Angela Barnes interview

Off the back of the success of her Edinburgh run, Angela Barnes is bringing her show You Can't Take It With You to London. We caught up with her to find out more about her swift progress from open spot to headline status...

Hi Angela. How's things going? What are you up to this week?

Hello BCG (Oooh, your acronym is giving me horrible flashbacks to injection day). Things are going pretty alright, thanks for asking. This week I'm back in my old stomping ground, Brighton to do a charity gig at Komedia, and then Comic Boom, which is always fun. Then a London weekend, Up The Creek in Greenwich on Friday, Banana Cabaret in Balham on Saturday, which means going to good gigs on my bike and sleeping in my own bed. That's the sort of weekend I look forward to.

You're about to perform a run at the Soho Theatre...

I am really excited about doing the run. Getting five nights at the Soho Theatre makes me feel like a proper grown-up comic. I'm nervous because, well I always am... there would be something very amiss if I wasn't.

I'm just really looking forward to doing the show again. I'm proud of it, and I've missed doing it since I got back from Edinburgh. It also helps delay the horror of getting on with writing my next show!

A number of notable industry figures said your show should have been nominated for the Newcomer Award in Edinburgh. Tough one: Can you respond to this statement without appearing arrogant?

Of course it would have been nice to get a nomination, I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't. But, before I went to Edinburgh this year, I never for one moment thought I'd be in with a shout. I wrote my goals down for Edinburgh on a piece of paper. It said '1) Get some nice reviews. 2) Get your name on the Sold Out board just once'. Well, I got some reviews that were nicer than I could ever have imagined, and my name was on the Sold Out board almost every day. So, I smashed my personal Edinburgh goals, and am well happy with that.

It's nice that there are people who think I should have been nominated. But I do think that getting swept up in all of that is where madness lies. Nobody knows how the judges decide what they decide. If you buy into it, then you just have to trust the process. I just wanted to do my show to an audience and I hope that they enjoyed it.

Great answer! Three years ago you won the BBC New Comedy Award. Have you ever looked back since then, to reflect on what you've achieved since?

I often look back at the time I won the BBC NCA and think how different things would be if that hadn't happened. When I won it, I was an open spot who had never done a 20 [minute set]. I had been going 18 months, and had a solid 10 minute set. So, although it was a great feeling to win, it also sent me spiralling into panic. I wasn't sure I was ready for it. I worried that peoples' expectations of me were going to be much higher than I could ever deliver.

As I saw it, I had two choices: 1) Say "thank you very much", and quit while I was ahead; or 2) Get my head down, work my arse off, and get a 20 together. I opted for the latter, and got on with it. Apart from that, I've never had a game plan, I'm just enjoying the ride and facing whatever comes along, when it comes along.

I know that there is a lot of luck involved in how quickly my career has progressed, I am aware of that. But sometimes you create your own luck, and I've worked hard too.

Do you have any advice for those who might want to follow in your footsteps?

I started out by doing Jill Edwards' comedy course at Komedia in Brighton. Jill uses me as an example to tell her students that you can progress up the ladder quickly by going slowly.

I have always been over-cautious, so I tend not to do things until I feel more than ready. I did my first ever gig as a showcase at the end of the 12 week course in 2009. I then didn't do another gig for about 9 months, not until I knew I had 5 minutes of material I was happy with. I then didn't accept any 10 minute spots until I knew that I could do them justice.

I think as a new comic it is very tempting to tell a booker you can deliver something that you can't. You think that the pressure will drive you to create, or, even worse, that you can "wing it". The problem is that if, on the night, you don't pull it out of the bag, that is a relationship with a booker damaged forever. You have told them you can do something you can't, and they won't trust you again.

I'm someone who hates to let anyone down. I want to please people, I am a praise addict. The thought of knowingly going into something where I am likely to fail fills me with dread. So, I do everything I can to avoid it.

As my career progresses, I am getting more used to pushing myself, and doing things that are out of my comfort zone, and that is important for developing and not becoming stale. But I think things moved quickly for me at the start because I didn't rush ahead of myself.

When I get offered exciting things like Stand Up For The Week, or Mock The Week, my management have to spend a time convincing me that I can do it! My default is to think that I'm not ready, and need more time. But I am learning to trust that people aren't going to offer me things they don't think I can do. I'm learning to take risks, but I strongly believe I only moved so quickly by being initially very risk averse. Does that make sense?

