Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/741600
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2016 32 This Week Who were your stand-up com- edy idols as you were first get- ting into the scene, and did they have a direct influence on your act? As a teenager, I rented Richard Pryor's 'Live on the Sunset Strip' video (yes, video, remember them?) so many times the rental shop eventually gave me a copy. It has stood the test of time and remains one of best stand up per- formances of all time. I didn't get into stand up until much later, when Eddie Izzard was in his pomp. Neither has a direct influ- ence on my act, aside from mak- ing me realise that I had an urge to get on stage and make stran- gers laugh. How did your act evolve over time, and how did you adapt to audiences as you went along? The first year of doing stand up is learning how not to die on your arse. The second year you get funny and all the remaining years are spent getting better and moaning about not getting your sitcom commissioned. Audiences differ from town to town, country to country; they can even change during an in- terval. There's a secret website, known only to comedians, which holds audience details for each town and country. I've just looked up Malta it says "Don't mention rubbish collection and never let your pet rabbit out of your sight." Do you think stand-up come- dians need to have a certain type of 'character', or is there a niche for everyone if they work hard enough? There is a niche for everyone. Which is fine, unless someone's already filled your niche. No one likes to have their niche filled. How do you think stand-up comedy is adapting to the all- online era? Many years ago, before my time, a comedian could use the same twenty-minute set for the whole of their career. But now, your material, one way or anoth- er, ends up online. Either with your consent or without. So, you need to constantly keep writing. Another massive change is that it is now possible to gather a mas- sive support base with out be- ing on TV. Also, we comedians are now battling for laughs with thousands of videos of kittens falling off things. Tough times. What advice would you give to budding stand-up comedi- ans? Have a back up plan for when it all goes wrong. Because the chances of it going right are, slim. Also, watch and learn but never watch and copy. Are you looking forward to performing in Malta? I've never been to Malta, aside in transit to Gozo, so I'm mas- sively looking forward to the trip and gig. Countries that drive on the left side of the road are the best! Finally... what's funny? Everything! Especially kittens falling off things, apparently. The 15th edition of the Eden Comedy Club will be taking place at Eden Cinemas, St Ju- lian's on October 28. Jeremy O'Donnell will be joined on the night by fellow UK comedian Alan Francis, with Geoff Whit- ing serving as compere. Doors open at 19:30. For tickets and more information log on to edencinemas.com.mt or call on 2371 0400. Learning not to die on your arse British stand-up comedian Jeremy O'Donnell speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about struggling through that crucial first year in a comedy career and the continuing struggle against funny online videos of kittens ahead of his performance at the 15th edition of the Eden Comedy Club on October 28 Jeremy O'Donnell Of love, lasagna and stinky fingers Why do you want to burn love to the ground? What has it done to you? A lot of people think of love as being this wondrous, beautiful, ethereal concept, that they need to spend their life looking for, this makes me sick. How do you know – I mean really know – if love exists? There isn't any uni- versal measuring system for love, is there? Not one that we can all agree on. It would be awesome if there was. If there was some sort of point, like a boiling point at which "like" becomes love. That would be great. You could just ask someone if they loved you and if they said 'no', you'd just boil them till they did. I know I seem to be getting worked up by all this, but to be honest none of this stuff really bothered me until about a year ago. You see, I've been married for nine years, and I really like my wife – but something happened at a comedy gig that made me question everything... On that note, one of the ques- tions you will be asking dur- ing the show, apparently, is "what is love?" We all have vivid memories associated with THAT Haddaway song. What are yours? When Haddaway was doing his thing, I was a young teenager trying to chat up girls and being constantly rejected. However, I refused to give up and by the time he came to Malta for his Luxol gig I had finally managed to get my fingers smelly. It was quite possibly the greatest summer of my life. Your fevered and filthy brand of humour has cracked through to the UK like something that cracks through things with per- sistent intensity. What do you think helped you achieve this career milestone, and where do you go from there? Well, there is a very, very long way to go, but things are going well. You just need to keep at it. If the top comedians in the world are always looking to improve, nobody can afford to rest on their laurels. Also, you start to real- ise that there are different ways of "doing comedy". It is a broad church, so you need to work "smarter" as well as harder. Some people are great at doing the 20 minute sets in clubs, others work better long-form. I have started to find my niche – audiences seem to enjoy the energy I bring to a night and I am really getting into MCing. At the moment, I am focusing on my one-hour shows rather than the club sets because I enjoy that more – when it is your own show, the audience has chosen to see you, whereas at a club, they want a certain type of comedy. That makes a huge difference to the dynamics of a show. Is there any advice you would give to the green and eager stand-up comedians from your not-so-green (but very eager… for foreign money) native coun- try of Malta? Write your own jokes, perfect them. Practice. Don't give up. Don't be a dick. Easy! Finally… your show promises free lasagna. I live with an Italian, and as you can imagine her lasa- gna is divine. Can you guaran- tee that your lasagna will be just as good and if not, what are the other draws of the show? There are loads of draws to this show. 1) It is interactive – peo- ple will be asked to fill out a very short questionnaire and I'll be referring to that during the show; 2) one of the most famous mod- els OF ALL TIME makes an ap- pearance (kind of), and 3) it was called "perfect" by Arts Award Voice. As far as the lasagna goes, I can guarantee that it will be very special... Tickets starting from €10 are available from www.ticketline. com.mt or from The Embassy Cinema Box Office in Valletta After amassing some great reviews for his energetic and unapologetically dirty stand-up comedy act in the UK from the likes of VICE and Arts Award Voice, Malta-born comic and DJ Steve Hili speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about his upcoming show 'Burning Love. To the Ground' which he'll be performing at Palazzo Pereira, Valletta from November 3 to 6 Steve Hili