Witness an evening of classic prop humour and improv with Jason Byrne
Before starting off as a comedian, Jason Byrne was what he calls a ‘lighting man’, where he looked after the lighting for theatre plays and rock concerts. One evening, after a rather surprising rendezvous with the owner of a comic bar, he found himself stuck with seven small gigs in the same place.
“When I took up comedy, no one was more disappointed than me. My mum, my father, wife — everyone was supportive, but I thought these were risky waters to dive in,” he says, as he talks about his baby steps.
After almost two decades in the business, Jason is a successful comedian and a radio host, popular for his improvisations on stage. “To be very honest, I have absolutely no idea what I do when I get on stage. Sure, I have pointers lined up and a general outline planned, but the improvisation — I surprise myself! There is a completely different part of my brain that opens itself up; something that doesn’t happen otherwise,” Jason explains.
When it comes to the comedian, the audience often wonders what it is that prompts a certain chain of thought in a comedian’s mind, how they create their content — and, Jason tells us that he has a rather simple way. “Comedians have a quite animated picture of life in their heads — everything from my wife, my three children to my mum is material to me.”
It is also quite interesting to know how the comedian plans out his show. “When it comes to writing stand up, I sit myself down to write, make pointers on literally anything. But, the live experience is something different. You can’t judge if your show is funny when you are writing it, only on the stage will you know that,” he adds.
“Usually, I visit charity shops and look for really strange props like a giant duck or rubber hands and then bring them on stage. I let the story develop on stage. If it doesn’t work for the first three times, I throw it away. You have to see what props and a live audience combined can do — it is inexplicable.”
When asked what he expects from his Indian audience, Jason’s expectations are simple — “open minds. This is my first time performing in India and even though I know a lot about India’s culture, I don’t know much about the Indian audience.”
But what does one do when the jokes aren’t working “My shows are like organised chaos from where people leave happy. However, there are times when it isn’t my evening and the jokes aren’t working out, which is something that is inevitable. When this happens, I pretend I’m delivering a lecture on climate change, carry on for another three hours, give the audience some homework and reading assignments and finally sneak out the back door,” Jason laughs.
As far as hecklers go, people don’t care much about passing unnecessary comments. “I have been in the comic circuit for over 20 years now and I don’t get hecklers — people already know what to expect from my comedy. There is audience banter that no one can escape and usually that lets people loose,” he tells us.
Watching live comedy performance is exhilarating and Jason promises to leave your insides hurting. “Imagine you and your friends are left in the toy shop all night and end up having the best fun — this is what my shows are like,” he signs off with a grin.
On September 17, 7 pm, At Tata Theatre, NCPA, NCPA Marg, Nariman Point Tickets: Rs 750 - Rs 2,500
