Paddy Young is a comedian from Scarborough who is now based in London. Having performed an early version of his debut show in 2022, he returns to the Fringe with the revised, revamped, and retitled ‘Hungry, Horny, Scared’. We asked him about the show, American audiences, and the scourge of the silent disco.
Can you tell us about ‘Hungry, Horny, Scared’?
The title started as a sort of mantra, something I’d chant off stage, then I started saying it on stage. Then a walrus turned up in my home town of Scarborough. I don’t know if you saw what he did, but it made the news and fit the title perfectly.
You performed an early preview version of the show in 2022. How has the show developed over the last year?
It’s much more quackers. In the early previews, it was a straight stand-up show, and that is still very much the backbone of it, but now there’s music, video, and an INCREDIBLE twist at the end. I want it to be rowdy and overly stimulating.
You’ve recently been in the USA on a mini-tour. How did it go, and how do American audiences compare to British?
Yeah Dan Tiernan and I went over to check up on the old place. The audiences are unbelievably supportive! When you walk onstage in the UK, it’s a sea of crossed arms and blank faces. US crowds are whooping and hollering before you get to the punchline. Not in Nashville though. That nearly turned into a Wicker Man situation.
‘Hungry, Horny, Scared’ is your debut hour. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?
I just want the show to be really fun and for loads of people to come and for me to earn millions of pounds off the back of it. Is that too much to ask?
Beside ‘Hungry, Horny, Scared’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?
God yeah! I run a late night show in London called RODEO! And we’re bringing it to the Monkey Barrel from 10th – 13th August at midnight. We’re really leaning into the cowboy vibe and the line up is insane. It will probably take years off my life.
Apart from your show, what else are you looking forward to (or even perhaps dreading) about the Fringe?
As well as seeing and doing stand-up every day, I get to booze and gossip with some of my best friends for an entire month, it really is the promised land. I dread bumping into the silent disco that takes over the streets every year. Those people make me reevaluate my stance on gun laws.
Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?
In NO particular order; Dan Tiernan, Adam Flood, Lorna Rose Treen, Horatio Gould, Mike Rice, Sarah Keyworth, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Mat Ewins, Cat Cohen. Loads. Come see me first though.
‘Hungry, Horny, Scared’ runs from Wed 2 to Sun 27 Aug 2023 (except Mon 14) at Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand at 21:35