New Act of the Month: Katherine Tanney
Katherine Tanney is an up-and-coming comedian from Newcastle, who tells self-deprecating stories with a cynical edge. A regular at John Scott’s Sod The Tories at The Stand, and a recent contributor to the venue’s charity book, Tanney got into comedy through a stand-up course ran by Scott and Vladimir McTavish. She’s our New Act of the Month for January.
AD: Hi Katherine. How did you get into comedy? What made you first want to get on stage?
KT: I got dumped by a boy. He emigrated. The one before him had also emigrated. I was telling someone how gutted I was, in all seriousness, and they pissed themselves laughing and asked if I’d ever considered doing stand up.
I’d done a bit of amateur dramatics type stuff in the past and had fancied giving comedy a go for a while, so I did a stand-up course at the Live Theatre [in Newcastle] at the end of 2012, run by John Scott and Vladimir McTavish.
John and Vlad were ace, and it was a safe environment to make a tit of myself before giving it a go for real.
AD: What’s been your highlight so far?
KT: I think the highlight was actually my first ever gig – the showcase at the end of the comedy course. I almost had an involuntary bowel movement beforehand but I was completely astonished that people laughed politely and no one threw anything. I still vowed I’d never do it again afterwards, though…
AD: And low point?
KT: The low point so far is probably a charity gig I did last year. Everyone there was hammered, the microphone had horrendous feedback that they couldn’t fix, no-one listened to a word I was saying and I cut my losses about four minutes into my set and left.
AD: A lot of your material comes from the perspective of someone who’s been dealt a bad hand, if that’s fair to say. Is that just an act?
KT: [Laughs] So I sound like a miserable cow? I love a bit of healthy cynicism, but I’m actually quite jolly… There’s the odd bit that’s based on fact – I do have a pretty impressive ‘tache, for instance. But mostly it’s an act. I’m dead nice really.
AD: Who are your comedy heroes?
KT: Eddie Izzard is a genius, and Al Murray works an audience brilliantly. There’s loads of great comics locally, too. My comedy hero is probably my sister Clare, though. She’s not a comedian but she’s infinitely funnier than me.
AD: Where do you want to be in five years’ time?
KT: In my pyjamas, eating baked goods, surrounded by a small herd of adoring Spaniels. I don’t have big comedy ambitions, I just quite like doing it.
AD: Tell us something we didn’t already know about you…
KT: Until I was well into adulthood, I genuinely believed that everyone who went skiing all went to the same place. I didn’t realise that there were different resorts in different countries. I wondered why it never got full.
Are you on Twitter?
KT: I’m on there I think but I’ve never done a tweet. I’m not sure I’d know how. Me and modern technology aren’t really friends. I only recently discovered how to work the DVD player.
Follow me on Twitter, people! I’ll probably never say anything on it though.
AD: Finally, where can we see you next?
KT: I’m at The Stand in Newcastle this weekend and again on 20 January for Simon Donald’s Dyslexia benefit. I’m doing Gavin Webster’s show there on 3 February, too.
