Andrew Maxwell

[faceless]

SAUDI ARABIA GOT THE OIL, IRELAND GOT ALL THE FUN
Get to know funnyman Andrew Maxwell
By Jessica McCullough,
02/05/2010
newsoftheworld.co.uk

HE'S one of the brightest stars on the stand-up circuit and a fixture on TV's top comedy shows. Now Dublin-born funnyman Andrew Maxwell, 36, is out on the road with his unique brand of razor-sharp wit and side-splitting gags. "I was always the class clown," he admits.

You've just set out on your first headline tour of the UK. Why does it feel like the right time to be hitting the road now?
The whole idea of the tour is that I'm going to be releasing my first UK-wide DVD, I've already released one in Ireland - Live In Dublin - and one in Scotland - Live In Edinburgh - so I wanted to try out material for it. There's a lot of fresh, new stuff to get through.

The tour's a whopping 34 dates. How will you cope with life on the road for three months?
The worst hazard is that it can get a bit lonely. But the problem with living in London, like I do, is that you start confusing the capital with the whole country so I'm enjoying getting about and performing in different places. And, of course, it's exciting because the tour is working towards the DVD so every night is like a work in progress, trying new ideas out. It's a lot of fun.

You've got shows coming up in Dunfermline, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Looking forward to being reunited with fans north of the border?
Comedy-wise Scotland is my home from home because I've spent so many years performing at the Edinburgh Festival and, over the last four or five years, at the Magners Glasgow International Comedy Festival. I've never been to Dunfermline but I'm looking forward to it. It's great to play places where people are really comedy literate and gigs in Scotland have a well-justified reputation for that.

You've quite a history in the capital...
Yup. I think '95 was the first time I did the Fringe. It was a package show with Ed Byrne, who went on to be Ed Byrne, and another guy who didn't really go on to be anything. I took a couple of years off after that but since then I've been up there every summer almost constantly.

A full month of shows, night after night, must be pretty exhausting...
Well, it actually takes THREE MONTHS, because you are preparing for it the whole of June and July. Edinburgh is an extremely jealous festival. It wants a shitload of attention. There aren't many things that are a piece of performance AND a piece of psychological endurance. It toughens you up and makes you a much better performer.

You're a big SPL fan aren't you? How does an Irishman come to support Scottish football?
I'm a Hibs fan. That came out of being in Edinburgh so much. Ten years I have been supporting Hibs, home and away. During the Festival, that's my big release. It's brilliant - you are completely up your own arse, lost in the shows, fretting about what somebody has written about you. Then you get along and watch 22 men play football really badly and get paid to disappoint people. On my first DVD, I tell a story about going to see Rangers against Hibs. I got lost coming out of the stadium. There I was, dressed in a GREEN jacket, and I walked into all these Rangers fans. It got a little bit hairy scary all right!

But you came out unscathed...
Yeah. Well, after I had piss thrown at me in an Irn Bru can. But those Rangers fans came along to a show a couple of nights later and we had a laugh about it.

As a teenager, you made your first stand-up appearance at a comedy club run by Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon didn't you?
There was a collective of them, but the guy best known over here is Ardal. They introduced alternative comedy to Ireland. Me and Dylan Moran both started there - he did the opening spot the week before me. It was amazing. It wasn't for money. It was a genuinely counter-cultural movement. The gig's still running. It's called The Comedy Cellar and runs above a wee Grafton Street pub. Ardal and the boys took me under their wings.

How did you go down with the audience that night?
It was great. You could do what you wanted. The audience there were extremely hip and turned on. There were some slightly rougher gigs around the rest of the country though. But now comedy is massive all over Ireland. We got the fun, Saudi Arabia got the oil.

You've introduced yourself to audiences as "Your clown for the evening". Is that a role you've played since being a kid?
A lot of comedians - or at least the more successful ones - are living a revenge fantasy. As teenagers they were alienated, often fat and not attractive in any sense of the word. Being on stage is their version of "Ha ha, look at me now". I was always the class clown, just fucking about making people laugh. My friends and family were like: "You should be a comedian." I thought: "Yeah, OK. I'll give that a go." It's lovely to make people laugh. I think by introducing yourself as "your clown for the evening" shows both humility and tact. Because if I do want to move onto darker or more complex subject matter I want people to know I am doing it to make them laugh first, think second.

Mock The Week, The Panel, Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks. . . the list goes on. You're a much sought-after guest for TV's most popular panel shows. Which one is your favourite?
They are all very different. The time I did Buzzcocks was great. I was on with Amy Winehouse at the time when she was at her most strung out. The one I was most scared to do beforehand was Have I Got News For You? In the end it was really pleasant. I got on well with Paul and Ian. They were very gentle with me.

What do you reckon is the secret of good comedy?
Whenever guys starting out ask me, "Have you got any advice?" I always tell them: "Remember that YOU are the joke." A gig can never go that wrong if you retain your sense of humour about yourself.

You've proved a hit Stateside too. How did it feel to step on stage at the HBO US Comedy Arts Festival in 2005 with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock?
It was all good. I want to get back over there. The Americans have a lot of hang ups, a lot more targets. Wars, religion, expanding waistlines, totally corrupt media, it's all there.

But we've heard your mates back home help keep you grounded...
That's right. Being very good friends with the people you grew up with gives an enormous sense of well-being. Hanging out with people from your childhood takes you straight back to those places of wonder and genuine delight.

You use comedy as a way of tackling difficult issues such as sectarianism. Why do you think that works so well?
Everybody likes to think of themselves as having a good sense of humour. I did some gigs in West Belfast on the Falls and Shankill Roads in front of all these hard men. These were people who have done bad things. And while they wouldn't necessarily be ashamed to be called a killer, they WOULD be ashamed of being considered to have no sense of humour. That's the key. That's where you can open doors with comedy.

Along with fellow comic and snowboarder Marcus Brigstocke you organise the Altitude Festival in the French Alps resort of Meribel...
It's a hell of a thing, even if I say so myself. You ski, you board, then you have après-ski and your dinner in the sunshine. That's followed by a nap or a swim or a sauna, then you watch comedy and afterwards there are DJs or bands on until 4am. This year, we had Al Murray perform The Pub Landlord - in FRENCH. That was funny. You've got a man telling the French why they are cowards in their language. That was amazing. Howard Marks was another real highlight. All the stoners in the Alps were there, hanging on his every word. It was almost like one of those '60s happenings.

How's your boarding? As the man in charge do you get much time to hit the slopes?
Oh yeah. I've got it down to a fine art. I leave everybody else working their bones off in the office and I take off up the mountains.

Your last Edinburgh show focused on the subject of wishes. What is your biggest wish?
I want this British tour to result in a really good DVD. This recording is going to be my love letter to the country I've lived in for 15 years.

ANDREW Maxwell appears at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline, on May 16 (01383 602 302), The Stand, Glasgow on May 17 (0870 600 6055) and The Stand, Edinburgh on May 18 (0131 558 7272).