Dane Baptiste is a comedian and writer known for his intelligent and thoughtful stand-up. He’s been a fixture on the scene for nearly a decade since he became the first black British act nominated for a comedy award at the Fringe in 2014. He’s also appeared on numerous TV show and wrote and starred in the sitcom Sunny D for Channel 4. We spoke to Dane about his new show ‘Bapsquire’, the evolution of his comedy over the years, and turning up unfeasibly early to a gig.
Can you tell us a little bit about ‘Bapsquire’?
‘Bapsquire’ is my return to the Fringe festival after five years. It’s basically is about the fact that I have transitioned into midlife in the time I’ve been away included with the Pandemic. And yeah, it’s basically what that means to me and this is me almost 10 years away from my debut in Edinburgh, and just seeing how my life and the comedy landscape has changed.
To what extent do you think the industry has changed since the Pandemic and is it has that been for better or for worse?
I think there’s good and bad. I think myself personally, being the first black Briton nominated for an award in Edinburgh. I’ve definitely seen some basic changes in the landscape of Edinburgh. We’re very far away from where I would be told by agents that they already have a black act so they don’t need another one. Now they definitely recognise the commercial viability and star power of black Britons, and you can see that everywhere now. So I’m very happy to be a trailblazer for that. I think that’s very good. I think what I would say would be not great is due to external things like this the economic crisis. It’s definitely stunted the ability for comics and artists from less or more modest backgrounds to be able to realise their potential, because prices are going up. So that makes it quite tough. I also feel that economic question has an effect on people’s disposable income. That’s why I find it very strange when you get right-wing comedians that support government policies, because if people weren’t getting screwed over for more, one thing they’d have more money to do is buy tickets and go to comedy shows. So it doesn’t make sense that you can be an artist and support right-wing fascist rhetoric.
Your promotional material for the show specifically mentions the ‘crisis’ that follows your midlife period. Is that crisis, personal or societal, and is there any room for optimism in that?
I think there’s all three. I think definitely that society or industry is tough because this industry will let you know that you’re old after you get to a certain age. And I’ve definitely seen some instances where opportunities that were normally a given are beginning to dwindle because of I how you’re perceived when you reach a certain age. So that’s a tough part on one side. For myself personally, the toughest part is maybe like in aspects of my life, where I was playing football or hanging out with friends, I don’t have the same stamina I used to have, and everything hurts. I know a lot of people take steroids to build muscle whereas I had to have a steroid injection in my shoulder just so I could use it properly. And I worry too much and I was talking to another comic last week, Michelle de Swarte, and I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got this wrong and that wrong. There’s something wrong with me.’ She was like, ‘No, you’re just getting old.’ So there’s been dealing with that. But at the same time, I’ve also reached a point in my life where I’ve given a lot less of a fuck about how I’m perceived or what people think of me. And I’ve spent enough time on my body to know what works for it and also in my career to know what works for me as well. So I like that having that self confidence and obliviousness to how I’m perceived by people helps me to navigate this whole new state of being.
Your material also says that you’re becoming a more sophisticated comedian, yet you’ve always been regarded as a sophisticated comedian in terms of the way you deal with the subjects you talk about. And because of that, did you feel pressure when you were the first black male to be nominated for an award that you felt you to be something of a spokesman for those types of issues? Is it now that others have followed you that you’ve been able to expand on what you talk about onstage?
I feel like there was never an external pressure. I kind of always felt like having the opportunity to perform comedy at the time I did there were a lot of privileges I had that my predecessors didn’t. So it was much more of a principle to be able to use my platform to talk about those issues. But also the thing as an occupational comedian, I had to talk from my perspective, and you know, the immediate one is going to be the superficial point of being a black man. So it was natural that my race would become part of my describing my experience, and I think that that might be regarded as sophisticated because one of the most concerning things I observed when I started doing comedy was that a lot of people who described themselves as observational comedians, had never ever really referenced the state of race relations in the UK, or class in the UK. And prior to social media, exacerbating a lot of these discussions. I find it very strange that people would talk about what’s happening in their country or the world and they would never mention these issues. So I guess for me, that was part of the obligation as well. But I guess the main the main thing for me was I wanted to represent the change I wanted to see in comedy, and any voices that I perceived to be absent then I just wanted to become that voice myself.
So I suppose that because my situation changed in many ways, that’s allowed my perspective to change. But I think when I talk about sophisticated material, it’s more about my delivery of it. I think that my shows are becoming more personal, and I’m more prepared to be a lot more transparent about my personal life on stage. And audiences will see that as well because I’ve been around for long enough and I guess when I started doing comedy there was more of a transition, whereas this has been my career for the last 13 years. So it’s kind of time to be able to be myself, the person I’ve actually been for the last decade or so.
And the show sees you are sort of approaching middle age in terms of what that means for the future and your place in it. If you were looking back, would you change anything? Or if there was one piece of advice you’d give your younger self, what would it be?
