What did you spend lockdown doing?
I leaped straight into creating standup video rants which I call “Kaneings”. This kept me sane and felt almost like doing standup – particularly when I “went live”. I also bagged a job on Steph’s Packed Lunch, on Channel 4, which has a news remit meaning that technically, I was a key worker – even though I hosted segments on how to stack your freezer and made puns about courgettes.
Can you recall a gig so bad it’s now funny?
A great dane came up on to the stage and stuck its muzzle into my already unfunny and dying crotch. The show was then fully over – as was my self-esteem for the following five days.
What’s your process for writing new material?
I make bullet points of three to 10 words. I then devise the structure and funnies in front of preview audiences until it takes on a shape. I am a massive fan of Murakami who I believe writes in a similar way: he starts, then it finds its own path.
What’s your current show about?
It’s called The Essex Variant! It’s my take on (and takedown of) the last two years we’ve lived through. Its highest honour? From my beloved Guardian, of course! You declared it the number one funniest comedy show to come out of 2020. Sure, it’s got all that fire and verbal AK spray to power that my fellow Guardian readers look for – but, more importantly, there are big belly-laugh takedowns all the way through. Fire and laughter.
Any preshow rituals?
Coffee. Good, Fairtrade coffee. And water. Maybe a handful of nuts.
Have live audiences changed since lockdown?
They’ve improved, massively. Going back out on the road now is like walking through villages which have seen no fresh produce for years – but you’re the one holding a bowl of colourful juicy fruit.
Who is your comedy hero?
John Kennedy Toole. Why couldn’t he have had the recognition and written more? So sad. Nonetheless, A Confederacy of Dunces remains one of the funniest books on Earth.
Any comedy bugbears?
Material that’s elitist or excluding. I hate comedy that goes out of its way to try and say “I’m not for you”. We should all be for each other. In fact, great comedy can come from a unique – even tiny or niche – place but will have something universal in it.
Any advice for up-and-coming comedians?
There is no X Factor shortcut spot for standup. If you are passionate – do the graft. Three years, three times a week, mostly unpaid or low paid while holding down a job. That is your degree. Try to get a first.
Best advice you’ve ever been given?
Sarah Millican once said: “You can feel shit about your show, but only until 11am the next morning. Then you must completely let it go.”
Russell Kane’s The Essex Variant! is now touring.
