For this month’s comedy section, we turn the tables and put your regular columnist, Daniel Inniss, under the spotlight to give us the lowdown on all things stand-up.
Have you always been a comedian at heart?
I’ve always loved to make people laugh, but going into comedy wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. That only came about around six years ago, when a mate of mine said, “You think you’re funny, Daniel, so why don’t you do something?” Not long after that I entered a charity comedy school, raising money for Cancer Research, where you had eight weeks of training with a professional comic and then did a five-minute routine in front of 190 people. It went so well that I ended up doing 12 minutes. I carried on doing some open mics, started getting booked around Sheffield, and here we are…
Indeed. How would you describe your comedy?
I’m big on observational humour. That’s always worked for me. I’ll note things down on the go, stuff that I see and think I can work with. I’m big on working with the crowd, engaging with the audience – especially if someone’s being a bit of knob! That can be a bit of a gift for a comedian. But, to be honest, Sheffield has very comedy-savvy audiences who are a joy to perform to, so we don’t have many people being genuinely disrespectful.
Did you have many influences growing up in terms of developing your sense of humour?
I think there’s an element of having an innate enjoyment of making people laugh, which I think I’ve always had, but my mum and dad are and were both funny. Being first-generation West Indians, they had banter together in the house that I wish I would’ve recorded because it was so funny. I think that had an impact and you begin to pick up on those cues.
Are there any lines that you won’t cross with your comedy?
I talk with comedians about this all the time. You know, is there a line? Are there things you just can’t say? For me, personally, I do have a line: I don’t talk about illnesses, especially cancer. I do know comedians that have done it, and I don’t know – maybe they’ve done it for cathartic reasons? Maybe making a joke out of it helps? Some comedians use dark humour for educational and therapeutic reasons, and some comedians would argue that you’re coming to an 18+ comedy night, so they can say what they like. But yeah, I’m personally not too big on dark humour, but that wouldn’t stop me from booking a comedian who uses dark humour, because it’s important that we reflect a broad number of styles at our nights.
Between yourself and your friend and fellow comic, Oli Clarke, you’ve built up a loyal following at the regular comedy nights you’ve both put on around Sheffield. How popular is Sheffield as a live comedy city right now?
The comedy scene in this city is amazing. I genuinely feel like we’ve usurped the likes of Leeds and Liverpool – which I’ve always considered the Mecca of live comedy – and I say this because I know we regularly have Liverpudlian comics coming to Sheffield to play. Our audiences here are genuinely fantastic, always up for coming out for a laugh, and the quality of the nights – whether it’s at Hagglers Corner, Yellow Arch, Picture House, Ship Inn, Indie-Go, Toolmakers or The Yorkshireman – is always very consistent. I’d recommend to anyone reading this to pop down and see what the fuss is about!
HAVE A LAUGH! FREE COMEDY NIGHTS AROUND SHEFFIELD
The Ship Inn – 1st Monday of the month
Hagglers Corner – 1st Weds
Picture House Social – 2nd Mon
The Yorkshireman – 1st Thurs
Yellow Arch – 3rd Thurs
Indie-Go – Last Thurs
Toolmakers – Last Fri
