Performer: Ger Staunton             
Photograph by: Ger Staunton
Show: Another Time Slot With Ger Staunton
Venue: Waverley Bar (Upstairs Lounge)
Promoter: Indie
Online: Box Office Facebook Website

Tell me about your Edinburgh show.

It’s a 45 min stand-up show delivered in a relaxed, conversational style. It starts at 5pm each evening so perfect to grab a pint and listen to a grumpy Irish man telling self-deprecating stories.

Tell me about your first gig.

My first gig was in a lovely venue in Dublin called The House Presents. I did 10 minutes and got paid, leading me to immediately think if i didn’t quit my job straight away I may end up with too much money.

Do you have any rituals before going on stage?

Put on my black jumper and grab a beer.

Tell me about your best and worst review.

The worst review was two years ago at the Fringe when a Broadway Baby guy gave me 2 stars while saying I was “surprisingly funny”. He also said I had “some satisfying links back to earlier material” which is the longest way to spell ‘callback’ I’ve seen to date.

Reciting the better ones is less fun.

During this Edinburgh run, do you plan to read reviews of your show?

Sure. If I see one I’m not going to ignore it. But good or bad it’s better if you don’t let it affect you either way.

How do you feel about reviewers generally?

The same way I feel about journalists. I have a lot of respect for the ones who you can see have studied and honed their craft. But for every one of them there’s 100 bebo versions out there.

In April 2018, YouTube comedian, Markus Meechan (aka Count Dankula) was fined £800 for training his girlfriend’s pug dog to do a Nazi salute with its paw, in response to the phrase ‘Gas the Jews’. Do you believe Meechan committed a criminal offence, and why?

It’s rarely helpful to say “gas the jews” in any circumstances, so from that angle he was always going to get backlash. But a dog doing any kind of army salute is always gonna give me a chuckle.

Are there any subjects that are not suitable for comedy?

No. It all depends on the intended target of the joke. Who’s face the custard pie lands on.

Have you ever gone too far?

For some people maybe. I’ve other friends who say I’m too safe. So it’s not up to me to say what’s too far. Every audience member enters the venue with their own lines and moral barometers.

Looking back over your time as a comedian, tell me about the best gig of your career.

I do a theatre show in my hometown of Castlebar each year and that’s probably my new favourite every time.