EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Ari Shaffir

BWW speaks to comedian Ari Shaffir about his 2016 Edinburgh Fringe show Ari S-P-E-C-T.

What can you tell us about Ari S-P-E-C-T?

It's an American hour. None of the themes or full circles that you see in the UK hours. This is more a representation of what standup is like in clubs in the States. Funny for funny's sake. It'll have some offensive stuff (if you're stuck up), some silly stuff, some short jokes and some long bits. It's just an hour of funny. Don't expect to read anything that sums up what the show is about. It's not a show. It's an hour of standup comedy. It's anti-children and anti-religion. So if you can't take a joke about those things, I hope you don't come. If you hate children and god, please do come. You're my target audience.

Tell us a little about your career so far.

I kind of did it all on a DIY model. Nobody was calling. I was on the outside of the industry. So I started a podcast early in the podcast boom and that caught on a little. I made an album that went to #1 on the iTunes charts. I made my own special. I started my own storytelling show.

Eventually, the industry started taking notice. It was too late, though. I mean, I'll work with them. But I had already written off that whole side of the business. And I knew they were coming to me now, not because I had gotten funnier, but because I had gotten more successful. So, while I do like working with some of them, I do what I want creatively and people either help me with what I'm trying to do or I'll just go back to doing it on my own for a smaller audience. And I found a network that let me do just that. So I shot a special for Comedy Central, and they aired the special I did on my own, and they put my storyteller show on TV.

It's all going really great right now. Plus I was poor for so long that I don't really need a lot of money to feel fulfilled. So I'm kind of completely free. It's pretty rad.

Who would you recommend comes to see your show?

Cool people between 18 and 40. Probably not parents unless you realize how shitty your stupid kid can be sometimes. Progressives, but not weak minded sheep. If you like a conversational style of comedy, if you like comedy that's a little dangerous, I'm your guy. I'm not intentionally dirty. It just kind of happens. It's not like I'm a shock comic who's looking to walk people. I'm just a weird mix of immature and intelligent and I like to share my point of view and who I am. And I'm a guy who does drugs responsibly, who has sex on occasion, and who hates some of the things you love.

And who would you recommend doesn't come to see your show?

Old people. Christians. Real conservative people. F**k them. They're the worst. If you're looking for someone who writes witty puns, there are plenty of comics at the Fringe who will satisfy that for you. I'm not your guy. I'm doing a sometimes raunchy, sometimes mean, conversational style comedy. If you have the capacity to get offended at any words coming out of a comic's mouth, I mean ANY words, don't come. I'd rather the show be only half full that have it filled in with a bunch of harrumphing squares ruining everyone else's good time with their worthless predispositions.

What's next for you after Edinburgh?

I go on a little tour out there. London for a couple shows, then Norway, Iceland, and Sweden. Then back to America for 5 weeks before recording my next television special, which will be the hour I'm doing at the Fringe plus about 15 minutes that UK audiences are never going to understand. Also, I might head north again like I did last year. To Inverness and then further north to where there's nothing going on. Those rolling hills are amazing.

Timings and ticket information for Ari Shaffir are available on the edfringe website.

Photo credit: Eric Korenman