Dan Tiernan is a stand-up comedian from Manchester. The last year has seen him go professional and collect both the BBC New Comedy and British Comedian of the Year awards. 2023 sees him bring his debut hour ‘Going Under’ to the Fringe. He spoke to us about the show, finding humour in disability, and once performing at 10 Fringe shows in one day.
Can you tell us about ‘Going Under’?
‘Going Under’ is my first ever hour long show. It’s full to the brim of gags about my life as a dyspraxic, gay man who at the age of 27 has only just moved out of his mum’s house. It’s an incredibly high energy and chaotic show, which I’m hoping will showcase my unique comic voice and world view. Nothing is off limits in the show and there’s even some incredibly dark jokes about a very tough time I went through recently in my personal life. Turning negative experiences into really funny routines is something I find really satisfying and fulfilling.
Your show deals partly with your dyspraxia, and you’re one of a wave of comedians in recent years to foreground disability as a subject. How do you go about finding the comedy in such a subject?
Every good joke I have ever written is about me. This is the style that has chosen me, therefore writing about my disability is only natural. I also find dyspraxia really funny. It’s a disability that makes you fall over a lot and constantly lose things; it’s naturally easy to find the comedy in it. Before I started doing stand-up, a way that I learnt to own my disability was to make jokes about it, I’ve been using it to make people laugh since I can remember. I don’t have any exact process in finding the comedy in dyspraxia, I just write stuff that I feel is honest and unique about my life, so dyspraxia just comes up a lot.
You’ve recently won both BBC New Comedy and British Comedian of the Year awards. How did it feel to get such recognition so early in your comedy career?
I spent years trying to find my feet as a comedian and like a lot of new acts I felt like I was going nowhere, so getting that recognition and validation meant the absolute world to me. I don’t really ever cry in public but during both of those finals I came very close. For the first time I felt sure I had a career in stand-up which is just an incredible feeling to have after so many ups and downs over the years. Since the competitions I’ve gone full time in comedy which has been a dream of mine since I first found out what comedy was. I’ve also had some incredible opportunities such as appearing on episodes of some of my favourite shows growing up, such as QI and 8 of 10 Cats does Countdown. It’s truly mind-blowing to think about what I’ve achieved over the last year and I am eternally grateful to everyone who has supported me in my journey since I first started stand-up.
‘Going Under’ is your debut hour. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?
Ultimately I just want the show to be as good as it can possibly be, I want audiences to leave feeling like they have just seen a top notch hour of stand-up comedy. Of course, if I can pick up some new fans along the way and maybe impress some industry people that’s a bonus, but genuinely my main goal is just to make anyone who chooses to come and watch the show hurt with laughter.
Beside ‘Going Under’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?
Although this is my first year doing an hour at the Fringe I’ve been taking split bills and compilation shows to the Fringe since 2018. Normally I try and do as many other spots as possible throughout the month; one year I did ten shows in one day! This year my plan is to take things a bit easier so I can rest my voice and focus on my hour. However, yes I will definitely be appearing on some other shows through out the month. Late’n’Live, Comedy Allstars, Rodeo, and Monkey Barrel’s Big Show are some of the other shows that I’ve got booked in that I’m really looking forward to performing on.
Apart from your show, what else are you looking forward to (or even perhaps dreading) about the Fringe?
I have lots of friends in comedy that will be at the Fringe so I’m really looking forward to hanging out with them. Normally when I see comedian friends it’s incredibly brief. We usually do our spot and then have to leave to catch the last train and get home, so one of my favorite thing about the Fringe is that we are all just in the same place for the whole month and can see each other as much as we want. I also am hoping to watch a lot of comedy; stand-up comedy is my favourite thing in the world and the Fringe is the best place in the world to watch it. Last year I was so busy I only watched nine shows across the month which is absolutely pathetic. I’m hoping this year I’m going to have a lot more time on my hands to watch some cool stuff.
Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?
They are so many great shows at the Fringe this year, far to many to name, but Horatio Gould, Adam Flood, and Paddy Young are all also debuting and I can not recommend thier shows enough.
‘Going Under’ runs from Mon 31 Jul to Sun 27 Aug 2023 (except Mon 14) at Monkey Barrel Comedy 2 at 22:00