Tell us about your comedy career.
So it started when I went traveling to SE Asia in 2017 and I took part in some comedy workshops with American and British ex-pats along with some locals to Saigon. We then performed a showcase in the summer where we all did 5 minutes on stage. I vividly remember freezing when I first got on stage and how supportive the MC was in helping me get over my stage fright. He even said “I’ll whisper your jokes to you in your ear if you need me to”. After I composed myself, it went brilliantly
When I came back to the UK, it took me a year to bite the bullet. In 2018, I took part in two comedy workshops, one run by Tamsyn Kelly (Fantastic Working Class Comic who I believe is part of “Best in Class” run by Sian Davies) and the other by Mike Gunn. Both were fantastic tutors who encouraged me to really lean into my autistic traits as a way of the audience understanding my neurodiversity.
After those showcases, I got the hang of going to open mics around London. Whilst gigging, I learned that a lot of comics with disabilities were struggling with accessing most of these open mics. This encouraged me to start Laugh-Able. During this time I met the wonderful Benny Shakes who absolutely smashed his first spot at Laugh-Able and this was only his 12th or 13th gig.
During lockdown of 2020 Benny decided he wanted to have a Zoom with me and we talked about how to support other disabled comics during Lockdown.
We set up a disability support group where we regularly had Zoom meetings workshopping ideas and in general supporting each other. I regularly ran Laugh-Able over Zoom and gave a lot of people with disabilities the opportunity to perform for the first time.
The three breakthrough moments over lockdown for me was when I managed to secure Rosie Jones as a headliner for a fundraising night Laugh-Able ran, when I won the online Comedy Store King Gong and when I met with Benny’s agent to discuss my role in his new disability Taskmaster adult show called Below the Belt (now known as Blue Badge Bunch).
I sent Benny’s agent some footage of my gigs just in the hope she would share it with promoters. She was so impressed that she wanted to sign me to Ingenious Fools as she felt I would be universally relatable up and down the country.
Signing to Ingenious Fools has helped me develop Benny’s show Blue Badge Bunch, Laugh-Able comedy workshops and guest MC spots at a wide range of disability-led festivals.
Through a combination of support from Benny, Susanna (our agent) and through making connections with the disability world inside and outside of comedy I’m starting to secure regular paid work which means I’m now self employed. Not to mention now getting regular spots at The Comedy Store in London. It’s been a whirlwind of 5 to 6 years for me. It’s incredibly hard work trying to ride on brilliant gigs and recover from gigs I’ve not been so good at.
But I have a fantastic support network around me which keeps me grounded and focused.
Also without Benny and lockdown, gigs I would not have met my partner Kate Lovelock (another fantastic comic and a very supportive girlfriend who has also been instrumental any success I’ve had as a comic).
A lot of your work focuses on disability. What’s your process in finding the funny side of topics like this?
When I was growing up, I was teased a lot because I didn’t understand certain social situations and people made assumptions about me because of my autism diagnosis. I take those stereotypes, play on them but then turn them on their head for comic effect to show audiences what it’s really like.
What do you feel makes comedy such a good vehicle for exploring different perspectives on the world?
I think comics have always had a unique take on the world as they are often made of individuals that have been through some very tough moments in their lives and they are using comedy as a way to deal with this. I always joke that since I opened up Laugh-Able for acts with mental health conditions, that’s almost every comic on the circuit! That’s a good thing because it means taboos around mental health and disability can be challenged by comics in a humorous way so people engage with it.
Tell us about your show Laugh-Able.
Laugh-Able is a night dedicated to giving acts with disabilities and mental health conditions a unique fully accessible platform to perform.
What made you want to launch your own show?
Quantum Leopard. A night set up by James Ross that gave a platform to underrepresented groups in the industry and society. It is a lovely, inclusive, surrealist comedy night which proves that a no-punching-down ethical comedy night can be both brilliantly informative and hilarious.
I wanted to create a night like that but with a focus on my passion. Disability Activism. It won’t surprise you that me and James often exchange notes about fantastic acts that would suit both our nights.
James has been a fantastic help in supporting the night from setting up links for me with amazing headliners to giving me a platform to promote the show.
It’s also brilliant to see a very similar show in Blizzard Comedy in Manchester.
The more shows like ours (QL, Laugh-Able and Blizzard) we can have around the country, the better it will be for the industry. Shows like ours are hopefully helping to break the barriers for underrepresented groups to thrive in an industry that for too long has been dominated by Cis Straight White Neurotypical Males.
How did you get involved with Blue Badge Bunch?
So the show is actually a creation of Benny Shakes.
Benny approached me in Lockdown with a fantastic idea to give people a first hand experience of what it’s like to have a disability by carrying out every day tasks but with a twist! It became a kids’ show during a comedy festival in which kids just happen to turn up at the show. So Benny adapted the show to suit children.
We’ve been touring the country, running workshops in schools and youth centres, and received 4 and 5 star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022.
What is your process like for writing comedy for a gameshow compared to your stand up process?
Me and Benny workshop ideas then put it forward to the writers, producers and directors involved who then suggest adaptations for the games. We have rehearsals and may workshop them at a school before doing a big show at a Festival. There’s a big team around Benny and myself, and without them this would not have developed into the show it has become.
We also workshop the games with other disabled comics who have been fantastic in helping us develop these games. “Let’s Talk” for instance, was a word symbol game (guessing the words based on symbols on a computer) came up with our friend, fellow comic and public speaker on Augmentative Alternative Communication devices, Jamie Preece who speaks using one of these devices.
What is your process for choosing the acts you book for your shows? Is there anything in particular you look for in an act?
So me and Benny will network with acts at festivals, especially acts that do their own kids’ shows, and speak to them about whether they’d like to be involved in BBB. Benny now has a formal application process that can be found on the Blue Badge Bunch Facebook Page.
Benny ensures the panel is incredibly diverse with a focus on inclusivity. Like Laugh-Able, Blizzard and Quantum Leopard.
What impact do you hope your shows have on comedy as an industry, for acts and audiences?
Hopefully an impact which demonstrates the talents of those with disabilities. An impact which means the industry and audiences will go out of their way to book shows with focuses on disability and other neurodiversity.
Do you have any advice for anyone looking to get into comedy?
Understand that everyone has an individual journey and not to compare yourself to others. Some gigs will go brilliantly and some not so much. Try to build a support network around you, people you can trust and who can trust you. Try to gig out of your comfort zone, but obviously don’t do gigs in which the promoter has a dodgy reputation
Oh and the Sarah Millican philosophy is one I swear by. 11am the next day, regardless of whether the gig the night before has gone well or not, put that gig out of your head and focus on the next one.
You can keep up with Mark’s work by following him on Facebook and Twitter.
You can find out more about Laugh-Able by following the show on Facebook and Twitter.
The next show is on 1st March – book your ticket here.
You can find out more about Blue Badge Bunch by following the show on Facebook and Instagram.
