The Art of Not Dying on Stage (or In a Plane) with Susan Murray

For this episode, Danny Hurst is joined by comedian, writer and broadcaster, Susan Murray She won the 1st Jongleurs New Act award and has been wowing audiences since the mid-90s. Susan has written for and appeared on many radio shows including Jeremy Hardy Talks to the Nation and Stephen K. Amos´ Life: An Idiot´s Guide and is one of the Huffington Post´s funniest women tweeters and stalwart of the British comedy circuit and the Edinburgh Fringe and has performed across the world. Susan and Danny discuss the UK comedy revolution that happened in the 80s/90s, including The Comic Strip and The Young Ones. Susan shares some great stories and trivia about some of the UK`s biggest comedians. If you can´t get enough of these podcasts, head to https://www.patreon.com/DannyHurst to access my exclusive, member-only, fun-filled and fact-packed history-related videos. KEY TAKEAWAYS Susan Murray runs the Red Imp comedy club in Walthamstow. Working on Spitting Image and one of the UK´s first adult animation shows was her path into comedy. Susan is the person behind the current comedian’s Christmas party. Held in January because everyone is working at Xmas. 95% of comics get their gigs from the Facebook page Susan started. It's still quite hard being a woman in comedy, but things are improving. Some rooms are terrible for comedy. Gigs in low ceiling rooms are easier, but ones with mirrors or round tables are hell. You can´t second guess a room, some of the gigs Susan thought would be dreadful e.g. A room full of stag parties were great. When Susan makes bread it always looks like John Merrick´s head. Comedians who do the Edinburgh Fringe end up losing money. BEST MOMENTS “I'm Scottish, manufactured, Black Country raised.” “Then The Young Ones burst on the screen, and it literally blew my mind.” “Barry Cryer was an anecdote machine.” “Gigs are a bit nicer than they used to be.” “Why would you heckle a deaf comic?” “I had people ringing me up going, can you never stop baking your s**t bread.” “You get to be really rude to people in the audience, they love it, and then you get paid for it…. What more could you want from life?” “Comedy is a delicate flower you can´t shove it anywhere and expect it to thrive.” EPISODE RESOURCES http://susan-murray.co.uk/up-coming-gigs http://www.redimpcomedy.com Find a gig FB page - https://www.facebook.com/groups/284118201700872 HOST BIO Historian, performer, and mentor Danny Hurst has been engaging audiences for many years, whether as a lecturer, stand-up comic or intervention teacher with young offenders and excluded secondary students. Having worked with some of the most difficult people in the UK, he is a natural storyteller and entertainer, whilst purveying the most fascinating information that you didn't know you didn't know. A writer and host of pub quizzes across London, he has travelled extensively and speaks several languages. He has been a consultant for exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum and Natural History Museum in London as well as presenting accelerated learning seminars across the UK. With a wide range of knowledge ranging from motor mechanics to opera to breeding carnivorous plants, he believes learning is the most effective when it's fun. Uniquely delivered, this is history without the boring bits, told the way only Danny Hurst can. CONTACT AND SOCIALS https://instagram.com/dannyjhurstfacebook.com/danny.hurst.9638 https://twitter.com/dannyhurst  https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-hurst-19574720