Five questions for Dan Nightingale
Circuit favourite Dan Nightingale returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with his new stand-up show, Dan Nightingale Is Trying His Best Not To Be A Dick. The Lancastrian mirth-maker talks to Giggle Beats about his new show, his Edinburgh experiences, his new podcast and more.
Hi Dan. Tell us about your new show…
My show is called Dan Nightingale ‘Is Trying His Best Not To Be A Dick.’ Catchy eh? It’s an hour of stand-up charting my day-to-day struggle between living a well behaved, emotionally empathetic existence and my natural inclination toward just being a bit of a dick.
It’s very funny, but then I would think that. As it’s developed it’s become a storytelling show, including me seeing a fat squirrel get blown out of a tree, and the time when my girlfriend needed a poo. If you’re after biting political comedy… I’d look elsewhere.
Is it tougher ‘not to be a dick’ when you’re working non-stop for a month?
Start of the Fringe month, I’d say no. See me at the beginning of August? I’ll be energised, enthused and on best non-dick like behaviour… But by the end of the Fringe, week four maybe? The stress can start to show.
To avoid any unpleasantness I will be joining the gym, having morning constitutionals and avoiding all reviews. Reading your own reviews is like asking exes what you’re like in bed…. You just don’t need to know. You’re good enough, in your own mind, and that’s what counts.
What’s your most memorable Edinburgh experience?
In 2008 I was sharing a flat with comedians John Robbins and Matt Forde. There was a night toward the end of the run, where John went a little Fringe crazy. He bought £80’s worth of booze and set up a bar in the living room that quickly became known as ‘John’s bar’. He twisted his T-shirt into a knot at the front and proceeded to camp it up for the best part of four hours. I saw some great shows that year, but John’s bar topped the lot.
Who will you are seeing at the Fringe?
James Acaster, Carl Donnelly, Chris Martin, Benny Boot, Mike Wilkinson, Danny McLoughlin, Mick Ferry, Come Heckle Christ (can’t wait), Katie Mulgrew, Phil Ellis’ kids show, Axis of Awesome, Pete Otway and Brennnan Reece, Gein’s Family Giftshop, my mate Tim when he comes to visit, the staff from The Stand because they’re all bloody legends and my Auntie Christine who lives in Glasgow.
You’ve started your own podcast, Dan Nightingale’s In The House. Tell us a bit about that and where we can listen to it…
It’s on iTunes and Poddomatic and it’s out every Monday and involves me going round to one of my showbiz, comedy mates’ houses and talking bollocks to them for about eighty minutes. It’s great fun and it’s an excuse to be nosey and judge my peers on how they live.
Dan Nightingale Is Trying His Best Not To Be A Dick, Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh, 30 July – 24 August, pleasance.co.uk
