Byrne-ing bright

WHEN it comes to being top of the props, then Jason Byrne is your man. "Well, I was on a TV show where I was asked, 'Why all the props?' and what they didn't realise is that I started out in London with props. That's why I did so well and shot up the ranks quite quickly because I had really odd props.

"But I hadn't realised how big London was and I would come over from Ireland to gig for two weeks and try to get a big pair of manikin legs and a sets of curtains on the Tube. So I had to ease off on the props and do more stand-up. Then, last year I was touring and brought in more of the props and people loved them and I thought I'd do a show that was as many props as I could get my hands on," says Byrne regarding the inspiration for his Propped Up tour which takes in Edinburgh Festival, Harrogate, Newcastle and Durham.

"There is a guy called Carrot Top in the US who just grabs stuff out of a bag and does one-liners. All my props have rhyme and reason. It's stand-up with props. The oddest is probably my stuffed owl, but if I laid all of them out in front of you I don't think anyone would guess what I was going to do with them. There's a giant duck, bird callers, rubber hands and three Deal Or No Deal boxes which is the best gag I've written in my life. The boxes stay on the stage all night and I only open them if I get heckled because there's a certain word written inside which I read out when the lights go down and I wish the guy concerned the best of luck. I opened the box once and I think the crowd must have laughed for three minutes and, at the break, the horrible heckler left," Byrne says.

He'll be at the world famous Fringe Festival for four weeks and expects to collect more props from the Scottish captial's charity shops. On the question of whether he has prop ambition, Byrne feels that what he uses is decided by the show's budget.

"I once had a wrecking ball, a Miley Cyrus thing, where I came out through the curtain over the audience in my underpants. That was fun, because everyone was saying, 'What the hell?'. I definitely want to go out on one of these flywires from the front row at some time or get five of those massive inflatable balls and have other actors dressed like me inside and the audience has to work out which one I am."

People have told Byrne that he wouldn't like to put his act on in an arena, but he thinks entirely the opposite. "I wouldn't have any money because I'd spend it all on arena-sized props."

When we speak he's stuck on Paddington Station seeking to make up time on a missed connection.

"I have that type of life... well, I think most comics have that kind of life where we're doing radio, TV and writing. Just ignore that speaker above my head and I'm heading to one of those gulleys on the platform where I can stand and speak to you. I'm on the move all the time because I have to set up some work with Sky TV and the live stuff is all separate and nothing seems to join together," he says.

So does he need three different disciplines to pull all these comedy strands together? "I think I need about seven," Byrne laughs. "For example, I have my family. Yesterday I was driving back from a show in Ireland to try and pick up my son from his first drama lesson and then I had to go back home and sit down and make sure I had the stuff ready for Sky and somewhere in the middle of all that I have to try and stage this. So, I run and I do ju-jitsu classes whenever I can, but that's also hilarious because I don't go enough and every time I go I get battered. It's that 'Jack of all trades and master of none' thing," adds Byrne who blames his brain for most of his problems.

"It won't seem to settle down and I also have a book coming out in September called Wonky-Eyed Boy and it's about me growing up in Ireland from the age of five to about 16. It's been really good fun and I've used an illustrator because the publisher wanted me to put photographs in. I asked for an illustrator instead and it just looks brilliant. If I had to chose health-wise just one thing to do I'd go for writing books because it allows me to stay in one spot and calm it all down," he laughs.

Byrne's comedy hero is Tommy Cooper, who was also a props man, and he admits that the magician with the silly laugh and tricks that didn't always go to plan does seem to appeal more to a male audience. "I've sometimes heard women says he's funny, but it's the man who think he's hilarious. I think that's because he's so immature and that women realise that the immaturity never leaves their husbands, no matter how old they are getting. I've had brain surgeons and mathematicians on the stage and they turn into idiots when we start messing about and I think Cooper basically is what all men want to be like. He had these polystyrene cups attached to his head which went over his ears and he said, 'If you can't hear the movie in the cinema, pop these on. And if the movie's no good just turn them around and listen to the people talking behind you'. Women are not going to laugh at that and think it's stupid, but the guys think it's a great idea. I think if Tommy and I had been alive at the same time, he'd have definitely been buying his props off me."

• Jason Byrne is Propped Up: Thursday, October 13, Harrogate Comedy Festival. Box Office: 01423-502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk
• Saturday, October 22, Newcastle, The Stand. thestand.co.uk or 0191-300-9700
• Saturday, October 29, Durham Gala Theatre. 03000-266600 or galadurham.co.uk