The Irish comedian on good gigs, bad gigs, her standup heroes and what makes a good soup
How did you get your start in standup?
I did work experience at a radio station when I was in college. The breakfast DJ was Bernard O’Shea, a big comedian in Ireland. He told me I should try standup because I was always joking around in the office, but I ignored him. Then he booked a gig [for me] to MC and I had two weeks to prepare. The piece of advice he gave me was to write five minutes, start with what you think is your strongest joke and end with your second strongest, whatever you’re not sure about, put it in the middle. I just had these long anecdotes about my granny. I’d never had that feeling of adrenaline before and I’m constantly chasing that.
Who inspired you when you were first starting out?
I remember watching Ava Vidal on TV and thought she was very funny. When I went to college, a guy in my class who was into standup made me a mixtape of comedy which had Chris Rock and Maria Bamford who was the greatest thing I’d ever heard in my life.
Alison Spittle: Soup is at Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 2-27 August
