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Catch This Expat Comedian's Act Before His Big Edinburgh Show
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For those who don’t know, Edinburgh Fringe is the world's largest performance arts festival and a highly coveted booking for any comedian, so getting to preview this show ahead of time is an amazing opportunity!
Herd lived in China for 14 years before returning to the UK and has played all across China as well as various spots around the UK. He’s now come back to China for a whirlwind tour ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe debut and we caught up with him to find out more about his comedy journey and upcoming show.
Herd will be making his debut at Edinburgh Fringe later in August
I have been doing stand-up since December 2016, although I had dabbled in it once or twice before then just as something to do when open mics started running in Shanghai where I didn’t take it all that seriously. Since 2016, I took it up as a more serious pursuit with goals to work towards and to keep pushing myself to write material.
What made you decide to start doing comedy and how did you get started?
Mostly when a friend of mine, who I never had down as being particularly funny, started doing it, I wondered if I might be able to pull it off in the same way. I’ve always enjoyed being able to make people laugh but had never really considered stand up until he started doing it, so I guess it came from a place of competitiveness.
Herd has performed in cities all across China
As you’d expect, it was extremely nerve-wracking in the minutes leading up to your own spot on stage and you begin to fear the worst possible outcome (like total silence, heckling, or people walking out). But in the end, the set went fine and getting laughs during that first attempt was a massive boost in confidence. If I had bombed, I am not sure I would have returned to it as I probably would have been mortified – little did I know at that time how many much worse gigs were yet to come – but bombing is part of an important learning process that all comedians, even those at the highest levels, occasionally have to endure from time to time.
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By far, my first London showcase gig at the Museum of Comedy earlier this year was my top highlight. It was a showcase featuring Chinese comics and former expat comics in China which I had the chance to MC – the crowd was electric, and it really felt like it was from start to finish a really great gig at a really prestigious venue.
My worst moment I would say was when I did a so-called “gong” show: a dreadful format of a show that basically sets comics up to fail whereby all comics have five minutes maximum, usually with a two-minute grace period after which three selected audience members who have been assigned a red card can then hold those cards up to get rid of the comic on stage if they don’t like them – if all three go up, the comic hears the sound of a gong and they need to stop their set and leave. At one club, also in London (Up the Creek), this format is used as the barrier for entry for future club bookings. During this particular show, I think I made some awful joke about Brexit, which not only wasn’t met with laughter but also the sound of someone shouting “Send him back to Scotland!”. Obviously, I was gonged off and left the venue during the intermission because I was so mortified by my performance. The next time I performed at that club I got through my five minutes card free and had a stormer of a gig so I definitely learned from it!
Herd's Beijing show is a great opportunity to catch some top-notch international comedy
I like a variety of comics of different joke writing styles, but I think I am more of a story telling comedian above all else. These days, comics such as Steve Hofstetter, Mark Normand, Sam Morrill and Des Bishop influence my style more, but I’m also a big fan of classic Scottish comics such as Billy Connolly and Kevin Bridges.
Your upcoming show in Beijing will be a preview of your show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, can you tell us a bit more about the show?
My show is the classic Englishman in New York troupe, so basically I want to share my experiences and insights of living in Shanghai to people who might not be so familiar with the place. It’s part biographical and picks up on many of the day-to-day experiences I had over my 14 years as well as pondering some of its quirks and comparing it against my own background in Scotland or the UK at large. It’s entirely relatable to people who have spent time in China and for someone trying to find a niche to make myself stand out more in the saturated UK market, I believe I do have some unique material and stories to share.
Lastly, any words of advice for other budding comedians out there?
Write and get on stage as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to bomb and try to stay out of comedy scene politics. Try to forge friendships with comics within your circle who you can work alongside, take advice from and be able to occasionally get stuff off your chest that’s bothering you about some of the low points of comedy. And if you are able to forge friendships or a solid relationship with a pro comic, that can be extremely valuable (in my case, the great Des McLean has been nothing short of an amazing mentor to me and a brilliant confidant who has really helped my own comedy come on a long way!).
La Maison Lyonnaise
44 Guanghua Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区光华路44号
Li-Pi Records
4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区酒仙桥路4号798艺术区
READ: Save the Date – The 1st CBD Craft Beer Fest is Coming!
Images: courtesy of Mike Herd
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