Comedian Andrew Stanley is probably best known around these parts as the regular MC at The International Bar, but the Swords funnyman is about to do his very first solo show and he had a chat to us about what we can expect from ‘Come On‘, his comedy influences, and being an armchair sports commentator on The Twitter…
Your show is called ‘Come On’. What inspired the name and what can we expect from your debut solo offering? Well I needed a title that was simple and that was it. I will be saying lots of things on stage that people probably won’t believe happened so they’ll be thinking ‘Oh Come Onnnnn!!!’ 
You’re one of the most recognisable faces on the Dublin comedy scene. Has ‘Come On’ been put together from smaller sets or is it all new material? It’s a mixture of both. A lot of the time when I am hosting I don’t get to do longer bits of material so you get treated to a lot of that in this show. Strap in for 35 minute stories about cabbage!!! Kidding. Maybe.
We’re told one of the big topics will be relationships. You’re a vegetarian and a red head… have you found someone to love you? Haha, more sympathy love I think. Although why would anyone not love a vegetarian. Granted he wouldn’t be able to hold a door open for you or carry your bags as he’s so weak all the time but he would never get the meat sweats!
We’ll stop slagging you now. You’re known for your ability to handle an audience and you’re not afraid to engage with them. What have been your best and worst moments interacting with the crowd? Jeez that is a hard one to pick. Ummmm I once asked a couple of girls who came in late to a show how come they were late to which they replied they got delayed coming from their auntie’s funeral. Awkward! Oh and in Edinburgh in 2009 during my solo show I was chatting to a guy in the front and it turned out he was Robert Downey Jr’s Personal Assistant. So we cancelled the rest of my show and just heard stories from him, haha!
You’ve been on the circuit for a while now, what lessons have you learned while on the rise? Don’t run over. Don’t turn down a gig. Don’t slag off the venue. Don’t steal material and most importantly don’t be shit.
Which would you prefer to do, an intimate run at Vicar Street or a sold-out arena date at the o2? Intimate at Vicar Street? Considering the venue I am performing this show in is smaller than Vicar Street I’d be happy with either of those, haha. I know what you mean though. Vicar street is a much more comedy-friendly venue than somewhere like the O2 so of course you would always rather play somewhere that is more facilitating to your performance. Having said that it would be cool to see my name and face on that big billboard outside the O2. You know what? You’ve convinced me, I’m changing the venue!!
Having said that, we’d miss you if you ever left The Inter. What’s your favourite memory from the venue? Oh, and what biscuits do you pick when it’s your turn at Mish Mash? The International Bar is just so lovely. Just everything about it. From the dangerous bits of wood sticking out of the walls, to the fact that it gets hotter than anywhere I have ever been when there are more than 25 people in the room. My favourite memory of playing there was when the snowstorm©™ hit Ireland a couple of years ago and so myself, Des Bishop and Aidan Bishop decided to put on a free show for everyone stranded in town. Andrew Maxwell popped by and about 10 others and we all did 10 minutes each and then had a giant snowball fight out on Wicklow Street. Great fun. Oh and I don’t pick the biscuits for the Mish Mash, the audience do. I am very generous like that.
We’re big fans of @astanleycomedy on Twitter and we notice you’re a big sports fan. Would you like to be a commentator or what would you try your hand at if you weren’t a comedian? I can’t imagine ever being a commentator, I get way too into it. I am screaming at things when it is the simplest action. Insanely over the top for throws and things like that haha. I would love to be a referee. That would be cool. In any sport too.
Accepting that we have already watched every Andrew Stanley clip on YouTube, is there anyone else you can recommend we check out? What’s your own favourite style of comedy? If you’re on YouTube look for all the old SNL [Saturday Night Live] clips and some of the recent ones too as well as Jim Carrey when he was on In Living Colour. I was lucky enough to meet Damon Wayans when he performed at the Montreal Just For Laughs with me. Great guy. I tend to enjoy energetic stuff and messing. With me I always want to see that the comedian is enjoying it too and is feeling it is something a bit special.
We tried to do a bit of sneaky finding out about you for this interview and we discovered that the Andrew Stanley on Wikipedia is a Baptist Minister. We’re thinking of creating an entry for you. What facts do we have to include? That is actually me. I became a Minister when I was five years old. You can include I am allergic to raw onions, can’t eat cheese and onion crisps without being sick, I eat far too much takeaway especially from a pizza place named after some Indians because of their €9.99 deal, am addicted to Subway, I have a really dodgy knee from numerous football injuries and once broke my foot by catching it in the back wheel of a bike.
Andrew Stanley takes his solo show ‘Come On’ to The Laughter Lounge, Dublin, on May 6th. Tickets are on sale now priced €16 and you can get them here.
