Glam comedian Katherine Ryan is having the last laugh by defying advice to look more manly on stage.
The acid-tongued stand-up is known for her red lipstick and chic dresses but it is not a look that won her universal approval. In fact, the 38-year-old former Hooters waitress was told by industry bigwigs to be as unfeminine as possible while performing or she would never have a career in comedy.
The Canadian ignored the sexist advice and on Thursday she launches the TV show, Backstage with Katherine Ryan, which she filmed with a baby and breast pump in tow.
She said her smart look is deliberate: “I’ve done it purposely from the beginning because women in comedy are told not to accentuate anything feminine that might be distracting.
“‘Boys will not take you seriously and women will hate you’ was absolutely the narrative that was told to all female comedians when we started, ‘Wear a hoodie, wear jeans’.
“So very early in my career, I started dressing for the job I wanted, not the job I had. I feel like you should dress up because it’s an honour and it’s a great privilege to have people come see you on purpose.”
Katherine has also proved the comedy dinosaurs wrong by being a mum on tour and has even taken her newborn with her.
She went back to work just six weeks after the birth of son Fred last June. Her tour manager Annie drove her everywhere and sometimes Fred went along for the ride.
Katherine said: “So in the car, Annie has to listen to a baby music playlist. She’s got wipes in the back, a car seat and a few dangly toys in the car seat to entertain him.”
She said backstage is not as glamorous as people imagine, explaining: “It’s not J-Lo with the all white room, the orchids and candles.”
Katherine has proved you don’t need to act like a man to cut it in comedy, but she admitted her path to success and life on the road looks rather different to that of her peers, such as Romesh Ranganathan, Joel Dommett and Jimmy Carr.
They all star in her new series which captures the candid chat between comics backstage before they perform a gig. Katherine said: “Fred was six weeks old when we filmed Backstage With Katherine Ryan and there were some different approaches that I needed to take to make that work. I don’t think Romesh would have been seen lactating on stage when any of his sons were born.”
She said: “I don’t think that Rob Beckett would have had to carry a breast pump with him everywhere. As much as we are progressive and we strive for gender equality, I think the role of the mum is very different.”
Katherine, who grew up in Sarnia, Ontario, was at university in Toronto and working as a scantily clad waitress at a Hooters sports bar when she caught the comedy bug. She snuck out to an open mic night near work and that was it.
She followed her then boyfriend to London in 2007 and became entrenched in the local circuit. That eventually led to regular appearances on TV panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, then sell-out nationwide tours and comedy specials for Netflix.
Katherine spent a long portion of her career as a single mum to daughter Violet, 12, with the highs and lows providing the backdrop to her stand-up routines. But that changed with a trip back to Canada in 2018 to film the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are? and a chance reunion with her high school boyfriend Bobby Kootstra.
She had dumped him aged 16 but fell madly in love with him again nearly 20 years on. They started dating again and a year later celebrated a civil partnership in Denmark. They now live in Hertfordshire.
And while Katherine does not advocate getting back with an ex, she’s happy how her love life turned out.
She said: “I’m very glad we split up when we were 16. Because I would not have this life if we had stayed together.
“I would be in my hometown with probably 10 kids. I would never have any of the opportunities. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today because I’ve been exposed to the world now. I’m so lucky, things happen for a reason.”
Katherine’s rejection of stage style advice reflects her rebellious trait, something she hopes Violet has inherited. She said: “I don’t think Violet has any interest in following in my footsteps.
“Similarly, I didn’t become an engineer like my dad or a computer systems analyst like my mum. I think sometimes we rebel by doing the opposite of what our parents do. So, because I’m in a creative industry, hopefully Violet will be a cardiologist.”
For now Katherine is focusing on her new Prime Video series which pulls back the curtain on the lives of comedians. Filmed at London’s Roundhouse, she invited a host of top comics to perform gigs while also covering the backstage area in Big Brother-style cameras to capture their unguarded conversations.
Fans will see the likes of Jimmy Carr, 49, discussing his virginity and Seann Walsh, 36, opening up about his kissing scandal with Strictly Come Dancing partner Katya Jones, 33.
Katherine said none of her guests have anything to hide and viewers might be surprised by how open they are.
And she revealed nothing is off the agenda – much like in their performances, adding: “I don’t think anything’s off limits in comedy at all. I’m open to the idea that even a very dark subject can potentially be lifted by the right joke. Jimmy Carr told me a long time ago, ‘Offence is taken, never given’.”
“I feel like if we could all laugh at ourselves and know the difference between what’s harmful language, what’s hate speech and what’s supposed to be a nice, fun joke, I think everyone would be a lot happier because it feels so good.”
Backstage With Katherine Ryan launches on Prime Video on Thursday