The main piece of advice I’d give my younger self is just to have more self belief. I think that when we have a crisis of conscience that will leave us vulnerable and open to listening to not necessarily healthy sources for information. I think that the rise of populism is evidence of that. I think a lot of people in a post-religious world where they can’t necessarily differentiate between their political entities are looking for answers, and they’re leaving themselves open to populists who are only given them half truths. So my advice, and I’ve always been someone I think, who was able to think for themselves, but then sometimes that has been stored by me wondering and worrying about how people in my immediate environments see me. But I would definitely tell my younger self as long as you’re not causing harm or loss to any other sentient being, then who gives a fuck what people think, and do what you want, and you don’t need an entourage to do that.
Apart from the economic side, what do you think are the best and the worst things about the Fringe and and what keeps you coming back?
I think the best things about the Fringe are that it’s a very creative hub, and you’ll see ideas being executed that you will never be able to see on TV, which is a good thing. That’s also the bad thing, in that I think sometimes there are a lot of diamonds in the rough and there’s a lot of talent in Edinburgh that gets overlooked, and I’ve seen people have access to more resources, which means that some people can get a lot of publicity and some people might have a large machine behind them. Whereas there might be some more dark horses and more unique and talented acts who may not get the same kind of coverage and that can also be due to the sheer size of it. But I think that it is a wonderful thing to have this creative hub where people from all over the world can exhibit their skills, but I guess the financial side is always going to be part of the drawback. And that time where the sanitation workers went on strike [2022], that was an overlapping issue.
I feel like it’s nice for us to be in a creative bubble and interact with other people with the same ideas in terms of career trajectory. But then at the same time, I think that it’s important to realise that we are still a part of a much larger organism, and that things that affect regular people will affect us as well because it’s life experience that informs what we do as performers and comedians. But yeah, I’d say that the good thing is it’s about seeing amazing ideas, and it’s a shame that some of those ideas don’t get the respect and support they deserve.
I suppose the economic issues also limit the kind of people that are able to go along and see the shows at the Fringe.
Yeah, exactly. It’s the world’s largest arts festival. And obviously there are other Fringe festivals around the UK and I definitely would like to see more of those get more support. Because I think that you know, despite how prolific the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is, I still think that people remain unaware of the vastness of comedy as an art form. Which is why you’ve probably seen some comics and influencers or however you want to describe them online, who may actually just do comedy at a very rudimentary or basic level, but receive a massive amount of plaudits because they basically cater to what people are missing, or they cater to a demographic that feels that they are underrepresented in how comedy is portrayed in media. That even that being said, you know, they’re just as entitled to enter into the industry and enter into the scene as anybody else. And I think that long term, a lot of the non-conventional comics on the scene and the circuit can realise their following through social media, which can open up people’s palates to comedy as an art form as a whole. And people will continue to seek out this comedy and everybody will be together.
Have you had any really memorable Fringe experiences, either as a performer or an audience member?
I have seen so many. I think one of the most memorable one that I had was during the first time went to Edinburgh. I had the privilege of being booked for a showcase at the BBC when it was at Potterrow by Rupert Majendie who saw me in London, and I considered it to be a massive privilege to perform. I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep the night before. But I actually ended up turning up to Potterrow 12 hours early because I thought it was at 11am and it was 11pm. So that one of the most memorable experiences because very rarely had I been so excited that I wasn’t able to sleep. But I remember it being a great show and two things that stick out to me was going to network for the first time and meet with execs from the industry with another comic, who turned out to be Romesh Ranganathan much earlier in his career. And also meeting Nick Helm for the first time, who definitely helped me to calm my nerves. It was a very special night and obviously it led on to more significant ones.
Beside your show, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere? Do you tend to do a lot of the compilation shows?
Yeah, hopefully by the time I’m up there some stuff will be finalised so people will see me around. Hopefully maybe some BBC showcases. I’m definitely going to be doing Assembly and doing ‘Best of the Fest’. So people can look out for that. And I’m also hoping to promote my first YouTube special that I’ll be releasing on the fourth of August, which is called ‘The Chocolate Chip’, which is the show that never made it to Edinburgh so people can view that as well. But yeah, I’m always willing to get up if the gig is right or, failing that, the money is! I’ll be doing showcases here and there.
Are there any acts at the fringe this year that you would recommend that audiences go and check out?
I mean, there are loads always but I would definitely recommend Darren Griffiths. I’d recommend Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes. Harriet Dyer‘s going up as well. But I would just say that people should give a lot of things a try. Because that’s the good thing about the festival is that you’re able to try stuff. So anything that takes your fancy; especially if it’s on the Free Fringe, go and watch it, you know.
‘Bapsquire’ runs from Mon 14 to Sun 27 Aug 2023 at Monkey Barrel – Hive 1 at 16:15