About
This distinctive Dubliners’ first foray into stand up came as student where he started a popular comedy night in the basement of a Glaswegian pub. The success of The Comedy Cellar was enough temptation for Ed Byrne to quit his Horticulture studies completely, and journey south to join the London comedy circuit.
Honing his observational skills and nack for social satire, crowds quickly grew to love Ed’s geeky, curmudgeonly persona, and in 1998 he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Comedy Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. By 2006, he was recognised as the biggest selling comedy show of the year at the Edinburgh Fringe with his show Standing Up and Falling Down.
Over his twenty years in comedy, Ed has enjoyed huge critical success in the UK & Ireland, selling out many runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, and appearing all over the globe on radio, television, stage and big screen. These days Ed is often recognised from his numerous appearances on Mock the Week, Have I Got News for You, and The Graham Norton Show. His stratospheric comedy journey made one memorable downhill descent though – when he was filmed sledding precariously down the side of volcano on his adventure travel show, Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure. Back on the up again with his brand new live show touring in 2018, Ed shows absolutely no signs of slowing down!
Watch Ed Byrne: Different Class
Ed’s hilarious line in sharp observational commentary allows him to deconstruct the social stratum with surgical precision. Age-appropriate fashions, music, and time travel are among the issues that threaten to divide us – yet we shall be united in laughter by this class-act of a show!
Short Clips
See Ed Byrne Live
Ed’s latest show Spoiler Alert is touring the UK throughout 2018, with dates currently booking here.
Watch Ed Byrne: Crowd Pleaser
Stand-up institution Ed Byrne brings the full force of his talent to bear in this barnstorming show. ‘Crowd Pleaser’ finds Byrne navigating the treacherous landscape of family and TV celebrity, all the while trying to stay true to his nerdy side!
Watch Ed Byrne: Roaring Forties
A self-confessed miserable old git since the age of 23, Ed Byrne is now in his forties. While for others this might result in a crisis that prompts the purchase of a sports car, Ed embraces middle age with open arms. Come join him, as he truly comes of age and gives out his clarion cry: “I am in my Forties. HEAR ME ROAR!”
Bio
Born in Dublin in 1972, to an Aer Lingus engineer father and radiographer mother, Ed cites his greatest early inspiration as listening to his brothers Billy Connolly album. Perhaps it’s little wonder then that he decided to leave Ireland for Glasgow at 18, drawn to the idea of re-inventing himself. The sensible decision to read Horticulture at the University of Strathclyde became quickly overshadowed when as a student welfare officer his growing popularity as an MC at University events took him down a different path. After ditching his studies and moving to London to pursue his true dream of entertainer, his ambitions were realised when he was recognised with a Perrier Award nomination for his Edinburgh show in 1998. Pursuing what he describes as a hit–and–run offensive on America in the late 1990s, appearing five times on the NBC’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien and across the top comedy clubs in New York in LA, Ed’s began to develop a huge overseas following, performing in Canada at the prestigious Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, performing to capacity audiences in Australia (where he shook hands with David Bowie backstage at a television show),and in New Zealand Singapore, Belgium, Bermuda, Norway, Austria, and Switzerland.
In the UK and Ireland, Ed has become a regular fixture on television, and in radio he has appeared on or presented a range of shows on BBC, including The Unbelievable Truth and What’s So Funny.
When Ed is not on the road he spends time with his kids in London and enjoys hiking with his wife in the Scottish highlands – heading back towards where it all began!