Fringe26 Interview: David Tsonos

Two shows, one comedy genius!
The Mumble got the lowdown

Hello David, so where are you from originally, and where are you based these days?
I was Born and raised in Montreal Quebec Canada, In my twenties I moved to Vancouver and in my thirties I moved to Toronto. My forties were in London and now in my early fifties I live in Brighton UK.

After performing in so many places around the world, what made Brighton the place you decided to call home?
After lockdown my wife was working from home and as a comic I work all over we decided to move out of London and found a nice place in Brighton, so we gave it a try. Surprisingly it has worked out well. Brighton has three comedy clubs and a fringe in May so I keep busy here as well as it is easy to get to London, Gatwick and Luton airports.

You’ve been doing stand-up for 25 years — what was it that first made you think, “I could actually do this”?
There was an awkward time in Stand-up for me. It was when I was making a little bit of money doing stand-up but still had to keep my day job. I had to turn down a tour and many gigs during that time that I finally said I need to do this full time.

Do you remember your first ever gig, and what did you learn from those early days on stage?
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I did not tell any of my friends, it was in a pro club called Yuk Yuks out in Vancouver BC Canada. It surprisingly went well. I learned that doing five minutes on stage can fly by fast. Always make sure to not over run.

You describe the show as becoming your own one-man comedy club — where did that idea come from?
I have done all three roles so many times, so I thought lets do them all together. I am setting my show up like more of a comedy club atmosphere, where people can just sit back and laugh.

How has your comedy changed from when you started in Canada in 1999 to performing today in the UK and around the world?
It is so odd because there are two sides of this, one is that the times have changed so much, if you go back and see comedy specials from the late 90’s you will see material that would never work today. The other thought is that funny is funny. For me it’s age as I’ve aged, things have changed in my life and therefore my experiences have changed and my point of view has changed. Because I perform all over I try to stick with material that is broad and universal.

You’ve performed in over 20 countries — what’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about making different audiences laugh?
We are so lucky that English is such a universal language. One thing that I’ve learned is that even if the crowd does not have English as their first language they associate Stand-up with the English language just like Opera is associated with the Italian language. One thing that is interesting is that some cultures are not use to any crowd interaction they see stand-up on tv but when you see it live more unpredictable things can happen.

After 25 years on stage, what still excites you about live stand-up?
Stand-up is never a boring job it always keeps you on your toes, it always challenges you as a comic. When I am on stage I can tell what an audience wants and I can pivot the show in that direction. Even though a comedian steps on stage with a plan in mind, things can happen that they need to deal with and change mid joke to meet that change. This is where you see the difference between a stand-up comic and an actor playing the part of a stand-up comic.

You’re actually bringing two shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, can you tell us why?
Most of us comics that have done the fringe before do two shows the reason why is that my solo is all done by 17:30 so i have plenty of time left in the day to do another show, but you don’t want to do a second solo show you want something easier, so my second show I MC a late night show called “The Drunk and Heckle Show” I have been doing it since 2016 its a fun show where the audience receive a paddle and if the want to heckle they have to raise a paddle to do it. It creates a controlled chaos to the show. Each night we have 3 different comedians on the show that take on the hecklers. I enjoy the show and most of my comic friends enjoy doing the spots for me.

Without giving too much away, what can audiences expect when they walk into your “comedy club”?
When you come to my show this year be prepared to laugh, this will be an hour of jokes that have been catered to the audience of Edinburgh. After living here in the UK I know what the audience wants and this show will deliver it to you.

What’s the strangest or funniest thing that has ever happened to you during a performance?
In 2016 I had the strangest thing happen, my solo that year was called “Profesional Auditioner”. It was all about my terrible acting career. One day four audience members arrived and five minutes into the show they said that they came because they thought the show was called “Professional Auctioneer.” I mean who would even want to see that show?

You have ten seconds to convince someone walking down the Royal Mile to come and see your show — what’s your pitch?
Here it is, “Show starts at 16:30. It’s going to be like walking into a comedy club with an hour of non stop laughs. Your comedian David Tsonos has been doing comedy for 25 years around the world. Come and see this comic before it gets sold out.”