Mae Martin has performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Leeds’ very own Brudenell Social Club. Originally hailing from Canada, she is currently based in the UK, recently appearing on Russell Howard’s Good News and BBC 3’s Comedy Marathon. She commonly blends observational quips with self-written songs, performed with acoustic guitar. Steph Muldoon chatted to Martin about how she feels as a ‘lesbian comedian’, her views on Twitter and women in comedy.

 

How do you think British sense of humour differs from Canadian (and American) sense of humour?

Brits are masters of irony, satire, dry wit and sarcasm. Canadians are highly emotional earnest folk who chronically over share. We get along well though because both countries love to take the piss out of themselves, more so than Americans maybe? I don’t know, I don’t want to generalize too much. But I do know that I am dating a British girl and when I rang her the other day she picked up by saying “Jesus Christ, what do YOU want?” and I panicked and hung up on her because I didn’t realise she was joking.

 

As an out public figure has you ever felt pressure to be a good representative of the lesbian community?

I am definitely aware (and grateful) that as an out queer person (I identify as queer, or bisexual) I have a platform with which to promote social change, and it would be a shame not to use it particularly as I feel very strongly about gay rights and the importance of visibility. Having said that, I’m truly 100 times more worried about being funny than anything else. That’s my job!

 

Your set from Russell Howard’s Good News has gained a lot of notoriety, especially on Tumblr, are you aware of this and why do you think it gained such attention?

I don’t have a Tumblr account so it was ages before somebody showed me some of the stuff on Tumblr about me. I’m thrilled! I don’t know why that set resonated on the internet so much, something to do with the mention of erotic Harry Potter fan fiction but I’m so excited about it. Hi Tumblr!

 

You use Twitter a lot and have over 13, 000 followers. What do you think of the way those in the public eye use Twitter? It seems that it can either be utilised as a way of engaging with fans or spark criticisms and disputes, how do you like to use it and why?

I’ve had Twitter for about a year and I’m still trying to get the hang of it. I can’t figure out hashtags. I use them incorrectly. I’ll say things like “This weather’s great! #greatweather” … is that right? Twitter is a great way to connect directly with fans and get a sense of what they want to see or hear from you.

 

Where do you find most of your material? How often do you make up anecdotes for comedic effect?

Most of my material is mined from my very awkward childhood and wayward adolescence, but I embellish – we all do. There’s always a good chunk of truth in there though, sometimes you just have to add a punchline. I get in trouble because I often use real people’s full names.

 

Do you think there is a lack of women in comedy today? What is your opinion on the feminine use of the word ‘comedian’?

I’ve always been surrounded by very talented and inspiring and supportive female comics on the circuit, there are billions of us. What we need maybe is more female TV commissioners.

 

Do you ever worry about being categorised as a ‘lesbian comedian’?

At the risk of being hideously unfunny in my answers to these questions, yes I find it frustrating. I think often it’s just lazy journalism, people trying to sum up what I’m about very quickly for readers so they throw in “lesbian” as a prefix to my name. I worry that people will think my material is only accessible for some people, when really I think life, whether you’re straight or gay, is a universally relatable experience. I am always surprised that people still think sexuality is noteworthy enough to flag up! Maybe I wouldn’t mind so much if Sarah Millican, Russell Brand etc. were always referred to as “straight comedians”.

 

Has being a lesbian protected you from some of the “women aren’t funny” spiel or not? What do you think about criticism such as that?

I think it’s too insane to even engage with, really. The more energy we give to the debate about whether women are funny the more it seems like that’s a question worthy of debate.

 

Steph Muldoon

Image Courtesy of John Noel Management