LARRY Dean is a multi-award-winning stand-up who has taken the UK comedy scene by storm. A gay Glaswegian whose comedy is often devastatingly filthy, Larry’s back in Glasgow to bring his new show ‘Bampot’ to the festival.
“I used to not let my family come and see my shows because I hadn’t told them I was gay, even some of them didn’t know till two months ago” says Larry.
“The reason I thought was it would come up in conversation anyway, and if they saw me on TV talking about it, the mix and pride will balance each other out.
“The main reason I did comedy was because my dad said I wasn’t funny. So it’s been my mission in life to prove him wrong – but there’s plenty of journalists who agree with him.
“It was just last year that my parents came along, forgetting what my show was about. I said to the audience that they were in and they got a round of applause – my dad was loving it.
“They didn’t know what to wear to a comedy gig, bless them, my mum was dressed like Lady Penelope and my dad looked like a First World War pilot in his leather jacket.
“My opening line of my last show was 'so I was having a w*** in Dubai' and I had to just turn to my mum and dad and go 'I'm so sorry'.”
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Larry claims not to remember when he last read a book, something which, for a certain Guardian reviewer, means his comedy isn’t ‘high-concept’ or ‘distinguished by ideas’.
But people come to a comedy show for a laugh, not for an extended essay on the human condition.
A quarter of British adults don’t read books for pleasure, and as one of those four million, I can say there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s not to say Larry’s show is all filthy gags and drunk stories.
“A good show can have both jokes and a bit of personal stuff in there, even with the best comedians like Billy Connolly,” says Larry.
“Half the things he was talking about were horrendous things which had happened to him Billy could make you cry with laughter talking about being hit as a kid. You then think two hours later ‘oh that actually happened to him, that’s awful.’
“I’m such a dork when it comes to comedy, so I try to really work on the show – you’ve got to get it ready for the Edinburgh Fringe mob, and the Guardian.
“Originally my show was meant to be about how me and my long-distance boyfriend were keeping the relationship going while he lived in Australia and I lived here. Then we broke up just before the Fringe.
“So, it’s kind of two endings. I thought the show was going to be terrible, because I don’t want to talk about being together with my ex when I’m not.
“Then people ended up liking it – maybe I should end up having heartbreak more often.”
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However, although the show itself is a laugh for Larry, many of the jokes can be a bit too much to think about too closely.
“Writing the show hasn’t been therapeutic and I still don’t find it therapeutic at all” says Larry.
“When the tour is over I’ll probably look back and hate this show because I just felt like I had to talk about it.
“I genuinely love doing the show right now and have so much fun with the material.
“I’ve not seen that many other break-up shows because it doesn’t interest me – mainly because I’m not great at dealing with rejection and break-ups.”
After several award-winning years on the circuit Larry has started to gig a lot further afield, but even someone at the top of his game gets the odd rough ride.
“Sometimes gigs really vary,” says Larry.
“British legion gigs and the ones that used to be bread and butter for comedians are a lot harder now, like working men’s clubs.
“The classic ones are when it’s like a golf club where the last event they had was the fact that they’re finally letting in women members.
“If you’ve managed to make the effort as a punter to go to a comedy gig then it shows that you’re willing to give them a chance. But if you’re making the comedians come to you, it’s a different story.
“The worst gig I had was a show in Egypt – it was kind of in this glass building, but the room wasn’t big enough for everyone who wanted to watch the comedy.
“The audience was about 70 people and they put chairs and speakers outside so people can watch you through the glass. So you could be dying inside but storming outside – so bizarre. I was told I had to do a maximum of 30 minutes and a minimum of 29 minutes before I had to introduce the next act – again, odd.
“I did bits where I was joking about homophobic slurs, and then two women burst in and grab the mic and start calling me homophobic and disgusting.
“Turns out they’d just heard it on the speakers as they were walking past and all they could hear was me shouting ‘gay’. When I finally got the mic back it was 29 minutes, it was surreal.
Larry Dean is performing Bampot at the King’s Theatre on March 14 as part of Whyte & Mackay Glasgow International Comedy Festival.
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