Fringe Interests

The 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival is coming to an end this weekend, and so is the first run of the Fringe Interests podcast. We are going out with a bang with a great interview with one of Irelands' best comedians. Ryan Cullen is a specialist in dark one-liners, and we discuss how he writes, as well as the change in direction he is taking with his current show, Daddy Issues, which involves a lot of weird and wonderful stories about Ryans father. We discuss Ryans previous experiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with his shows "Guantanamo Bae" and "Safe Word", and the lengths Ryan goes to make the posters for his show. Ryan also co-hosts the Comedy Cellar in the International Bar in Dublin, and is a star of the new youtube channel, Try, as well as having been one of the stars of the now defunct Facts! channel. The Fringe Interests Podcast will be back later this year with another line-up of fantastic Irish and international comedians talking about comedy and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy this conversation with Ryan Cullen.

In this episode of the Fringe Interests podcast, I spoke to comedian and podcaster Simon Caine. Simon runs the brilliant Ask The Industry podcast, with over 100 interviews with prominent members of the comedy industry, from bookers to reviewers to tv commissioners. He also runs the really interesting Audio Time Capsule Podcast. Simon brough his 2017 show "Laughter is the Best Placebo" to Cork in 2017, and he returned in July 2018 to preview his new show "Sex, Drugs and Other Things I Don't Do", and I got a chance to interview Simon before that gig. We talk about his podcasts, his DIY approach and determination to get things done, his new show, and the show he is hoping to write for next years Edinburgh which sounds fantastic. We also talk about trying to build an audience and Simon's medium term goals. We start the interview by discussing what Simon is hoping to get out of this years Edinburgh festival, and my theory on the challenge faced by anyone trying to make it as a comedian.

In this episode of the Fringe Interests podcast, I spoke to Laura Byrne. Laura has won a national comedy competition, she is the star of two youtube channels, Facts. and Try, she has a big online following and she had a very successful run at Edinburgh with her debut show, End of Daze. We talked about the show, the events that inspired it, her experiences flyering and watching shows in Edinburgh in previous years that gave her a base of knowledge when she took her show over, and also how she almost took a show over a year too soon. This was a really enjoyable conversation, and I hope you like it. You can find Laura online at LolsyByrne on facebook and twitter. Laura is bringing her new show, "90s BABY!" to Edinburgh this August, and it's on every day in the Waverley Bar at 3:45 pm. Go check it out.

In todays episode I spoke to Cork's biggest Liverpool fan, Richy Sheehy, about the viral video that made him an internet sensation to 2018. We spoke about the creation of the video, the elements of it that made it so successful, and the weeks and months that followed. We also discussed how Richy got started in comedy, the Amsterdam comedy scene and Richys experiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, particularly his 2016 show "People Are Strange" and his 2017 show "The Adventures of Rich and Morty".

In this episode I speak to American comic, Al Lubel, about starting doing stand up at the end of the 1970s, gigging with Jerry Seinfeld in the mid 80s, winning a national competition in 1988, appearing on many of the major late night talk shows and winning awards at Edinburgh. We also talk about not quite being a star and some opportunities that didn't work out. Al was incredibly open and honest in this interview and I hope you enjoy it.

In the first episode of the Fringe Interests Podcast I interview Cork comic Roger O'Sullivan about how he got started in comedy and his experiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival