Vauxhall with the Fringe on top

Every year, hundreds of performers migrate from South London to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Jack Barry has been among them for more than a decade, writes Joe Marshall.

He first took to the stage as part of the Leeds University sketch group Tealights, before becoming a stand-up comedian.

He said, “I wanted to go to Cambridge and be in the footlights, like all the most successful comedians, but I wasn’t clever enough.”

He said that the experience of doing an hour at the fringe differs from a short set as part of a showcase in South London.

People expect a degree of heart and cohesion to the material. They want to be challenged as opposed to just being made to laugh.

Indeed, Jack’s solo show ties together his cat, therapy and psychedelic drugs, with a thoughtfulness and fast-paced charm that would win over even the most jaded of comedy fans.

Jack lives in Stockwell, with his partner. He said: “People see it as a crossroads to get to other places, but it’s got a great community.”

“There’s a good community of comedians who live nearby in South London. Sean McLoughlin is one of my favourites. He’s from Brighton but he lives in Streatham. Harriet Kemsley and Bobby Mair, they live round the corner from me as well.

“We’ve got a Whatsapp group called the breaky boys. We sometimes go for brunch on a weekday if we haven’t got anything to do, to throw ideas around and chat. We like to frequent places around Borough Market, or sometimes we go around Streatham or Clapham Common.

“There are some great South London comedy nights. Laugh Train Home is one of the nicest ones. There are a few around Brixton.

“Now that I’ve put this year’s fringe to bed, and I can stop panicking about that, I’m going to try and set up a regular comedy night around the Brixton / Stockwell area.”

Of course, getting into comedy is no mean feat. Jack said “You have to do open mic gigs and work your way up to paid gigs from there. That is a bit of a slog.

“You go to quite a lot of terrible gigs, for no money, and you have to do that for a long time to get good enough where people will actually pay you to do it.”

He describes Edinburgh as a comedy boot camp but recognises the difference social media has made.

He said: “There’s lots of comedians coming up here now who already have a big following on Tik Tok or Instagram. That’s a better way to reach a much wider audience.”

Jack has experienced some mainstream success, playing bit parts in the sitcoms Catastrophe and Cuckoo, and performing on The Russell Howard Hour, but he prefers to view these accomplishments as luck.

He did however acknowledge a bigger buzz around his show this year. “I’m definitely playing to some bigger crowds. I’m in a bigger room than I was in before. Some days it’s been sold out – that’s been amazing.”

Now in its 75th year, Edinburgh is still a proving ground for anyone involved in the arts.

 

Pictured: Jack Barry – Picture: Matt Stronge