Joe Lycett and Andrew Ryan Interview

An interview with Joe Lycett (left of picture) and Andrew Ryan (right of picture), two up-and-coming stand-up comedians who sometimes gig together...

Hi Joe & Andrew. We saw your Edinburgh show and really enjoyed it. We understand, you were playing to a totally packed out room every day. Would it be safe to say the festival went fairly well for you then?

Andrew: Yes, the festival was fantastic. The audiences were lovely. It's a great place to learn and improve and hopefully I did both - roll on next year.

Joe: We were spoilt this year - we couldn't believe our luck. I was waiting for something terrible to happen! We can't thank our lovely audiences enough.

You both did very well in the various New Act competitions, and now appear to be sailing up the comedy ladder. Have you ever encountered a bad crowd though?

Andrew: I had a tough gig on Sunday night in Hull. The audience heckled me from the start and just would not let up. Before I said 'Hello' someone shouted "get off" I just spent twenty minutes fighting fires. Those are the nights where you really just have to battle through!

Joe: I enjoyed the tranquillity and calmness of a silent crowd elsewhere in the North East myself. Sometimes you just don't connect and it can be very tough. Luckily it doesn't happen that often or I'd start getting a bit concerned.

So, going back a bit... how did you first meet each other?

Andrew: We met around Manchester just doing gigs as we both started around the same time. We were on the same bill a few times and used to hangout before the gigs and after them.

Joe: Yeah, we both started around the same time and so appeared on similar bills. We were lucky really because we knew that our styles worked together from working on the circuit so there was less of a chance of our styles clashing.

And you're still performing together sometimes now - like at the Manchester Comedy Festival this Saturday. So, after spending all that time together in Edinburgh, you're not sick of each other's company?

Andrew: We are still performing together. I think it works very well as we both have different styles but appeal to a wide audience. In Edinburgh we balanced it right I think.

Joe: I really enjoyed working with Andrew and continue to enjoy it as he is very good at constantly adding new bits and playing with old material. It's a work ethic I admire and wish to emulate in future. It made it fresh for me but I bet Andrew was sick of my material by the end of the Edinburgh run!

Andrew, are you fed up with people pointing out how you remind them of Ardal O'Hanlon? You are, after all, a different comedian with your own routines...

It's one of those things that I will always get. I use it to my advantage as I have a few routines about it. I have done gig after gig and never even mention it on stage and all I can see is the audience thinking " Does he know he looks like Ardal?" I have different routines and I am a different comedian but I know it will come up once in a while.

We know you can do a great impression of Ardal. Did you try it out when you appeared on the same bill as him?

No I never did. When I did a support slot for him I kept as far away from it as possible. My father and his Dad used to work together years ago so we spoke about that. I even styled my hair different so I would be nothing like him.

I did a radio show in Edinburgh and I did a few minutes of stand-up and after I finished the presenter spoke about how much I look like Ardal/Dougal. I did the impression slightly and about 20 feet behind me is Ardal O'Hanlon! I walked past him after. I was so scared as I thought he would be angry with me. He just smiled. I still don't know what he thinks about it.

Talking of impressions... Joe, you can impersonate the X Factor announcer guy perfectly. Have you ever been tempted to use that voice when on the phone or in some other such situation?

I get quite a lot of requests from friends to call up their mates and say 'Rachel Adedeji' or something but I try to limit all that because I bet I could spend every waking moment recording messages for people. It's just a bit of silly nothingness to break the ice.

Based on some of the stuff you talk about in your act Joe, would it be fair to say you spend a fair bit of spare time on the internet looking for, and even baiting, nutters?

Yes, you are correct. I find the way people interact with the internet fascinating, depressing, edifying. When something like Chat Roulette comes along I do a little cartwheel inside at the possibility for trouble causing.

Ha ha. Looking at your gig diaries, you're both jumping all over the country performing solo sets. That's either a lot of back-and-forward travel, or a lot of hotel rooms? Is it painful gigging all over the place?

Andrew: It's such a great job that you don't really mind the travel unless the M6 is closed for road works and it adds 2 hours to your journey. Hotel rooms and sitting in coffee shops - that's not pain, it's fun. Some comics moan about it but there is loads of people who would swap places with us. You get to see new places and do twenty minutes of work a day. I have no complaints!

Joe: I'm with Andrew! There are some comics that will complain about their situation, particularly in Edinburgh, but I am under no illusion that I am incredibly lucky to make a living out of messing about and understand that so many other people would love to do something creative with their lives. I also understand that the travelling can be hard and the tough gigs can be hard, but so many other jobs are much harder and more stressful and without just reward that I would be a fool to say that my life is tough in any real way.

Good answers! What's the favourite venue you've played then?

Andrew: The Comedy Store in London and The International in Dublin. The best rooms I've ever played.

Joe: I always have nice gigs at the student gig in Sheffield - they seem to approve of me. My favourite night is New Stuff at The Comedy Store in Manchester - it's terrifying because you've never said any of the stuff before but the audience are delightful and you normally come out of it with at least 3-4 minutes of useable material.

Do you guys have a long-term career plan?

Andrew: I just want to get better and better.

Joe: Having a career plan is good in some ways but generally with comedy I find playing it by ear and seeing what happens next is always the more exciting of the options.

Cool. Well best of luck with the future guys, thanks for talking to us, and enjoy your Manchester show!

'Joe Lycett and Andrew Ryan - An Hour Of Humour' will be on at The Engine House on Saturday 30th October 2010 as part of the Manchester Comedy Festival. Details & Tickets

Joe: www.joelycettcomedy.co.uk & @JoeLycett

Andrew: www.andrewryancomedy.com & @AndrewMRyan