The Scottish Comedian Looks Forward to the Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Gill Sherry
My scheduled chat with Connor Burns is postponed thanks to a delayed flight to Dublin. The Scottish stand-up is flying to Ireland with his pal, Kai Humphries, a fellow comedian currently touring Europe with his Gallivanting live show. Kai is opening the shows and by the time I catch up with him, he’s in Oslo, Norway.
“My first gig was in Glasgow in a pub called YesBar in 2017,” Connor informs me when I ask how his own comedy journey began. “It was a Scottish independence-themed bar. They ran a comedy night on a Thursday night, and I went along and did my first ever five minutes.”
And? How did it go?
“It went really well. I remember thinking, maybe I’m really good at this. And then my second gig was also in Glasgow, and I learned that, actually, I wasn’t very good at it! I was immediately humbled.”
Connor, who was born and raised in Edinburgh, was 23 at the time and rather than invite his friends and family along for moral support, he kept details of his gigs to himself.
“I didn’t tell my family or anybody that I was doing stand-up until I was probably three or four months in. I knew that if I was really bad, I would just keep it to myself and never have to do it again. Thankfully, the first one did go well. I think maybe if it hadn’t… I wouldn’t have stuck with it.”
But stick with it he did until eventually, he was able to walk away from his day job.
“I was fixing washing machines and tumble dryers. As much as I didn’t particularly love that job, it was good to have alongside the first year of comedy because I had time to do stuff and try and be funny.
When I handed in my resignation to pursue comedy full-time, my boss told me he’d never been so happy to see a letter of resignation cross his desk!”
Connor believes it was definitely a case of jumping before he was pushed. However, he’s never looked back. In August 2024 he enjoyed a sell-out run at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“I’d done stuff at the Fringe previously. The sell-out in 2024 was my second full hour for my new show, 1994. The year before that was Vertigo. Vertigo was great, we sold out a 110-seater room every day. For 1994 we moved up to a 3000-seater theatre. It was awesome.”
Other than the size of the crowd, how did the two latest Fringe experiences differ?
“I had walls! That was the big difference. The first time I was in this awful gazebo. I didn’t have any actual structure, so it was nice to be in a bricks and mortar venue. And people came as well! Those early years, you’re just trying to make a name for yourself, but now it’s really fun because people are there from the very first show. It takes the stress out of it.”
Although Connor no longer suffers from pre-gig nerves, he does recognise that success brings new challenges.
“I knew this time that I needed to hit the ground running right from the first show. Usually, your first week at the Fringe is quite quiet so you’ve got time to sort things out. This time, it was full from night one, and I can’t let those audiences down. It’s a wee bit more pressure because you’ve got to be day-one ready.”
And ready he was. With reviews including glowing comments such as ‘a proper old-school hour of comedy from a bright young talent’ and ‘just the tonic’ it’s clear Connor is a hit on the modern comedy scene. And word is getting around. Not only did he take Vertigo to New York, he’s had four tours of Australia, including a performance at Sydney Opera House.
“It’s unbelievable that you get to do it, but comedy is one of those things where places get easier and easier to play as you get better. When you’re new, you play to the back of people’s heads in a pub where they’re also trying to watch the football. But when you step in front of 2,000 people at a giant comedy gala at Sydney Opera House, it’s genuinely the scariest thing ever because it’s so perfect.”
The reception from the Australians is, he tells me, also pretty special.
“I think we’re very similar people. The Aussies and British folk don’t tend to take life too seriously. We tend to try and laugh at stuff that’s unpleasant, so I think it’s a very direct translation.”
Translation certainly won’t be required when he appears on stage in Glasgow in March. The Glasgow International Comedy Festival runs from 12th to 30th March with Connor set to perform at King’s Theatre on 14th and 15th.
“It’s very overwhelming,” he says, “being able to play the King’s Theatre… we’re doing it twice as well which is just nuts to me! I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the biggest venue I’ve ever played to my own audience so for me it feels like a cool homecoming thing. To go back to the city where you did your first gig for about 11 people, to hopefully have two sold-out nights at the King’s Theatre, it’s a very full-circle moment.”
Connor takes to the stage at 9pm both nights, and for those concerned about the finish time he makes it clear he’ll be done by 10.30pm: “I won’t have an opener and a big interval… for those worried they will miss their last train.”
Seems he’s not just funny, he’s also considerate.
Co-incidentally, his pal, Glasgow-based Kai Humphries, is appearing at the festival on the same dates but you’ll find him at The Strand at 5pm on the 14th and 7.35pm on the 15th. Tickets for both Connor and Kai, and all other festival entertainers, can be purchased at
www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com.
“I’m really happy and proud of the show,” Connor adds. “I’ve toured it all over the place. I talk about Scotland and being Scottish a lot in the show, so it’s always fun to bring it to a home crowd.”
The content, he confirms, is a combination of jokes and stories, or ‘chunks’ as he refers to them.
“It’s usually five or six chunks and you weave in between them all. Additionally, I’ve got some straight-up punchline jokes but that’s not really how my brain works. I usually start with the end of a story and then I’ll build it all out. Eventually it grows arms and legs.”
Connor’s career certainly seems to have grown arms and legs since that first gig way back in 2017. So, what advice does he have for other wannabe comedians?
“You have to get used to wearing many hats. I talk to many comedians who say the scene was so good in the 90s, and I’m sure it was, because you’d just turn up, be a comedian and that was it. Whereas now, there’s a lot more to it. You’ve got to learn to be a social media manager, you’ve got to edit your own clips, learn how to market yourself and stuff.”
With over five million views online, it’s obvious Connor practices what he preaches.
“It’s a steep learning curve but ultimately, me posting clips of myself online has taken me from just working the circuit to being able to tour, so that would be my advice – get used to the fact that you’ll have to do three or four different jobs. Also, learn how to be comfortable and content on your own because there’s a lot of down time on the road when you’re just having to kill time by yourself.”
Spending time on his own is not currently a problem for Connor who is enjoying “bouncing around Europe” with Kai and performing in cities such as Tallinn, Prague and Budapest.
“Just don’t fall into the habit of going to the pub,” he adds. “That’s the last thing you want to do.”
Sound advice from the man considered one of the most exciting acts to emerge from the UK. Connor Burns is certainly one to watch.
