What's so funny!?

Danny McGinlay, up-and-coming comedy guy and part-time superhero. Looking up Danny on the internet, phrases such as ‘likeable’, ‘hyperactive’ and ‘over-caffeinated’ come up, but more recent reviews classify him as a storyteller “with the ability to weave a rollicking yarn”. Certainly this is consistent with Danny’s view of his own career. Doing comedy since he was 16, he started out in Class Clowns (a national secondary school comedy competition and workshop, run by the Melbourne International Comedy Festival) and has come a long way from those early days. He quotes Jerry Seinfeld “Audiences will teach you what’s funny about you.”

As his career has evolved, he’s become more interested in telling stories through his comedy. His first shows had themes, but were largely based around telling gags in between cooking and superhero mythos (Kapow – 2005) which he found “not very satisfying.” But as he’s matured, he’s taken on themes with a broader canvas in Star Spangled Bender (2007) – a road trip through the US paralleled with it’s history; Coming Soon… (2008) – the story of his long-dead grandfather told through movie trailers and his latest festival show, Food Dude (2009) – cooking food in front of an audience for each stage of the World Health Organisation’s five stages of intoxication.

Aspiring to be a comedic storyteller with a naturalistic style of Billy Connelly, it is easy to see that he is getting there, as he warmly regales me with story after story of his life in London, New York City, opening for Danny Bhoy, doing a presidential-style debate as Superman, his almost career for Fox FM and the romantic pursuit of his long-term girlfriend. For a guy who started out in an arty school and went into comedy because he couldn’t play an instrument or follow a script, he’s certainly come a long way.

Playing across Australia, go to http://www.dannymcginlay.com/ to check out his dates!