Definitely. You mention Mock The Week. You're one of just a few comedians to make their debut on that show in several years. How did you find the experience?

I actually really enjoyed doing Mock The Week, and I'm not even just saying that. It was a bit scary because it is such a well-known show, and such a career landmark to do it.

I had heard the horror stories that have circulated for ever amongst comics about how much of a bear pit it is, and how hard it is to get a word in, especially if you're a woman. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how opposite to that it was. Perhaps it used to be like that, but the experience I had was of a supportive environment, where I was given space to speak and get a word in.

It is very intimidating, because you know everything about the show so well, and the regulars - Dara, Andy and Hugh - have been there forever and know exactly what they're doing. For the first few minutes, I kept forgetting that I wasn't watching a recording of the show, and that I was actually on it. But once I settled in, I enjoyed myself.

It's a long record, but it actually flew by, and I wanted to do it all again. It helped that on that on the first episode I did, I was on with Josh Widdicombe and Romesh Ranganathan, both of whom I know well, and worked with on Stand Up For The Week, so being amongst friends put me at ease.

Whilst you've had many highlights, it's much more interesting to hear about lowlights (sorry!). What - comedy-wise - has been your worst day in the last year?

My worst moment on a stage features as a story in my show so I won't give away any spoilers here, suffice to say that I believe I hold the trump card for disastrous gigs. You'll have to come to my show if you want to know the full extent of that particular horror!

Doing previews for my Edinburgh show was quite an eye-opener. When you're still fiddling with the show and making changes, a bad preview can knock you for six. I had a preview to 12 people in Exeter who just stared at me for an hour. Half the audience were over 60, the other half under 18. It was unplayable. I came away in such a panic about the show. But, that's just the way previews go.

I think it's not really until you get the show to Edinburgh, and bed it into the space that it becomes a show. But of course, you don't know that when you're doing it for the first time, so a dodgy preview made me question the whole show. And my whole career!

In one of your routines you discuss going to a Glue Ear clinic. Now you're appearing more on television, has anyone 'spotted you' in a place like that where you'd rather keep yourself to yourself?

I have only been "spotted" and handful of times and not anywhere embarrassing.

The first time I was spotted it was brilliant. I was on a first date with someone, and I got recognised on the tube. It was like I had paid them to do it to make me look good.

Nice. You seem to have quite a few ailments? We spotted you on Twitter the other day venting that you couldn't get through to your GP. Do you have them on speed dial?

I actually do have the GP on speed dial. For all the good it does. 1 hour and 11 minutes of redialling to finally get through, and then be on hold for a further 28 minutes, to get an appointment for next week. I'm still fuming. I love the NHS passionately, and I don't think this is at all representative of most experiences, I think I just have a shoddy surgery so I'm in the process of changing.

I am a sickly child though, always have been. I was the kid at school with the crusty nose, weepy eyes and mysterious rashes. I'm just allergic to everything, it's very boring. But yes, I have certainly got some material out of it.

You're doing several dates at the theatre. Have you got a set pre-show routine?

It's usually to have about 3 wees, and obsessively check I haven't got a bogey in my nose. I like to have a little peek at the audience coming in, get a feel for what they might be like.

I do still get nervous before shows, so there will be nervous babbling to whatever poor soul happens to be in the vicinity, usually my poor tech Alex who is brilliant at nodding, smiling sweetly and hugging. He bore the brunt of my Edinburgh nerves bless him.

What's up next for you after that?

I've got loads of things I'm excited about in the diary, but right now I am just ticking along, waiting to see what comes next. It's Brighton Comedy Festival in October, I'll be doing my show there. I'm also taking part in the Big Cheer for Amaze at Brighton Komedia on the 16th October which is an amazing charity that works with people with Autism. The line-up is great: Romesh Ranganathan, Joe Wilkinson and others I'm not allowed to tell you yet!

'Angela Barnes: You Can't Take It With You' is at the Soho Theatre from Tuesday 7th to Saturday 11th October 2014. Details and Tickets

To find out more about Angela and see her gig diary visit www.angelabarnescomedy.co.uk