Liam Farrelly is a 19-year-old up and coming Scottish comedian, and we found out some hints and tips for anyone starting out in comedy in this interview.
Why did you decide that you wanted to get into comedy?
I don’t really know, to be honest, it was getting towards the end of high school most people seemed to have some sort of plan of what they were going to do, like going to university or getting jobs and I didn’t. I’d always liked stand-up comedy and watched it a lot. I just thought you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a go, I thought if it goes badly it’s not going to massively mess up your plans because you don’t have any. So, I just did it and it went well so I kept doing it and it’s gone alright so far.
What was the hardest part of becoming a comedian?
It’s probably getting stage time, you need a lot of it when you are starting out just so you can work material out in front of an audience, get used to being on stage, mic technique and stuff like that. It is really difficult getting gigs when you are starting out because you don’t know anyone so you don’t know who to speak to or where to go to get gigs, it can be a bit of a nightmare. The flip side of it is that when you do find out who to talk to, they’ve probably not seen you perform before so you’re asking them to have a certain amount of trust in you which is difficult cause you could go on stage and totally bomb. As you go on though it does get easier, more and more people see you, you start to build connections that’s why when you start out you need to every and any gig you can get.
Do you have any tips for anyone trying to pursue a career in comedy?
Just do as many gigs as you can, you need to get comfortable with being on stage and that will only come by doing lots of gigs. You need to write as much as you can as well, try and build up as much quality material as you can.
What has been your best/favourite moment so far in your comedy career?
I’d probably say doing tour support for Tom Stade, I remember watching Tom on Michael McIntyre’s comedy roadshow when I was like 10 so it was pretty crazy to be opening for him on tour.
What is your dream venue to perform in?
I don’t really have a dream venue when it comes to that type of stuff I don’t really plan ahead, I just concentrate on doing the gigs I’m booked for and that’s led to me being booked for some pretty interesting gigs in places like Belfast, London, Wales and all over place never really sure how I’ve ended up being booked for these gigs but I’m not complaining.
Where do you get ideas for your jokes and gig material?
From my own life mainly, I’ve had quite a unique life so far so I’ve just ended up writing about that. I think for me, material always work better when the audience can tell the material is coming from a real place, most of my stuff is based on true stories that I’ve heightened or exaggerated, I’ve found that’s what’s worked best for me.
Who is your biggest inspiration?
Obviously coming from Scotland, the classic influences are like Billy Connolly, Kevin Bridges and Frankie Boyle. With Netflix having so many comedy specials it’s massively increased the amount of comedy I’ve been able to watch, so really been inspired by a lot of things. I really enjoyed Bo Burnham, Ally Wong, Dave Chappelle, Patrice O’Neal, Nikki Glaser and Aziz Ansari’s new special is great.
