Nath Valvo interview

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Wednesday 11th January 2017

Nath Valvo travelled all the way from Australia to last year's Edinburgh Fringe as a relative unknown, was forced to cancel one show due to a dearth of sales (see below), but came away with a Best Newcomer nomination, a successful last week at the Fringe and now a run at the Soho Theatre. Nice going, Nath!

That show is Happy Idiot, which features his typically compromise-free commentary on "parents, Tinder, sex, dating and weddings" - but does he okay it with them all beforehand? Which parent was banned from watching which routine? And what do Adele's followers make of his onstage evisceration of Someone Like You?

All will be revealed, as we hook up with Valvo over in a sweltering Oz.

How did you get into comedy originally? Were you a fan of any stand-ups as a kid?

I mostly got into comedy out of sheer boredom in school. I was also a massive show-off to the kids in the street. I was a movie and TV nerd but I was a late bloomer to watching actual stand-up.

What do your folks make of your stuff about them? Do you run it past them beforehand?

Mum will say "Do you really have to talk about us, Nathan?" but then a minute later she'll be bragging about a lady at her work who watched me on something talking about her.

I don't run anything past them at all - there'd be no fun in that. I banned my Dad from attending a few of my shows - giving acute details of a gay orgy isn't easy to do when your old man is sitting in the front row.

And any response from Adele to your Someone Like You routine? Or from Adele fans?

Adele fans hate the video on YouTube - you can see that in the dislike numbers. Ha! Imitation is flattery isn't it? What do they say about someone cry-masturbating to one of your songs?

Can you tell us a bit about Happy Idiot - is there an overall theme at all?

This show is a big mixed bag of a few of my shows in one. It's pretty rapid-fire with topics but I stroll down mid 90s memory lane, dissect our parents, tinder, sex, dating and weddings to name a few.

You're coming to London from Oz in January - why would you do that? Do you just love being cold?

I love being cold! People forget that there is a big bunch of very white, pale people with Irish grandparents who are constantly getting sunburnt over here! Today is 34 degrees and our air-con is broken: the thought of four-degree weather is very appealing right now.

How was your Edinburgh experience last year, onstage and off? Any particularly memorable shows?

Ed Fringe was crazy. It has this magical power that makes you doubt everything you've ever done in comedy. The first week was overwhelming. So much flyering. My everything hurt. A guy told me to my face "Australians aren't funny!", that was fun. There were a few nights of some really tough audiences - it just throws you off your game.

I had to cancel a show because of zero ticket sales - that hurt. But you just suck it up and keep it going and by week three I somehow found my audience. Then the nomination - so the last weekend was better than anything I was hoping for. ED FRINGE IS A BEAST. It was five months ago and I'm still tired.

Did the Best Newcomer nomination make an impact back home? Jealousy from your peers?

I hope there was jealously - that's what it's all about isn't it?

I was surprised how much coverage the nomination got in the media outlets over here - it was a really great week. You don't often get great weeks in comedy so I tried my best to enjoy it.

A week after the Fringe I was back in Melbourne and had an awful pub gig - I tried a new bit and it completely bombed. That's what I love and hate about stand-up - there is always something that levels you out.

2016 was widely regarded as being a horrible year - what are you expecting from 2017?

More hate-stalking old school friends on Facebook, more sleeping, more borrowing money from my parents, more excuses to not go to the gym, more microwave meals and more cry-wanking to Adele songs. Aim for the stars, people!