridge and toast, e.g., “flapping” toast to keep butter from melting and dipping hot porridge into cold milk (73:10–74:17).

6. Sobriety & Life Changes

• On Quitting Drinking: Nina describes the benefits:

  “I have zero beer now... I wouldn’t have made the film [Sunlight] if I hadn’t stopped drinking. ... Life is way better.” (58:15–59:32)

7. Surreal Tangents & Memorable Moments

• Popcorn Hammocks & Cinema Acid Trips: The trio imagine elaborate cinema seating with popcorn hammocks, sparking speculation about psychedelic visions:

  Nina: “This is lovely, but it’s a little tame as hallucinations go.” (09:30)

• Dream Measurement Metrics: In typical Off Menu fashion, food quantities are compared to body parts—thumbs, ears, etc.—when discussing Weetabix and milk ratios (69:04–71:29).
• Planting Seeds Up The Nose: Nina recalls as a child, “I planted seeds up my nose ... thank God they didn’t grow, because they might have...”
  (76:00–76:13)

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Comedy’s Discomforts:
  “I would dig my nails in because I would get the giggles. Cause it was serious and I wasn’t allowed ... I had to hold my hands in a clasp ... and pretend to take an unnatural interest.” – Nina (31:26)

• On Mask Show’s Unpredictability:
  “Suddenly I couldn’t speak. ... I’ve taken this somewhere just so stupid that I can’t speak. You’ve got me. I blew the fuse.” – Nina (13:07)

• On Family Food Rituals:
  “My dad always ate [porridge] with a separate bowl for the milk ... you never pour the milk on the porridge.” – Nina (72:50–73:10)

• On Monkey Puppet’s Honesty:
  “He’s just honest. ... He’s not out to be rude. I mean, I guess my honest self might be rude, but I consider it sort of straight talking. ... He’s got a steady [voice] and just says things quite honestly.” – Nina (47:47)

Nina Conti’s Dream Menu

| Course | Dish/Drink | Details | |------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------| | Bread | Poppadoms (mini, Dirty Duck Pub, RSC days) | “Thin sauces. Fun sauces.” (29:24) | | Starter| Pistachio nuts from a tree | Described as “beautiful pink buds” in Greece (37:41) | | Main | Dad’s Spaghetti Pomodoro | “Al dente, fresh tomatoes, garlic in oil, no cheese.” | | Side | Broccoli rabe from Di Paolo’s Deli (Little Italy, NY) | “A bit bitter, oily, lots of garlic.” (53:21) | | Drink | Painfully sparkling Highland water<br>Pouilly-Fumé white wine<br>Chili margarita<br>Espresso martini<br>Zero beer (currently sober, but dreams of proper ones) | “Belting stuff from the Highlands ... hurts.”<br>“Cold Pouilly-Fumé … chili margarita … all of it!” | | Dessert| Weetabix with a thumb’s height of sugar and cold whole milk | “One Weetabix, snowy mountain of sugar, ears’ worth of milk.” (69:04–71:29)| | Extra | Various milky cocktails (White Russian, Pina Colada, Mudslide) | “Mudslide Weetabix, sounds amazing.” (72:01) |

Memorable Segments & Timestamps

• 03:41 – Off Menu ritual: Ed and James introduce Nina
• 09:00 – Hallucinatory musings: popcorn hammocks in cinemas
• 13:07 – Nina recounts improvisational meltdown on stage
• 26:30–28:04 – Deep dive into Sunlight and the liberation of the monkey suit
• 29:05 – Poppadoms or bread choice and Royal Shakespeare Company stories
• 47:47–50:41 – The inner life of the monkey puppet and psychological ‘severance’
• 53:21 – Italian deli rudeness, broccoli rabe, and food rituals
• 58:15–59:32 – Sobriety’s impact on creativity
• 68:32–71:50 – Sugar on Weetabix, with body part–based metrics
• 76:00–76:13 – Childhood mischief: planting seeds up the nose

Final Thoughts and Tone

The episode blends genuine affection for food with comedic surrealism, personal revelations, and Nina’s unique artistry. The chemistry between the hosts and Nina is infectious—balancing silly tangents with sincere insight into what makes both her comedy and her dream menu tick. Nina’s candor about creativity, sobriety, and growing up in a family of odd food habits adds warmth and relatability to the episode.

For more on Nina’s tour (“Whose Face Is It Anyway?”) and her film Sunlight, check out her website and follow Off Menu for more culinary comedy magic.