2017 Edinburgh Fringe

Interview

Three questions with motorbike-riding Irish charmer Danny O'Brien.

There are some quite serious moments in your comedy show, how do you balance the pathos and the laughter?

The laughter/pathos line is a fine one. There are indeed some serious moments but I think they heighten the effect of the funny ones. While some of my subject matter gets a bit dark and very personal - my father's attempt to take his own life at a young age and the discovery of my "secret sister" - I find that these can be some of the best opportunities to inject humour. Seriousness in a show creates tension and I think I've got just the gags to break it. The show's narrative is important to me but keeping my audience interested and laughing is my priority. I have never been as personal in any show I have ever performed before and I'm really excited about bringing people in. There are some left turns (no motorbike pun intended) in this show that even I didn't see coming when writing it.

We hear you're preparing to ride up to Edinburgh on a motorbike, stopping and gigging along the way, how's the prep going for that?

You heard correctly. I've just booked myself and my old, clunking, rusted Honda Nighthawk on the ferry from Belfast to Cairnryan in August so it's official! It's been a ridiculous, heartbreaking, frustrating yet brilliant few months gigging all over the place on the motorbike, from comedy clubs and theatres to several festivals. I've got a real love/hate relationship with this bike - and that will be reflected in the show! I have had countless breakdowns on the bike (both mechanical and emotional) and I even had to sleep on it at a festival because my tent got nicked. It brought us closer together. I've been filming this journey for months as well just to give my audience a little go-pro view of what I've been up to; all will be revealed at the Edinburgh Fringe.

You're doing a gig in a prison, tell us about that.

Indeed I am, it's happening in Mountjoy Prison in Dublin in just under a week. I'm actually extremely excited about this gig; I've been listening to a LOT of Johnny Cash in preparation for it. I'm always trying to push myself to do gigs outside of my comfort zone as I think they really strengthen you as a performer. I used to be a social care worker with the Homeless and Addiction services so I have experience of working with quite a few former prisoners but not much experience of making them laugh. If it all goes horribly wrong or there's a riot or something I'll hopefully get some material out of it! Comedy is about stories, not glories.