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Carl Donnelly

Carl Donnelly: The Edinburgh Interviews 2018

July 28, 2018 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

© Avalon

Who? Carl Donnelly
What? Strictly Carl Donnelly!
Where? Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Ballroom (venue 170)
When? 18:45

Are you prepared for what this year’s Edinburgh Fringe has in store for you?

I’m always prepared. This is my tenth year of doing solo shows so I’m a hardened veteran these days. I’m like Tom Berenger in the film ‘Platoon’. I have a thousand yard stare that suggests I’ve seen a lot of comedians die over the years. 

What is the premise of your Edinburgh show this year?

It’s quite a simple show to be honest. It’s about how I’ve changed in my decade of coming to the Fringe. When I first came up I was a mid-twenties working class South London lad who was more interested in getting drunk than anything else. Now I’m a 36 year old vegan who goes to a farmers market every Sunday and spends almost £5 on a loaf of sourdough bread. I think the show is me trying to work out what I’ve become. 

What was the biggest obstacle you face(d) while putting this show together?

The only real obstacle was that I wrote a version at the start of the year and did some previews. Then I went to Australia, got married and did the Melbourne Comedy Festival where I was performing my show from last year’s Fringe. When I came back to start back to work on the new show, I didn’t like it. I then decided to re-write the show which meant I’ve only really had a couple of months to get it together but I’m much happier with it.

Who would most enjoy your show?

People who like really good stand up comedy.

Do you have any other Edinburgh show recommendations?

An Australian friend of mine Daniel Connell is coming over for his first ever fringe. He’s very funny and I recommend you check him out.

What is your favourite thing about Edinburgh as a city?

I love the layout of Edinburgh. If you stand on North Bridge you are ten minutes away from so much. If you walk one direction you’re in the heart of New Town but if you’d gone the other way you’d be nearing Arthur’s Seat. It’s a perfect city for exploring.

What are your plans for after the festival?

I always go somewhere very quiet for a week to decompress. Last year me and my wife went and stayed in a hut in South Portugal with no electricity or phone signal. It was exactly what I needed after a month surrounded by so many people. We’re still planning this year’s trip. I’ve got my eye on a cottage in the west of Ireland.

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR CARL DONNELLY: ‘STRICTLY CARL DONNELLY!’ HERE

THE EDINBURGH INTERVIEWS 2018

Posted in: Comedians, Edinburgh, Interviews Tagged: Carl Donnelly, Edinburgh Festival, Strictly Carl Donnelly!, The Edinburgh Interviews, The Edinburgh Interviews 2018

Seven Questions With… Carl Donnelly

June 19, 2015 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Stand up comedian Carl Donnelly is rapidly rising in popularity on the British comedy scene with appearances on Mock The Week and Russell Howard’s Good News. As well as this, Carl is also involved in podcasting with fellow comic Chris Martin, which has lead to the duo becoming regular Fubar Radio presenters. Carl Donnelly brings his new show Jive Ass Honky to this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
To find out more, I asked Carl these seven questions…

1) Do you enjoy social media?

I tend to be spending less and less time on social media as am losing patience with people’s behaviour and general obsession with it. I tend to enjoy Twitter during major sporting or cultural events. You can be sitting at home on your own watching the TV but still be part of a group chat about whatever it is that you’re watching. The flip side is that 99% of the time, social media is just a cavalcade of ill thought out opinions stated as facts. Humans naturally have the capacity to be twats but social media gives us a medium to really let that side of us run free.  

2) What character trait do you most envy in others?

Objectivity. It’s rare you meet someone who genuinely can step outside of them-self before forming an opinion. The above answer about social media refers to the 99% of people who can’t do just that. Online is where you see the lack of this trait the most. Everyone is in such a rush to say their piece that they haven’t had enough time to form an informed opinion so what you get is a load of shit they’re spouting in the heat of the moment.  I’m getting better at being more mindful in my opinions but still have the odd blowout where I get my blinkers on and just lose it. I had an argument with a mate in a pub a few months back regarding Ched Evans (the ex-footballer now charged rapist) where I almost got kicked out of the pub because I was shouting about rape apologists. 

3) You’ve performed stand-up on a plane? How did you find it?

It would make the top five list of ‘The most nervous I’ve ever been’. I get really nervous if I do a gig where the conditions are abnormal. In a comedy club or theatre, its set up for comedy so I know what I’m getting into but on the plane, the passengers didn’t know there was going to be comedy until they were boarding and were informed. Then I basically got introduced by the cabin crew about half way through the flight and had to do my set at the front of the plane using the weird phone that they make announcements through. Everything was set up for it to be terrible but weirdly, they got excited that they were part of such a strange experience so we ended up having loads of fun. It’s lucky as if I would have had a bad gig and then had to just sit back down among them, I would probably have stabbed myself to death with a plastic fork.

4) Can you draw?

Not that well anymore. I used to do a lot of drawing/painting/sculpture during my school and college days. I was a very strange teenager in that I was a bit of a wide boy who smoked, drank and shoplifted but also had this weird love of contemporary art. I would bunk off school to hang out at the Tate (this was pre Tate Modern which is now one of my favourite hangouts). I used to go to life drawing classes as well during my late teens so was quite handy at drawing nudes but was the only person in the class who wasn’t a pensioner so just looked like a creep!

5) If you could interview a comedy hero, who would it be?

I think Norm MacDonald would be amazing to interview. He’s one of my all-time favourite comedians but he’s also so funny when he appears on chat shows (and on his podcast which I highly recommend) that I have every confidence that he’d live up to my expectation. His live album ‘Me Doing Stand-Up’ is probably my favourite comedy album.

6) Why are you a vegan?

I got to a point about three years ago where the guilt of eating and wearing animal products was no longer outweighed by the ease of doing so. I made the decision and just tapped out and have felt a million times better mentally and physically since. I was living with a constant feeling of disappointment in myself for continuing to do something I felt was wrong. I was basically making myself feel like shit through sheer laziness. I now feel good and can sit back and enjoy watching carnivores get really annoyed about veganism. 

7) Will you ever get bored of stand up?

I’d like to think I won’t but you never know. Some of my favourite comedians have taken a break at some point despite still churning out great new stuff so it’s obviously not an uncommon thing to happen. I love the process of writing a new show and previewing it etc trying to get it perfect so that cycle keeps me excited and interested. Who knows what will happen if I ever feel like I’ve run out of things to say. Maybe I’ll have to go and get a proper job!

CARL DONNELLY WILL BE PERFORMING HIS NEW SHOW ‘JIVE ASS HONKY’ AT THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FROM 5TH-30TH AUGUST

SEVEN QUESTIONS WITH…

Posted in: Comedians, Seven Questions With... Tagged: British Comedy, Carl Donnelly, Comedy, Interview, Seven Questions With
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