Vix Leyton

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 25th November 2022

It was the first of times, it was the worst of times. This week we're feeling the benefit of Vix Leyton, who's compering a good one. Cracking Comedy is at London's Leicester Square Theatre on December 5th, in aid of Women and Children First, with Rosie Jones, Iain Stirling and a host of other top comics.

Leyton has a unique stand-up origin story (more on that below) and is still relatively new to it, given the Covid break too - so how does she approach compering a weighty line-up like this? The occasion helps. "Having a cause I really believe in definitely makes me want to bring my A game," says the very not-jaded comic.

"It's the second show I have been lucky enough to host for Cracking Comedy and the last one was so brilliant, I was running around like a competition winner. I have been doing comedy just shy of four years now, and I hope this feeling never fades. I've been a stand-up fan forever and being part of it is a total dream."

Also on that bill are Mark Watson, Sophie Duker, Paul Sinha, Chloe Petts, Ria Lina, Esther Manito and Katie Green. Cracking indeed. And what else is Leyton up to?

"I'm currently co-hosting a podcast with Paul Watson (brother of Mark), quizzing comedians and other people more famous than me on their spending habits, which has been a riot so far. And Comedy Arcade has moved from a podcast to a chaotic live experience, we did a full run with it at Edinburgh and have really found stride on turning it into a proper experience."

Now, back to a marathon gig with the other brother.

First gig?

I had done a challenge for Mark Watson as part of his long show in 2019 to get over a fear of public speaking by learning stand-up. During that 26-hour period I was hugely lucky to spend time with Thom Tuck, putting together my first ever five.

A few days later, when I felt a bit like Cinderella after the ball, Thom got in touch and invited me to do his gig, Alternative Comedy Memorial Society that day at The Phoenix. I nearly bottled it, but I managed to get my act together (literally) to go, and they gave me such a gorgeously misleadingly good reception, it was wonderful.

I was on with Alexander Bennett, Richard Vranch, Joz Norris and Zoe Tomalin, and it was hosted by Thom and Eleanor Morton. It was incredibly surreal, but ACMS is not so much a gig as it is a community and a lot of the audience in that night have stayed in touch and I even saw a fair few in my Edinburgh audiences.

When I reached my 100th gig a year later they had me back to celebrate the landmark. Not sure I would have lasted in comedy without them.

Favourite show, ever?

I got to finish off the run of my first solo show and then Comedy Arcade at the Pleasance a few weeks ago as part of their 'Best of Edinburgh' festival. The Pleasance is such an institution to me; it's where I did my challenge with Mark, which means it will always hold significance, but it's also where I have seen some of my favourite comedians. It was surreal and brilliant to be there with my own shows.

Edinburgh Fringe was an endurance exercise beyond anything I could have prepared for and I had some of the best and worst days of my life there, with a show two years in the making. It was a fitting end to my first year feeling like a legit comedian and putting my first 45 to rest. I also had Thom Tuck opening for me, and the room was so full, it was amazing.

That said, the last Cracking Comedy gig is a very close second - if you'd told me four years ago I would ever be saying the words 'Please welcome your next act to the stage, James Acaster' in a sold-out Leicester Square Theatre I would have laughed myself sick. It's a privilege.

Worst gig?

I did a stag party gig, and they were feral. You know when you have to start the show with the phrase 'Please don't sh*t in that bin' to a man with his trousers down that you are in trouble, but it did not improve from there.

I was with a brilliant male comedian and bizarrely towards the end they moved from chanting about getting their penises out to 'shipping the two of us and changed the chant to the comparatively wholesome 'Kiss her! Kiss her!' I remember standing at the side reminding myself that I choose to do this.

Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?

Rich Wilson. He headlined one of the first gigs I put on when I was a new comic and our first contact was me offering him a naively big fee and him arguing me down on it - it was like the weirdest reverse-auction in the world.

This literally sums him up as a person though, he's one of the biggest supporters of new comedians coming through and when lockdown kicked in I asked him to coach me to improve my material and be a better MC, which led to us collaborating on a night and later him being my panel regular on the Comedy Arcade live shows.

Basically he accepted one gig three years ago and never got rid of me. He is a proper craftsman, I never get tired of seeing him perform, he can make small pub rooms feel like Wembley and I have learned a lot. I think he's one of the best comics on the circuit.

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

There is a whole genre of 'middle manager' types in open mic comedy who love to tell you how to do things and when to do them, despite the fact their careers aren't anything to aspire to. Whilst some of the rules ring true, stand-up - particularly now, when there are so many ways to get yourself in front of and find your people - lets you find your own path, no two 'origin' stories are ever the same.

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

I love caveating anything about my age with the line 'I'm delighted to reach any new year as I do not think I have the energy of someone who dies of natural causes.' It works probably less than 5% of the time but I'm devoted to it.

How are you finding combining comedy with your other job - are there positives and less-positives?

It is a delicate balancing act, and I'm really glad I've been able to combine my day job as a personal finance PR with comedy for the new podcast. PR is an intense job that, if you let it, can be all consuming; before comedy I was answering emails at all hours a day, even on holiday. Now I have hard stops that force a work life balance.

I had to make a decision last year on what I wanted when I took what - prior to stand-up - would have been my dream job at a really intense, high performance global agency. I thought I could do both, but I realised very quickly that it was too much and found something with more consistent hours.

It probably means I'm staying on this rung of the ladder but my vision of what happiness and success is has shifted, and I am comfortable with that.

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

My favourite reactions are always from women who see me and realise they can do it as well. My reviews tend to focus on me being approachable and the equivalent of hanging around with a funny friend, and I love that - it means I've connected with people.

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

It feels like I'm starting to hit form with a voice that is less a pastiche of all my favourite comedians and more me, and I'm really excited to write a new show that explores it.

It has been a long, hard year of highs and lows but comedy still feels like a huge privilege beyond what I thought I could do, I have been lucky enough to have a few ridiculous pinch-me moments where I've thought to myself 'If this is the furthest I go, I can stop here,' and every step beyond those feels like a gift.