Finding the funny side of being so unlucky in love

Darren Harriott tells about his road to Edinburgh Festival success and the confusion caused by growing up in Oldbury

BLACK Country comic Darren Harriott is fast becoming a familiar face on TV with appearances on Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week and Comedy Central’s Roast Battle.

Then there’s the Bake Off and The Apprentice spin-offs, ITV2’s Don’t Hate The Playaz and various other game shows. He’s also just recorded a Sky One short, as part of the broadcaster’s forthcoming Romesh Presents... series.

“Basically it’s about super fans and it was made by Romesh Ranganathan’s production company,” says Darren. “That was really fun and really silly – interviewing people, a bit more man-on-thestreet type stuff.”

With more television looming – including hosting several episodes of CBBC’s The Dog Ate My Homework – such appearances mark a new chapter in the career of the Oldbury-born and bred comedian who is typically described as a ‘‘Brummie comic’’ in the media.

“It’s a very confusing place Oldbury because it’s the Black Country, but my dial code was 0121, so I felt I was Birmingham, though my council was Sandwell,” he says, with a perplexed smile. “But if you walked up the road, you were in Birmingham! Very confusing, very confusing!”

Though he talks fondly of Oldbury and Smethwick, and his family who still live there, growing up was not without drama.

While still at school, his father committed suicide, and the young Darren found himself increasingly attracted to the camaraderie of a gang (incidents he’s discussed in his live comedy shows).

But a violent beating led him to follow his own path, eventually leading Darren to trying his hand at stand-up comedy in 2006.

Hooked, he then spent several years making fleeting appearances at stand-up nights in venues across Birmingham (including Kings Heath’s Kitchen Garden Cafe and Moseley’s The Patrick Kavanagh), the Black Country and Sutton Coldfield, gradually honing his craft.

“The main thing is that you get good in the Midlands, get a 20,” he says, referring to his aim of writing 20 minutes worth of solid, gagheavy material. ‘‘Then you go to London, where no-one knows you, and you really beat it down there. And then you’re ready!”

Within a year of plying his trade across the capital’s countless comedy clubs and open mic nights, Darren was signed by an agent, and on his way to securing the first of two Comedy Award nominations at the Edinburgh Fringe.

“I moved to London on my 26th birthday, and that was when it all started to happen,” he says.

Darren’s currently in the middle of a UK tour with his third show, Good Heart Yute, in which he discusses the fact that, at 31-yearsold, he’s yet to find love – an admission he reckons has produced some of his best writing. “It’s really fun!” he enthuses.

Despite being justifiably pleased with Good Heart Yute (which earned universally positive reviews during its summer Fringe run), Darren reckons his greatest achievement so far has been Black Label – his own four-part series for BBC Radio 4.

“I’m really proud of Black Label, it’s like my own special!” he says of the series, which references material from earlier Defiant and Visceral live shows, as well as linking briefly into Good Heart Yute.

“You put it together and it’s an hour and it’s really funny and really punchy – straight to the point – and it still has that narrative in, and that bit of heart.

“I don’t think I’ve really done anything – old shows, the new show – that is better than Black Label, for me. It’s the culmination of everything together.”

Broadcast in July, each episode – Family, Gangs, Bouncer, Brummie – was recorded at Brum’s The Glee Club in front of a live audience.

“We recorded it over two nights. We did three episodes on the first night and then, on the second we did two, but the crowd was so rowdy I was really glad we did three on the first night, when they were just normal,” he laughs.

“The second crowd, a lot of people just came down from Oldbury who had never been to a comedy gig before, let alone a Radio 4 gig! So there was a lot of heckling, fun heckling – someone would shout ‘Big Johns!’; Oh, okay, only people in the West Midlands know Big Johns. Then someone would shout ‘Up the Villa!’ Oh god!” he chuckles. “They were really fun nights – but for that second night you could really tell locals who’d never been to a comedy gig were in the building.”

Despite the hassles, response to the series has strong, and Darren hopes a second series will be on the cards next year, hopefully also recorded at The Glee Club. He also envisages more TV work in 2020, meaning there’ll be no month-long Fringe run over the summer.

“I’ve had a good run, I’ve had two Edinburgh nominations, I’ve really enjoyed the shows, but I think I need a break now, especially with everything else I’m doing,” he says. “It’s quite a task, to write a show [for the Edinburgh Fringe], you always want to do your best show. I’ve noticed that quite a few people have a two-year, or three-year break between shows.”

And he plans to make full use of that summer break.

“I can’t wait until August now! I think I’ll go on holiday. But it’ll be so weird not doing Edinburgh – I’ve been going up for eight years now.”

●●Darren Harriott’s Good Heart Yute visits The Glee Club Birmingham on Friday, November

15. For tickets and information, see glee.co.uk

●●Darren then visits Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, on Friday, November 29. For tickets and information, see warwickartscentre.co.uk