Jason Byrne interview

The upbeat and excitable Jason Byrne took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to British Comedy Guide about underpants, scaring a woman, how the stand-up industry is changing, and more...

Hi Jason. You're performing three dates at The Leicester Square Theatre later this week. What can the London audience expect?

The last time, we had a sprinting 15 year old boy in the front row - I raced him around the venue; another man brought me custom made underpants with a cactus where my willy should be and my face printed on my arse. The front row got up to skip with me; and 15 late punters got up on the stage to sing their apology for being late.

So that's what happened last time, and God only knows what will happen this time!

You're well known for delivering high-energy shows. Do they drain you, or do you have some secret for staying upbeat and bouncy?

I tend to run, and keep fit, but the real secret to being able to keep going while exhausted is having kids. Running after them, lifting them up and down all day, doing early mornings and late nights when they're sick... a show is a walk in the park compared to having kids!

Fair point. A lot of what you do seems improvised on the spot... is that true, or is it cleverly scripted to seem more spontaneous than it actually is?

Yes and no, and yes and no... I tend to mess about way more in the first half, and then the second half of the show is normally heavy scripted, but to be honest when I'm making up stuff, it's the most exciting for me, especially when it's working really well.

You've been touring the world for at least ten years now. Have you noticed any changes in the industry during this time?

Yes, I've noticed that comedy is defo an industry way more now. The money generated from the big acts is more than a drugs company would make! The sad thing is when I started out it was fun, it wasn't about being on the telly, or selling out a 20,000 seater arena, it was about being in Late 'n' Live in Edinburgh, having the drinks with Johnny Vegas, puppetry of the penis and getting up on stage and seeing how long you could survive while drunks roared at you at 2 in the morning. Saying all that, I do love money!

Given you've done so many gigs, this is probably a tough question, but what's been your all-time best performing highlight?

Yes there's been many, but one that always stays in the foreground, is Edinburgh, when I was in the Pleasance Barn. A girl went to the toilet and I asked the audience to hide on her, so we all went out the exit door, and waited for her to come back... She came back in, as if she was having a nervous breakdown, and sat down. I pushed open the doors and we all screamed 'Surprise!'. The girl nearly died with fright... I think she's in a home now.

Ha ha. Oh dear! You tell some quite personal things on stage sometimes, as can be seen in the video below. What does your wife think about you talking about her as part of your act?

She doesn't mind, because my wife on stage is a fictional wife. When people meet my real one, they are totally shocked, they say they're expecting a large loud woman, but instead they see a quiet, thin, nice lady. Yes that's my real wife: quiet, thin and nice!

Sweet. Congratulations on the success of your Radio 2 show. There's some rather odd people in your live audience for that - where do you find them? And any plans to do a fourth series?

Well at the mo we're writing a five part sitcom for Radio 2, so the live show will be on hold. The audience that come to the recordings are regulars to recordings. They're all a bit special, but my kind of special.

Have you ever been mixed up with Ed Byrne? (no actual relation)

Holy shit, everyone in England thinks we're related! We just sound the same that's all, but in Scotland a guy came up to me and said "you're Ed Byrne's brother". I said "No, I'm not" and he said "you fucking are!", so I said "alright then".

Mad. In March you're heading off to Australia to do a tour. Have you got your corked hat ready to go?

Oh yeah, they love that! They love when I go on stage in a cork hat, they welcome that with open arms, but more importantly I'll be wearing my Morris dancing outfit in London!

Great. Look forward to that. Cheers for your time Jason!

Jason is at The Leicester Square Theatre from the 17th - 19th February 2011.

For more details about Jason and his UK tour (to be announced later this week), plus to play with his talking website menu bar, visit www.jasonbyrne.ie