‘There’s always been a huge amount of Scottish talent, we’ve just been ignored’: Life according to… comedian Mark Nelson

We caught up with comedian Mark Nelson as he prepares for one of his biggest shows yet at the King’s Theatre as part of next month’s Glasgow International Comedy Festival.

You’re currently on your debut tour, how much are you relishing it?

Having done the Fringe for over 10 years, I’m obviously used to solo shows but not doing a different city every night. It’s cool, a totally different experience but really fun.

Why was now the right time?

It’s a multitude of reasons. Before social media allowed people to put out their own stuff that a mass audience could see directly, the touring route was basically managed only if you’d got on Live At The Apollo.

There’s only so many people that can get on that. It’s opened up now and you see so many people that really should have been touring a lot more now getting the chance to do it.

For the first 5-6 years, I wasn’t ready to do it anyway. I think a lot of people go out and tour very, very quickly and aren’t ready for it and end up suffering because of it.

One of the reasons I love the job so much is that I’ve been able to be at home while my kids have been growing up, so I wanted to be around for that.

Then when it when it looked like a tour was going happen, the whole world shut down!

It’s been a combination of various pleasant experiences and unpleasant experiences, but it feels like the right time now.

And it all culminates at the King’s Theatre in Glasgow – how much are you looking forward to that show?

I can’t wait. The first time I did the King’s I was supporting Jim Jefferies and it was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.

It’s a huge, huge theatre, but it’s the most intimate, massive space that I’ve ever done, this wall of noise that hits you, which is fantastic.

I was in doing the launch of the festival and because it was empty, it didn’t feel that intimidating.

Two nights later, me and my wife took the kids to see Shrek there. Because it was full, I almost had a panic attack thinking; in two months time, I have to try to fill this place!.

It’s very, very exciting because it’s a proper iconic and amazing venue to play.

© Andrew Cawley

How important is the Glasgow International Comedy Festival?

It’s always been brilliant for me, it’s where I first ever did an hour. It’s a great experience because it’s a dedicated comedy festival, you get a chance to not only be in a brochure alongside huge acts when you’re a very small new act, but also you get the chance to gig alongside them.

There are so many multi-act shows and whoever in the city is doing their show that night will pop in and do a late night show at The Stand and then you’ll realise you’re on the same bill.

It’s great to work alongside these people and it’s marketed so well and there’s the Glasgow audiences obviously. It’s such a different kind of thing to the Fringe where there’s not the flyering, the massive posters everywhere. There’s not the accommodation debacles.

It’s just a number of gigs going on every single night and people respond to that. It’s incredible because you’ll find sold out shows from the kind of Frank Skinners doing the King’s right down to people doing their first ever hour in a tiny wee place.

I’d encourage audiences to go out and see as many shows by people who they don’t know as they can.

Is it a good time for Scottish comedy right now?

A lot of people have said this, that it seems like a really kind of rich vein. I remember  people like Raymond Mearns commenting on my generation, when we were coming through, and then I’ve seen it with subsequent ones.

There’s always a huge amount of talent in it, there’s always been an incredible array of comedians in Scotland, and I think it’s just that we’ve kind of been ignored quite a lot.

With the rise of people being able to put out their own clips and through podcasts, I think it’s only now that people are realising that there’s actually a huge amount of great comedians and you don’t just see it in Scotland – the North West of England and Belfast have got incredible scenes now.

It’s always existed, it’s just people wouldn’t be made aware of it, whereas now there’s so many more opportunities for people to find this stuff out.

Coming out of Covid, how much have social media and podcasts helped?

One of the good things that has come out of everybody being trapped indoors and having to find new ways to do it is you’ve got an entire generation of comics who now don’t just have the skills in comedy but now also in editing, filming and sound.

If you really want to, you’re now able to make your own TV show the way you want to make it, in your own home, which is amazing.

I think podcasting is one of the best kind of forms of media that’s come along in decades because it’s still one of those media that isn’t for instant gratification.

It’s not that kind of disposable media where people are constantly just flicking to hear the next thing.

If you’re in a podcast, there’s a good chance you’re sitting there for an hour and you’re dedicating yourself to listen to that. That’s very rare now.

Do you enjoy creating Instagram Reels/ TikToks or is there pressure to get clips out?

I do enjoy it. The opportunity it gives people has completely changed the industry.

Starting out, the main focus was all the other time that you’re not gigging, you should be focused on writing. Now you’ve got this additional thing of remembering you’ve got these clips to edit and all this to do. It has added a lot more work to it and comedians hate extra work!

I’m kind of in two minds about it because I think when things do well, it’s amazing. I’ve benefited massively from clips in the past, from social media, so I can’t really complain about it, but I don’t like the instant disposability of it.

I see people on the train, literally just flicking something away. I don’t like the idea of if something hasn’t grabbed me within two seconds, then I’m completely dismissing it.

© Trudy Stade

You’re always sharing other comedians’ work and bigging them up – is the Scottish scene a very supportive place at the moment?

I think what a lot of people are starting to realise is that there is space for everyone. It benefits everyone to all promote each other, especially in regards to sharing the clips and sharing links to each other’s shows and stuff like that because the algorithm that you’re betrothed to the whole time notices this, and then you’re on other people’s timelines and all this kind of stuff.

But it’s also just nice. Because I’m such a huge fan of stand up, I’ve always been someone who, when they see someone they like, will make sure that other people know about them as well, because I think it’s a good thing.

What would you like to see over the next couple of years for the Scottish comedy scene?

I’d like to see a lot more people getting chances on TV. I’d like to see TV comedy kind of break away from that thing that’s existed from even when I was a teenager where there was a group of about 12 to 15 comics that are pretty much used for absolutely everything.

It’s nothing to do with the people that are on it. They’re incredibly talented. It’s just lazy booking. It’s just people coming in and not being bothered going out and discovering new talent because they’ve already got a ready-made list of people that have been on the show before.

It doesn’t benefit anyone. It doesn’t benefit the audience because they get sick of seeing the same people regardless of whether they like them or not. It doesn’t benefit the acts that are doing it, it does financially but by the end, they’ll become over-saturated.

I’d just love to see people take the chance to come up above Birmingham and actually check out people that are doing stuff. There’s a huge amount of talent around and the industry on TV would massively benefit from them being given a chance to do it.

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Mark Nelson: All the Best, March 22, King’s Theatre, Glasgow, glasgowcomedyfestival.com