Profile: Ed Byrne

In Oxford on Monday: Ed Byrne

Ed Byrne is on the road and the recorded voice of The Electronic Woman is rattling around his hire car. "You-are-travelling-westbound-

on-the-M6," she announces, in Dalek-like tones.

"Jayzus, will someone shut her up,' asks Ed, his own rich Dublin brogue carrying a hint of exasperation.

Then he laughs good-naturedly, as well he might, for life is looking up for the 28-year old comedian. His brand of observational comedy has been attracting the sort of reviews you cut out and frame.

Byrne read English at Strathclyde University before he decided to become a comic. "Well," he says, "It was inside work and there was no heavy lifting involved..."

"To tell you the truth, I couldn't be a**** getting a proper job. And I must say it's all going grand at the moment - sweet as a nut."

The main drawback about earning your living as a comedian is that people expect you to be working even when you're not.

"Yeah, people do expect me to be funny offstage," Ed admits. "Sometimes they get quite rude but if they're rude to me, I tend to be rude back. Drunk women are the worst. They come up and say things like, 'So you're a comedian, are you? Well, you're not very funny.' And I'll say something back like, 'Well, you aren't very good-looking but I wasn't going to say anything if you didn't . . .'."

"If they treat me as a comedian rather than a person, I treat them like hecklers."

Ed's roadshow rolls into Oxford on Monday when he'll be appearing at the Oxford Playhouse. He's played the city twice before.

"I did a gig at the Westgate pub and I've also done Jongluers," he reveals, before taking off on a flight of whimsy.

"I remember Jongluers well, because it's just up the road from a shop called Futon Express, isn't it?" I agree that this is so.

Ed laughs. "Futon Express! Ha! I think that's great. The idea of someone needing a futon in a hurry cracks me up. 'Quick - give me that futon immediately!' Ha ha ha!"

Although he says there are times when he switches off completely ("I just tell myself, 'I'm not thinking funny today'."), he's always scoping around for new material.

"Oh, my family are funny and I don't mind stealing from my own. My younger brother came up with a great idea for a new superhero - Patient Man. He eats a high-fibre diet and keeps fit and has the patience of 50 men.

"He just outlives his enemies. When someone says to him, 'Look Patient Man - the robbers are getting away! What should we do?' He just says, (adopting cheesy superhero baritone) 'We'll wait. They'll see the error of their ways...'."

One of Byrne's glowing reviews states that "If there's any justice, he'll be huge by Christmas."

Ed himself remains philosophical about this. "Ah, if I'm not famous by the time I'm 30, I won't give a **** any more," he says.

I point out that he's still the right side of 30, at any rate. "Yeah, but I'm already too old to be regarded as a cool young thing," he quips. "You need to be about 25 for that."

Away from his stand-up career, Byrne has also written a sitcom, which, as countless television writers will tell you, is one of the most difficult comedy projects to get right, or even to make funny.

Ed says his effort is based on his experiences as a student at Strathclyde. If he brings the same sharp observation skills to the sitcom that he brings to the stage, he may well be on to a winner. A pilot is scheduled for sometime next year.

"You-are-travelling-westbound. Delays-are-likely," barks The Electronic Woman in the car.

Ed sighs. "She's at it again," he says.

But as far as Ed Byrne's rapidly escalating comedy career goes, delays are not anticipated.