Jason Byrne Interview 2014

Irish comedian, Jason Byrne, took some time out of his busy schedule at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to talk to BBM about ‘You Name The Show’, where he’s been getting audience members up to all kinds of shenanigans. Bringing the show to Australia and New Zealand for his national tour this September, he’ll be presenting us with his quick wit and hilarious on-stage antics that will make ticket-holders cry with laughter.

Hi Jason, how has Edinburgh Fringe been going?
Great – it’s my 19th year so everybody is completely on their knees now! When you do the gigs at night, you do interviews and radio and other shows around it, so it’s full on. Also, it’s raining and my voice is starting to go, but you have to work your arse off here. It’s the hardest four weeks of the whole year.

It must take its toll.
I had two Mondays off, but it doesn’t matter because on those days you’re doing something else, you perform every day. And people don’t care if you’re tired or in a bad mood – you’ve got to do your show, they’re not paying to listen to you moan! You’ve just got to be careful, you can’t go drinking and you can’t burn the candle at both ends.

Have you been doing ‘You Name The Show’?
Yeah, it’s just been great fun. It’s so dangerous because I have a wheel on the stage and a punter comes up and spins the wheel. There are different categories and I can’t pick the order so there’s loads of stunts and people get up on stage and do stuff with me, there’s loads of stand up and weird shit, like I have to do the entrance again or I have to do the encore at the start, so it’s all over the place. During the whole show, the punters have a white board each and they get to give the show a title. I’ve put up the most recent ones on my Facebook page, and whoever I decide gave the best one will get £500.

Excellent!
Yeah, to be honest, the audience have worked hard on this gig!

So they’ve earned it?
They’ve been up and down the stage, doing stuff for me. There’s even a part where I’ve got to pick a guy to rob something, they have to go outside and bring it back in. One night it landed on that same stunt three times in a row and the poor guy had to rob something three times.

And they do it?
Yeah, they do everything I say! And the biggest thing he robbed was a double bass; he found it in the corridor and wheeled it in! The highlight for me was the other night. I’ve been taking the piss out of the Scottish diving team for the Commonwealth Games, because they were so pasty and ginger, and one of the guys was there, so I got him up on stage, and there was another guy who kept sitting with his legs open and he had huge balls, so I made him lie on his back with his legs open and I got the diver to dive into his balls…

Ha!
But that’s not where it ended. Another guy came up and he was a swimmer for the Commonwealth Games, so I got the diver and the other guy back up, and he was lying on his back with his legs open, and the diver dived in, and I got the swimmer to put his head in the guy’s crotch and actually swim around the stage as I dragged him around by his belt. So that’s why I’m absolutely wrecked! And I’m running the New York City Marathon in November and I hurt my knee, so I’ve been doing physio while I’ve been here as well. Like, what is going on!

You don’t even get that much of a rest because you’re off touring straight afterwards.
Well, I go home Monday, I’m launching my new TV show in Ireland on Wednesday, then I go to Sweden on Thursday, back on the weekend and then I’m home until the 11th when I go to Australia and then the British tour and the marathon. It all ends on 10th December, and I’m just going to collapse! Some people have asked me if I’ll go away for a break and I nearly snap their fuckin’ head off! Why would I go anywhere?! I’m gonna sit in my house and look at walls and windows.

You’ve missed that view!
Yeah, well, my holiday for me is to sit in my house and watch TV and walk around the garden and hang out with my kids.

Where do you live? Are you still in Ireland?
Yeah, I live in North County Dublin. There’s not even a number on my house. My address is Jason Byrne, Old Town. If you put Jason Bryne, Old Town, Ireland, I’ll get the post… It’s amazing, comes straight to my door.

Hmm, wonder how many people will try that! You’re not going to get much of a rest, but are you looking forward to heading over to Australia?
Yeah, it’s gonna be spring, so we’re going to have really nice weather, and I’m going to Perth and we’ll be staying on the beach, going to Sydney and we’ll be staying in Bondi, and Darwin, which is just tropical. The flying is a little bit difficult, but it’ll be grand! At the same time, I’ll have to be training and doing 20 miles a week for that bloody marathon… I know it’s for charity, but that’s it, that’s me done. It takes up all your spare time. But we’ve raised £10,000 so I have to do it.

You’re a somewhat experienced runner though, aren’t you?
Yeah, I’ve done plenty, but I’ve never wanted to do a marathon, y’know, I’ve got an injury coming up for definite! But, it’s in New York, and you’ll be surrounded by everyone else, and y’know what, you can always stop [Laughs] Not like people are gonna ask for their money back, it’s already at the children’s hospital, it’s already spent.

Well, you’ll be in a great place to train.
Yeah, well, I love it ‘cause you don’t have to plan it; you can just walk out your door. For stress levels, it makes you happy. Actually, I have a Muslim friend, and you know they can’t drink or take drugs or anything, I said to him, “You should start running, and really push yourself one day, because that’s the feeling that you get with ecstasy” [Laughs] And now he’s running loads. He gets legal highs and he doesn’t jeopardise his religion!

Besides the shows and training, do you have any other plans while you’re in Oz?
I’ll be on the move, and only doing one or two days in each city, so we can’t see anything. But last time, I was only in Darwin for one night, so I had to fly to Alice Springs, sit in the airport where there was like, a coffee machine and a bloke, fly to Darwin, did the gig, got up the next day and flew back to Alice Springs and then Melbourne, so I didn’t see anything. I’m hoping I have an extra night in Darwin, because I want to see the big crocodiles!

And will Australian audiences get to see the wheel?
Oh yeah, definitely. We’ve had Scottish stuff in it for Edinburgh, but I can stick Australian stuff in it, for sure, so that’ll be fun!

Thanks, Jason!

Buy your ticket to see Jason Byrne in ‘You Name The Show’ from Live Nation.

By Charlotte Mellor