Interview: Comic Ed Byrne on coming to Harrogate

Famed for his rapport with fellow Irish comic Dara O' Briain on BBC TV shows such as Mock the Week and Dara and Ed's Big Adventure, good-natured comedian Ed Bryne is bringing his new live show to Harrogate next week.
Harrogate show - Good natured comedian Ed Byrne. (Picture by Roslyn Gaunt)Harrogate show - Good natured comedian Ed Byrne. (Picture by Roslyn Gaunt)
Harrogate show - Good natured comedian Ed Byrne. (Picture by Roslyn Gaunt)

The picture on his new tour poster may show the usually genial Ed with a chainsaw but his critical look at modern life and politics is on the gentle side for a successful stand-up these days, as you might expect from someone whose favourite hobby is hill walking.The mild-mannered Ed said: “I was telling the story of when my son wanted to touch an electric fence and me trying to warn him of the dangers and then suddenly it struck me that it was Brexit in microcosm. The government told you not to do this and that it would be a terrible idea, but voters said “no, we want to do it anyway.’”“I don’t want to alienate half of the population or maybe a third of my audience, but it works as an analogy whichever side you’re on.”In his new touring show, Spoiler Alert which arrives at Harrogate’s Royal Hall next Friday, Ed compares and contrasts the old-school child-rearing days with 21st century methods.He said: “I grew up in what I would call an aspirational household in that my parents bettered themselves over the course of my childhood. “My mother was a radiographer and ended up a lecturer in radiography, while my dad was a sheet metal worker and went up to a supervisory role.“I’d say you are expected to do a lot more parenting than our parents .“You tend to think that your parents are where you learned parenting from but you don’t, really, it’s more that you look around you to see what’s going on with other parents.”Having premiered Spoiler Alert at the Edinburgh Fringe and used the month of August to hone the show, it is fully ready to go.Ed said: “I keep a tour diary now of places where the curries are disappointing and where the audiences are good!”

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