upfront
Comedy Port
Daniel Sloss
Touring the UK, and stopping off in Cardiff and
Cardigan, is Scotland’s rising talent, and incredibly
funny guy, Daniel Sloss. Having completed his fifth
official Edinburgh Fringe Show this summer which he
believes to be his best yet, aged only 23, Daniel is well
established as one of the best new stand-up comedians
the UK has recently produced. When asked to try to
define his material, Daniel describes it as “just me and
my weird, stupid way of looking at the world and my
evil plans,” which is rather modest for a comedian who
routinely sells out 50-date tours.
Since joining the comedy circuit aged 16, Daniel has
been regularly referred to as a ‘young comedian’ but
pic: JILL FURMANOVSKY
now, age 23, he is joining the ranks of the big-time
comedians who gain widespread acclaim but are also
increasingly open to criticism. When questioned about the difficulties of offending through comedy, Daniel
says “whenever I say something risqué it’s because I find it funny, I’m not that tactical or smart. I’ve always
been risqué, even when I was younger, I just got away with it more because I looked adorable – it was like I was
cheeky and I didn’t mean it”.
Alongside producing consistently funny material, Daniel’s passion for his comedy is evident. He also admits
that he loves the attention, saying “I love a room full of people giving me their attention, it’s a great way of
seeing your thoughts get listened to and having people agree with you. When you offer an opinion and they
laugh with you it’s like oh my god, I’m normal. It’s a security blanket”. Of people who don’t always agree with
his perspectives, Daniel says “I don’t care if they agree with my opinion, I’m there to make them laugh and
some people let their opinion get in the way of that”.
As his parting words, Daniel says of his stand-up: “It’s me and if you like it please come and see me and if you don’t,
please don’t come and see me.” With an already long history of outstanding success and genuinely funny material,
Daniel just keeps on getting better and better. LS
Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan, Wed 9 Oct. Tickets: £14. Info: 01239 621200 / www.mwldan.
co.uk. Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Sun 13 Oct. Tickets: £13.50. Info: 0871 4720400 / www.
glee.co.uk
Gina Yashere
In 2007, comedian Gina Yashere got her American
working visa, packed her bags, sold her house, and
laughed her way to LA where she now gets to spend her
nights on the comedy circuit and her days sunbathing.
But this October the Londoner will be back touring in
the UK: “This is my home, at the end of the day, this is
where my base is.”
Despite loving LA life, she admits the comedy circuit in
the UK is a lot better. “There are a lot of actors out here
pretending to be stand-up comics, who don’t actually
really respect stand-up,” explains Gina; “they use the
stage to do a seven-minute monologue and hope they
will get a sitcom or a movie out of it. There’s a lot of
fake stand-ups.”
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