William Andrews interview

William Andrews quit Edinburgh almost 10 years ago and nearly became a plumber instead, but now he's back at the festival with a new show. He explains all in this interview.

Almost a decade away from the Fringe; why the long break?

This feels like a minor confession but... I decided to stop because I couldn't' handle it. NO ONE WANTS TO READ THAT.

Hold on though... I love performing but it's still something like madness to me. It doesn't makes sense, why would anyone go on the stage, to be looked at, to be judged to be pulled apart by criticism or worse by indifference? It's why I stopped. Nine years ago I stopped. Never again I said, can't do it. I wasn't tough enough. I loved it when it worked and it mostly did, but I couldn't carry it when it didn't.

So I decided to be a plumber, I'd be a good plumber. A life of certainty, of skill regularity. If you work hard at comedy there is a good chance at some point you will get hit in the chest by a shotgun blast of self loathing that it can floor you for years. If you work hard at plumbing you will probably have to handle the turds of a confused old gentleman that couldn't be more grateful you came out. But I didn't become a plumber, I almost did, and I may still do, but not yet. Instead I came back to talk to you. Because.... well, come see, I'll tell you.

How different is the old Willy to the new Willy?

The same but better. More practised, less pissed - less messy. Still though, I like the audience to feel like the whole show could fall down and die at any second, so that bit's the same.

I got that performance style from the Glasgow Stand and ACMS (The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society), because they let me try the most mad things, and still had me back.

Find a club that will nurture risks is my advice. I will be forever grateful - to the (basically) negligent enabling bastards. Largely though, I'm more grateful than I ever was, more willing to take smaller steps and be happy with the outcomes.

It's a very noisy job this - there's always someone who's doing better than you or doing the thing you dream of doing - but you can only control the little bit around you. A pal said to me to ignore praise and criticism with equal measure, that's been a bit of a pillar in my new work. Just do the job in a way that makes you happy, everything else will pass. Fu**in zen eh? *inserts dick joke*

Has being a dad changed your comedy?

Yes. More at stake. Also - you try being a self obsessed piece of shit when there is a micro human that wants you to look at this woodlouse he found in a dog poo. It's not about you anymore. That's particularly helpful up here in the Fringe. No self medicating day drinking for this guy, no ma'am, I have holes to poke with sticks.

I honestly do think being a father cleared the decks of ego - and that was brilliant for me. That castle of identity you built in your twenties gets pulled down by children. It's like watching your youth go up in a house fire as you stand in the street in your pants. But in a good way? It's freeing. Mostly freeing. I think? Is it? Yes.

That nettles tweet really blew up earlier this year. Is your son aware of how big his unfortunate encounter was?

See X post

Not really. Like, collated it's had over 5 million views. That's a number a kid isn't ever going to understand. I mean, to him 17 is just as big. This is a complex area for me - like, he's beyond the age of consent - and even though I only told a story about him, I don't know... These are uncharted waters for parents....

What was quite interesting is the amount of followers I got after that video came out, and then the immediate drop off.

They came for the nettles video they left because of the fart jokes. Which is right and proper I suppose. They weren't the sort of people who are going to buy tickets to my Edinburgh show they were more random like Housewives from Alaska, and Brazilian nursery nurses.

What is your safe space at the Fringe?

Glasgow.