By Laura McCarthy.
Comedian Rachel Fairburn Talks About New Show Side Eye, Tik Tok Comics, and the boundaries of dark comedy
Rachel Fairburn is touring with her new show Side Eye around the UK in 2025, visiting Fareham on February 8th (Fareham Live Studio One) and Southampton on February 14th (The Attic).
Having starred on television programmes such as Live at the Apollo and being a regular at Edinburgh Fringe, Mancunian comic Fairburn has a reputation for her sharp wit and observational comedy. Following her successful 40-date Showgirl tour and the All Killa No Filla Live 10-year anniversary tour, her latest show promises to be something new and fantastically funny. As a fellow northerner myself, I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to interview Rachel about the Side Eye tour and more.
What can audiences expect from Side Eye?
“I’ve done comedy for many, many years and I always wanted to do character comedy. So it’s a character show. It’s seven characters, loosely linked to each other and loosely linked to the seven deadly sins. Very loosely, I will say there – that was more to do with Edinburgh [Fringe] as they like a theme. Each character, you might like them, you might not. You’ll probably find things you don’t like more than you do like about them but you’ll probably recognise the people. You might even recognise yourself in them.
In the show itself, I do 40 minutes for the first section where I do more traditional stand up and we chat with the audience. We have a break and then we do the character show. It’s a little bit of everything with something for everyone.”
What inspired you to create this show and have you moved out of your comfort zone or attempted anything new?
“For years I’ve done stand up and the thing that I find funniest isn’t other comedians, comedy films, or anything like that – it’s always other people, just people I have known or that I come into contact with; I just find people in general, in everyday life, funnier than anything that is meant to make you laugh. I find character stuff more interesting and more fun to write as well. There were all sorts of things I found funny which I could never get across in a stand up set. You can never get little quirks of personality to come over so I thought this is the perfect time to try something with character. Something a bit different. So, yeah, that was it: I moved out of my comfort zone and did something new.
But also, I think doing stand up in general was moving out of my comfort zone because I used to be incredibly shy. It impacted my life quite severely, being shy. I held myself back from a lot of things. And then now, doing character, there was a couple of times where I was like “what am I doing?” but I was so excited too. I always think that’s the best way to be: you feel a little bit unsure which means you’re doing something different and learning something new. It means I don’t mind feeling a bit of trepidation as I think that’s part of the process.”
It’s interesting that you bring up being shy and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone as it’s not the first time you’ve spoken about that and about how you got your start in comedy. I would say that your route into becoming a professional comedian is quite traditional, especially compared with what we’re seeing now. What’re your thoughts on recent methods of breaking into the industry, in terms of using apps like Tik Tok to get started? How much do you use social media to further your career? Is that something you’ve had to adapt to?
“Yeah, we’ve started putting clips from my podcast, All Killa No Filla, on social media. I don’t particularly enjoy being filmed or having my picture taken. I think it’s good for people who are happy to do that though. Why not get an audience through Tik Tok? The only thing I will say is that I think it works best when someone has been doing typical stand up first, or gets big doing stand up, and then uses clips to elevate that. It can be that someone puts clips out and then, when they start trying to do live shows, they haven’t got the performance skills. You need both now to make it really work. I know people who’ve gone to see comedians they found on Tik Tok and then thought it was awful because they haven’t got the skills of interaction or performance in a live venue. Obviously, this will come the more they do it so this is not me discouraging that.
Honestly, I think it’s great and it makes me think I should do more on social media. One of my resolutions for 2025 is to do more on social media. The travelling you do as a comedian, constantly being on trains, makes me think I would rather do a funny video online and get people to buy tickets than have to travel around the country constantly on the weekends.
Overall, I think it’s great. It’s a really good way to get your stuff seen. I don’t begrudge anybody but it is a shame that some comedians are snobby about it. You’ll be at a comedy club and some comics will make comments about “those comedians” who bring cameras to film their set. Actually though, a lot of comedy clubs film sets now which is good! We all should be doing it.”
Since you mentioned All Killa No Filla with Kiri Pritchard-McLean (this brilliant, successful podcast you’ve been running for 10 years) it does spark a few questions about dark comedy. The podcast is about serial killers, dark subjects, but you’re both comedians. When I’ve listened to it, you get the balance right between the comic and the serious – it’s an art you’ve really got nailed down. Do you think comedians are naturally drawn to dark subject matter? What’re your thoughts on dark comedy? Is there a line we need to be cautious of in the modern age?
“I don’t think you’ll ever meet an optimistic comedian. The glass is always half full, for us. If I met an optimistic comedian, I’d think something was wrong. I don’t think they’d get far in comedy. It’s quite natural to be very cynical when you’re a comedian because the funniest things are the things that annoy you or things we can all relate to. Our instinct is to question things as well. To look at life critically and find the funny side of it.
I don’t think any topic is off limits. You should be able to joke about whatever you like but if you’re picking controversial material, you better have a funny joke to back it up. Sometimes, you do watch comedy and people are just relying on shock value but then there’s also some great edgy comedy. I want to hear jokes about all kinds of subjects and that includes stuff I don’t agree with. You can still find something funny even if you don’t agree with the point someone is making and that’s important. It’s important we joke about things that people may find unsavoury or controversial.”
Speaking of being controversial, you may remember Christopher Hitchens’ infamous Why Women Aren’t Funny article that he wrote. It was still quite a touchy subject when I was at university nearly a decade ago; I actually had to write an essay about female led sitcoms like Miranda and New Girl. Do you come against that perception of funny women at all? Maybe you don’t even like the label “female comedian”. How do you navigate around these kinds of beliefs?
“I think there will always be some people saying that women aren’t funny and it’s actually quite tedious because some of the funniest people I know are women. When I first went into stand up, I noticed that class was more of a talking point than anything. I never had my accent commented on so much and that’s something that continued to happen constantly; I’ve been in the world of work since I was 16 so I met different people but I was mainly around other working class people so I never felt an outsider when it came to my accent. I feel a bit on the outside sometimes but not because I’m a woman – it’s more about class. Mainly because I’m working class and a lot of comedians are middle class. I think the whole thing about women not being funny is outdated. It’s just that some women are funny and some women aren’t. Just like some men are funny and some men aren’t. Some people are funny are others aren’t. That’s just how it is.
It’s got a lot better though. When I started out, there was a definite vibe of “oh, it’s a woman” when you came on stage. Hopefully, it’ll continue to improve. And we all have different senses of humour anyway… so someone might find what I do hilarious and someone else might not. It’s just such an old argument that it’s never going to go away. I think every two years it pops up.”
So, one final question. You’ve started to talk about some of your experiences on stage, but let’s broaden this out: what makes a great gig from your perspective, as the one on stage?
“Let me tell you what makes a great gig! First of all, start it on time. Don’t wait for the audience. The gig starts when the gig starts. For a comedy gig, don’t have sofas! You know when the really comfy chairs are out? That is the kiss of death. Have people sitting in rows of chairs, facing the front. There’s something about giving audience members a sofa or a table that changes the whole dynamic. If I know the seating is right and the bar is closed when the show is on, the gig is going to be great.”
If you’re interested in seeing Rachel Fairburn’s new show Side Eye, you can get tickets here: Fareham Southampton.
You can also find her on social media here:
Website: rachelfairburn.com
Facebook: Rachel Fairburn
Instagram: @rachelfairburn
TikTok: @rachelfairburncomedy
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