Russell Kane was nominated three times before he finally won an Edinburgh Comedy Award. Fresh from receiving his trophy, which this year is sponsored by Fosters, the comedian had to face the harsh realities of his success: You no longer have anything to moan about, and everybody expects you to be amazing.
“This really goes against my whole system of losing,” he said. “Moaning about losing then gives me the energy to do the next show. I might just injure myself with [this award]. Then I get to keep it and I have something to moan about.”
Even worse, he can’t even celebrate with a drink. The day he won his award he had to perform in the evening, then the following morning he was up at 7am to perform at the Reading festival before returning to Edinburgh for his tea.
“The audience tonight are going to be expecting something amazing,” he said. “If this was America and I’d won this my audience tonight would be uncontrollable. They’d be like: ‘Oh my god, he’s the guy that’s won! He can’t fail!’.
“But we’re not, we’re in the UK so they’re going to have their arms folded and be going: ‘You wee cocky little so-and-so, let’s see what you’ve got’. Which is why I’ve got to drink tea and behave myself beforehand.”
His winning show, Smokescreens and Castles, was an exploration of self, his family and the consequences of his Dad buying his own council house, and has been described by many as a coming of age story.
“For the first time ever, rather than me having that very working class ethic of ‘Whatever you say, I’ve done it by hard work. I don’t need these elites and middle class people to give me the stamp of approval’. Suddenly, that chip is removed from my shoulder. Hopefully permanently.”
A great deal of his show was putting down those chips that he has carried with him. Gone is the sulky youth, now he’s an award-winning comedian.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I honestly am one of those guys that never win competitions. I do well, but I get there by hard work. You need a little bit of talent but mostly it’s about how much life you’re willing to not have.”
SECOND COMES RIGHT AFTER FIRST
