Rachel Fairburn: ‘A lot of standups have sucked the funny out of comedy’

How did you get into comedy?
I was a chronically shy young person who loved any kind of comedy. I used to write funny stories and sketches for my mum. From the age of about 13 she would tell me I should do standup. Years later I saw an advert for a comedy course starting in the area of Manchester that I’m from. It was part of Labour’s New Deal. I phoned up, joined and did my first gig before the 12-week course ended. I loved it. My mum was right. Standup has made me more confident than I used to be, but I still struggle with shyness. It’s just that nobody believes me now.

What’s one thing you wish you had known when you were starting out?
How many things I would miss out on because I’d be gigging at weekends. I have missed birthdays, legendary nights out, holidays … You have to decline so many potentially fun things with your mates that eventually they stop asking because they assume you’ll be busy. At least that’s why I think they’ve stopped calling. Oh, I’ve made this awkward.

What’s your current show about?
Performative kindness, being working class in a middle-class industry and everything else that irritates me.

Any pre-show rituals?
I have obsessive compulsive disorder so during the Edinburgh fringe I try to have the same routine before my show as much as I can. Gym, same breakfast every day, shower at the same time, arrive at the venue the same time. It all sounds very boring but if it makes me feel as if I am in control of everything, from my show going well to my loved ones not dying, then I’m happy.

Any post-show rituals?
I love the post-show feeling. I will either go for a drink (well, I say a drink but I’m one of those who can’t have just the one) or I’ll go home, have a Pot Noodle and pop on an episode of the classic TV show Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. I’ve seen them all several times, but I love it.

Best advice you’ve been given?
Never suck up to people to get to where you want to be. I’ve stuck to this and couldn’t be prouder.

Worst advice you’ve been given?
Someone once told me I should tone down my Mancunian accent. Never going to happen and the lovely voiceover work I get proved that person wrong.

What are you most excited for right now?
I’m at the Edinburgh fringe and my show is on at 5.40pm so I’m looking forward to getting my rituals out of the way, doing a great show and either having an absolute session or chilling out with [Beyond Belief host] Jonathan Frakes and some mysteries.

Related: Edinburgh fringe 2022: 20 theatre, comedy and dance shows you shouldn’t miss

Any bugbears from the world of comedy?
I hate how a lot of comedians seem to have sucked the funny out of comedy. Be as serious as you like, tell people about big issues but please, for the love of God, make people laugh.

Can you remember a gig so bad, it’s now funny?
The best bad gigs happen to other people. There’s nothing better than watching a comedian pal die a death on stage and firing up WhatsApp to tell everyone. You’ll have to ask around the comedy circuit for my worst gig, someone else will tell it better.

Who inspires you?
My friends who aren’t involved with comedy and my family. They are the funniest people I know.

• Rachel Fairburn: Can I Be Awful? is at Monkey Barrell Hive 1, Edinburgh, until 28 August. The podcast All Killa No Filla Live is at the Pleasance Grand, Edinburgh, on 16 August.