RYAN’S HEROICS - Katherine Ryan Interview

The fourth year of the Vodafone Comedy Festival will present the largest international contingent the event has yet seen, including Trevor Noah, Sara Pascoe and Al Murray. Another comedian making the trip is Canadian star Katherine Ryan, but it’s a journey she knows well.

“My dad grew up in Cork, and moved to Canada when he was 30,” she says. “Even before I was born, my mom was travelling over with me, and then at least once a year my whole life. Now I gig here a lot, in Dublin, Belfast and Cork, and my Irish family want to see my daughter about every three months.”
The trip is no longer transatlantic. Ryan is now based in London, and regular appearances on TV shows like 8 out of 10 Cats and Mock The Week have established her as a shining light of the British comedy scene. The collective element of the panel-show format is far removed from the lonely pursuit of standing on stage alone, but Ryan believes the experience has helped her burgeoning stand-up career.
“I get a lot of my panel stuff transferring into my tour. I’m not a one-liner comedian, but I do like to get the joke out fast. Panel shows have been a great place to train to do that as quickly as possible, or you’re not going to make the edit. You have two seconds; make it good! It makes me a faster stand-up writer too, because my style is very pop-culture, very news-based. It wouldn’t make sense to be doing a tour talking about, say, Jimmy Savile. It’s tragic, sure, but it’s old. It’s done!”
Ryan certainly doesn’t shy away from potentially delicate issues. Her new show, Glam Role Model, deals with single motherhood, sex and abortion. No subject is off-limits.
“I don’t think there’s a point in anything if it’s not funny. The world is a very dark place if you allow it to be, and people are grim. You’ve gotta make everything as upbeat as you can. I get pretty frank at times, but I don’t think that I’m ever taking a cheap shot.”
Her candour, particularly when sharing details of her own life, can be disarming.
“If you don’t want me to talk about you cheating on me, then maybe don’t cheat on a comedian. If you don’t want me to discuss not getting child support, maybe pay it. I don’t talk about people in a way that is going to humiliate them unfairly, and I’m never really just talking about myself; I think you need to hold a mirror up to your audience, because I think that’s what people want to see. When I talk about my experiences, I’m just trying to connect with other people.”
Audiences at the Iveagh Gardens can expect a biting, sharp and flamboyant performance. Going from playing solo shows, where she is the main draw, to a festival set-up doesn’t faze Ryan. “I don’t mind if they’re not fans of mine, it’s better. If they are fans of mine, then they’re fans to lose.”