Bronwyn Sweeney came to comedy after 13 years in advertising. The Blackpool-born but Florida-raised comedian is now based in London where she has started to make a name for herself, not least by finishing runner-up in the Funny Women Awards in 2021. ‘Off-Brand’ is her debut Fringe hour and we talked to Bronwyn about bringing her professional skills to her stand-up, faking an English accent for years, and panicky audience interaction.
Can you tell us about ‘Off-Brand’?
Yes! Before comedy I worked in advertising for 13 years. I was very good at it and prided myself on being able to sell anything. Then I downloaded a dating app and realised I don’t know how to sell myself. This show is my attempt to take what I learned in advertising and apply it to my life all while sharing personal stories of failed self-branding attempts.
The show details your experience working in advertising. How did you bring that experience into your comedy?
There’s definitely a crossover between my life in advertising and comedy. In both you’re basically selling yourself to strangers who will decide whether they like you in seconds. In advertising, they can skip your ad and in comedy they can just give you nothing. For my debut hour I really wanted to draw on my experience of working on some of the biggest brands in the UK to see if I could ‘brand’ myself. What is my own personal brand? How is it that I have no problem writing taglines for a morally bankrupt shampoo brand but I struggle to talk about myself? This was a way to force myself to do that.
In ‘Off-Brand’ you also talk about your experience as a ‘Third Culture Kid’ including faking a British accent for two years. Was there a specific accent you adopted, and why do you think Americans seem to be so fascinated by British accents?
Oh man. I thought I would take my accent-faking secret to my grave. Then one day I decided that one, it was a great story, and two, I needed to speak my truth. I went to an American international school in Greece as a kid and my accent just slowly morphed from Northern English to American-ish. Then after six years of living in Florida it just solidified into full sitcom American. Even though my outward accent is my adopted American one, I feel like I think in British English if that makes any sense.
I think Americans are so fascinated by English accents because well, they sound exotic to them. The English accents they’re familiar with are an imported and narrow view on them that fits into what they think England is. There’s an exoticism to them that represents an England of their imagination. It’s probably different now because we have access to streaming, but when I was living in the US the only English accent people heard was Hugh Grant.
‘Off-Brand’ is your debut hour. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?
I still remember the days when a five-minute set felt so long so for now, I’m just really proud of myself for getting to a stage where I have a full hour of material that I’m excited to do. I hope that my first hour is an honest introduction to my life and my style of comedy. I have no doubt I’ll leave inspired by the other shows I see, but I also hope people enjoy my show and relate to it in their own way. I also hope I can stick to my plan of not drinking, going to bed early and eating healthy. Even as I write this, I know this will not happen.
Beside ‘Off-Brand’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?
Yes! I’ll be out hustling for as much stage time as I can get. Follow me on Instagram for updates as my calendar is changing all the time. I’m super excited to be doing some performances at Funny Feckers which was the first gig I ever did in London. I’m so grateful to nights like that run by encouraging and nice people like Wes Dalton who made me feel like I belonged in the comedy community from day one. I think I’ve also been signed up to do Best of the Fest but with clean material. I’m desperately trying to think if my stuff is safe for younger audiences. Last year I did a set and I only found out right before I went on that I couldn’t swear and it had to be family friendly. I panicked and did some bits of banking ads which didn’t exactly land. I remember asking the audience, “WHO HAS MONZO???” and some kid in the front row with his grandmother raised his hand and I thought, ‘How am I supposed to do audience interaction with a ten year old?’
Apart from your show, what else are you looking forward to (or even perhaps dreading) about the Fringe?
I’m looking forward to watching all the other debuts. A lot of them are my friends and we’ve come up together from those early open mic days where the audience was just other comedians. I’m also excited to go see shows that I have no clue about. The best things I saw last year were shows I wandered into or heard about last minute. That’s the beauty of Fringe!
What am I dreading? The inevitable bombs, the lack of daily structure and that one hangover that will make me question why on earth I thought I could roll with a bunch of youthful gen-Z-ers when I am 37 going on 80.
Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?
Loads! Lorna Rose Treen, Adam Flood, Paddy is Young, Lousie Atkinson, Darran Griffiths, Benji Waterstones, Ola Labib, the Pleasance Reserve night. I could go on forever…
‘Off-Brand’ runs from Wed 2 to Mon 28 Aug 202 (except Mon 14) at Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Three at 15:20