We speak to the magnetic comedian ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut
Comedian, actor, poet – Travis Jay is truly a creative in all senses of the word; and for lucky attendees of the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they now have the opportunity to experience his unique brand of humour as he takes his show, Funny, Petty, Cool, to the stage!
Nominated for The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year award in 2016, Travis Jay is a name you should know. He’s been described as ‘amazing’ by Grammy Award-winning comedian Dave Chappelle, and has continued to grow from strength to strength since his debut in 2009. As the son of Angie Le Mar – often considered one of the leading Black British comediennes – you’d think that a career in comedy would have been Travis’ obvious route. However, for a long time, he’d believed that professional sport would his career of choice. We spoke to him about his career in making people laugh, and what audiences can expect from him on stage…
So, Travis, when did you first realise you were funny, and when did you realise that comedy was the path you wanted to explore?
Travis Jay: Uh… I feel like I never really acknowledged a moment in my life where I thought, “Wow! I’m funny!” I just knew I could make my friends laugh. When I was going through secondary school, or college, I realized, “Oh… I’m the funny one in the group.” I didn’t think I was abnormally funny, like I should make money off it. But I think going to a comedy club, for the first time, for the first time with my mum when I was around 20, 21, and just being in the backstage area, and seeing this is what my mum did. I thought, “Okay – maybe I could be one of these guys.” And that feeling never really left me. I was such a dedicated basketball player, and I wanted to join the NBA, but I basically felt like that dream wasn’t going to come true. I needed something else to do with my life, so I started going to comedy clubs.
Something I’ve noticed in your comedy is that you seem to very politically engaged; you said you ‘accidentally’ ran the Black Lives Matter protest in London 2017 – how did that come about? How do you think this political engagement influences your comedy?
Travis: I don’t make a conscious effort to be political, but everything in society is all linked to politics. I don’t try to be political, but it organically comes to me, stuff that bothers me or affects me; I can’t just ignore it. With the Black Lives Matter protest in 2017, there’d been a lot of videos coming out showing a Black person being killed in America – it seemed like every week there was another one. I’m not the kind of person who needs to experience something to feel it. It really got to me when Philando Castile was killed, right there on video. So when the protests came round, I just thought, I need to go and show my support. The people who were there on the mic didn’t seem that confident, so me and a friend, who is also a comedian, told them: ‘Tell us what to say, and we’ll say it.’ From that day onwards, people truly thought we had organized the day – I even talk about it in my show – and the person who actually arranged that march saw me talk about it, messaged me and said it was absolutely spot on and hilarious.
This is your first time heading back to Edinburgh in 25 years, having watched your mum perform her own comedy show back then; how does that feel?
Travis: It feels huge, man. It’s one of those moments in your career where it’s a really big step for me, and humbling moment knowing I’m taking the steps my mum has already walked. I’ve had a few of those moments where it feels like you’re truly making progress: when I first performed at The Comedy Store, it was a competition and I won that performance. But there’s a poster on the wall that had my mum on it, so I took a photo with my award, right next to that. For me, it’s those little moments that always stand out. And I’m really following in the footsteps she made; it’s a really powerful moment.
You’ve done quite a bit of acting, from the web series Brothers With No Game, to working alongside Aml Ameen. Is that something you’d like to pursue further? What kind of roles would be ideal for you?
Travis: Absolutely, I love acting! That’s definitely my second passion, after standup. It’s like a journey; you’re getting to know another person. So, you know a completely new way of life, and I really enjoy that challenge. But also, the role I would really like to play, and this may sound crazy because I am a comedian is a serial killer… and this isn’t because I have a secret passion to kill people! (He laughs.) But I think it would be such a crazy challenge. I did a monologue of a serial killer, and these guys are so wild and crazy, and when you see their interviews, they seem like such normal, nice people. I look at these guys and think I would love to try and execute these guys and display something so far remote from my own personality.
Finally, do you have any advice for any for our Pride readers who may be struggling to put their dreams into a reality?
Travis: I’d say, if you’re truly passionate about what you love doing, by all costs, and by any means, keep working. I’ve worked a 9-5 job for many years, and I finally left it last year, which was a big milestone for me. As a parent, especially, financial security is such a high priority for me, so making that move is a real symbol of the hard work I’ve been putting in for the last 10 years to get to a place to make that transition. A lot of people now expect things to be a lot easier than they are, and I think that’s because social media has shown people the highlights of their journeys. People think all they have to do is want it, but no. You’re going to deal with a lot of rejection, and a lot of adversity, and you’re going get things flat out wrong. But if you truly love what you’re doing, accept that it is going to be difficult. Once you appreciate that, that hard work comes from a place you embrace, and that’s when you can take things to the next level. And after a while, your label will start to grow, and you will start to see how far you’ve come.
Travis Jay brings his show Funny, Petty, Cool to Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Just the Attic) as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 1st – 25th August (excl 12th & 16th) at 2.35pm. More info and tickets available at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/travis-jay-funny-petty-cool
