Ian Smith

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 14th March 2025

It was the first of times, it was the worst of times.

This time we welcome Ian Smith, the consistently good Goole-schooled stand-up who earned his first Best Show nom at last year's Edinburgh Fringe for Crushing, which is now available to watch from the comfort of your own convenience. But does he reckon it's his best show?

"I think it was my best show - it was the first one I did without a projector and being a bit more personal and I really loved that. Projectors are gone for me now I'm afraid."

Projector fans can probably find other fine bits of his back catalogue online though. Is there an undersung one he'd recommend?

"I did do a show called Craft, which had a through-thread about folding 1,000 origami cranes because legend says you can then have a wish granted. This might not seem linked but it ended up with me storming off stage and a video showing my green room having a swimming pool in it."

"I would then wait outside the door, get into my swimming trunks and pour water over myself and come back in as if I'd just got out of the pool. A few times that got a very small laugh and I couldn't hide how angry I was. One day Chris McCausland replaced my water with ICE-COLD water and I had to do the end of my show with brain freeze."

Still, whatever happened to him? Speaking of undersung Smith stuff, it's now five years since his filmed walks around Goole, which "started off being very entertaining, but as lockdown progressed was just a man losing his mind pointing at some bins," the comic recalls.

Were the locals excited about his Edinburgh nomination? Dancing in the streets? Mention in the Goole Times?

"I don't think I got a mention in the Goole Times actually. To be fair, I think the only way they hear about news is through the police or if you email them directly and I thought it was a bit sad if I emailed in myself. When I was on Live At The Apollo someone mentioned it on the Goole Facebook community group. I think that's all the acclaim I need."

But was he instantly acclaimed, onstage? Let's find out.

First gig?

I did 10 minutes at what was the Otherside Comedy Club in York. Dan Atkinson was compering, Silky was opening - I can't remember who was closing because I had to go back to my mum and dad who were waiting in the bar to give me a lift back home.

I was 17. I remember doing five minutes of the material I'd 'planned' - all very last minute, and then realised I still had five minutes to go, so I improvised about March of the Penguins and it was funnier than the stuff I'd prepared.

Favourite show, ever?

It's probably the Live At The Apollo gig - it was a real dream come true to get to do it and playing to 3,600 people in such an iconic venue was, after the initial nerves, so much fun.

Worst gig?

I did a preview once to five people who were being rude and chatted throughout - after 15 minutes I started packing up my notes and laptop into my backpack in silence until one of them asked "are you going?" I said a less polite version of "yes, because I hate you all", left the venue and went straight to the train station.

Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?

Mr Wobblyman from Noddy - this guy's got a spherical base instead of legs. That's commitment to comedy, either that or an example of the terrible healthcare system in Toyland.

And who's the most disagreeable person you've come across in the business?

I'm gonna make a list throughout my career and then release an autobiography with a paragraph on everyone I feel has wronged me. I reckon it might have to be a self-published autobiography available only on Amazon, but still.

This isn't in comedy - but the other day a man told me off for not using the tongs to get a croissant in Tesco. I feel confident that I can pick up a croissant without touching the others and it really pissed me off.

Is there one routine/gag you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?

I had a routine about War of the Worlds that never went as well as I thought it should. I saw the musical and at the end there was a projection of a brass marching band celebrating defeating the aliens and I would talk about how inexplicable it was that every member of the brass marching band survived.

I had someone who was supposed to be shouting, "women and children first" but instead was prioritising his own interests and going, "grade eight musicians get in here - woodwind, trumpets..." etc.

I liked it.

You're working on a new show - any clues as to the content yet, or is it still very early stages?

Yeah, I'll be up at the Fringe this year and I'm getting very excited about it. I'm not going to go into the main theme yet - but I've got a joke about Joe Rogan, a bit about getting chased by a rabid dog in Prague, a story about getting insulted while skiing, an observation about mints, lots about getting older and some information about the layout of a terrible vending machine.

Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?

Someone once heckled me with "why is your posture so rigid" and that really got in my head. I think I've loosened up posture-wise a lot since that.

How do you feel about where your career is at, right now?

Quite good I think - that's as positive as I'll allow myself to get.

I'm excited to be working on the new show and prepping for a new tour - and some more things for Radio 4 - and I really loved guest-hosting The News Quiz last year. I'm working on some scripted projects as well, so I've got lots to work on, which is very nice!

Ian Smith - Crushing

Crushing is Ian Smith's Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated stand-up show about stress, love and driving a tank in Slovakia with his hairdresser.

First released: Monday 24th February 2025

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• Distributor: 800 Pound Gorilla Records
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