COMEDY
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ZOE LYONS Brighton-based comic offers a pick and mix of stories and gags
Almost a decade since a debut solo show earned her an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Newcomer, Zoe Lyons is now very much at ease behind the mic. ‘I’m enjoying myself on stage more these days,’ explains the Brighton-based comic. ‘I think I was very affected by nerves for many years. Most comics get some nerves and that can be a good thing; you need that sort of energy to get up on stage. I think I was somewhat hindered by additional anxieties that didn’t really help me. I’ve largely shed those anxieties as I’ve got older, and taken them off like a jumper that has been really scratchy and irritating. I’m much happier as a result.’
Having not performed at the Glasgow Comedy Festival for some time, Lyons is performing a show featuring ‘an old- fashioned pick and mix of things I've been
playing around with on the circuit. Some proper tried and tested material sprinkled with ideas that haven’t quite hit puberty yet.’ She sees the GCF as ‘very much a comedy SAS mission. You come to Glasgow, do the job and leave, whereas Edinburgh is like being on a month-long stakeout. In that respect GCF is far more fun.’ She vehemently refutes the suggestion that a psychology degree helps her deal with difi cult crowds. ‘Given the chance again I wouldn’t bother with university; I would have done a plumbing or carpentry apprenticeship, something actually useful. Neither of those skills would help with awkward audiences but at least I’d be secure in the knowledge that none of my taps drip at home. And if I wanted to I could put up a shelf.’ (Murray Robertson) ■ The Stand, Glasgow, Fri 18 Mar.
54 THE LIST 4 Feb–7 Apr 2016