Comedian by night (holidays) and full-time teacher by day, alongside juggling family life and in between all these Mark Row has taken time out to chat to me about his upcoming comedy shows coming to Edinburgh Fringe this year.
How long have you been working on the comedy scene?
It’s coming up to 10 years since I first got involved in comedy. My first gig was in October 2016, but by the time I set foot on stage for the first time, I had already publicly announced a full run at The Edinburgh Fringe. I love comedy and hope to one day be able to focus on it full time. I perform as often as I can, but also run shows across Milton Keynes as part of the team at The Comedy Cow.
Which shows are you returning with for the Edinburgh Fringe 2026?
This year I will be bringing two of my own shows. A Class Act is actually an amalgamation of two previous shows. I realised that there were themes and ideas that crossed over between them, and it made sense to me to pinch the best bits from both and smash them together to make one show that I’m really happy with. I also have a brand new show ‘Every Day’s A School Day’ which again draws a little bit from my experience as a teacher, but is really about important lessons I have learned in my life (and some that the audience have learnt too) I have just performed both at The Brighton Festival and really had fun with the new show and trying to knock it into shape. I am also on compilation show ‘Jokers in The Pack’ every day, sometimes doing a short set, but more often than not MCing. It’s a great way to promote the solo shows, but even more than that, it’s a good opportunity to catch up with and hang out with some of my favourite comedians at the Festival.
I understand that in 2017, you came to the Edinburgh Fringe to make a documentary about being a comedian. What was that made for?
Yes, it was called ‘A1: The Long Road to Edinburgh’. It was very much made as a labour of love; a project that I somehow managed to get a couple of close friends to dedicate nearly two years of their lives to. It all stemmed from an idea to make a documentary about a year in the life of a brand new comedian who starts from a point from never having gigged and ends up doing a full run in Edinburgh. I had wanted to do stand up for years, but had always been too afraid, but the documentary gave me the confidence to do it, as it meant that, if I was terrible, it would still be a good story and wouldn’t have been for nothing. I didn’t really have an idea about what the comedy circuit was like, although I was pretty sure that it wasn’t all like Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo, and I thought it would be interesting to show what it takes to become a comedian. In all honesty, if I had a better idea of the blood, sweat and tears that go into it, I probably never would have started, but as I said earlier, I had already announced my Edinburgh run before I stepped on stage, so I didn’t really feel I could back out.
As you are still returning, what happened to change your direction?
Over the course of the year I fell in love with stand up. Midway through the year I was talking to my wife about life after the documentary and she just really bluntly said, ‘Well there’s no way you’re going to stop doing comedy now, is there?’ I think she genuinely realised it before I had, that once bitten by comedy, there was never any serious chance of me giving it up. The great benefit to stand up, as opposed to film making is that I am responsible for getting it done. I needed other people to make a film and had to rely on them committing their time and energy, whereas with stand up I am in control of how much I write and how much I gig, and don’t have to twiddle my thumbs waiting for someone else to help.
It’s common knowledge that you are a full-time teacher. Do you incorporate school situations into your act?
All the time. 70% of A Class Act is made up of stories from the classroom, most of which are just repeated verbatim from how they actually happened. It’s getting tricky now as, when I started, nobody had a clue what I was doing in my spare time, but now lots of the students and the parents have heard that I do comedy, so I have to be a little more careful about what I say and how I say it.
Does your family come up with you for the duration of the Fringe? Are they keen to help you with flyering, etc?
No, unfortunately the Fringe is way too expensive for them all to come with me for the duration. Also, as is explained in the documentary, my wife negotiated a horse in exchange for me doing comedy. She now has 3 horses to look after and it is too long to leave them all for. In 2019 I got them to come and visit for 5 days and it cost me almost exactly the same to have the family there for less than a week, as it was costing me to have digs for the entire month on my own. Also, over the past couple of years, I have found myself in venues that are 18+, so at this stage only one of them would be able to see me perform. My daughter is old enough to come and visit for a couple of days and she loves the Fringe. My oldest son will be 18 next year. He is an excellent flyerer, so I will be putting him to work the moment he is old enough.
What is the smallest audience you have performed to?
During my first run in Edinburgh I performed to 2 people. What was worse was that they were part of a group of 5, but the others sat in the bar upstairs and refused to come to the show. Last year I had one day with only 4 people in and I wasn’t sure if it was worth going ahead. However, one of them bought a round of shots for everyone, handed me a pint and told me they wanted to see the show. I did a very relaxed version of the show and it was way more fun than some of the nights with 10 times as many people in.
Do you have particular comedy venues that you’d like to perform in. Both in Edinburgh and across the country?
My first ever gig was in Backyard Comedy Club, and I don’t think I fully appreciated what a great room that is for comedy. I didn’t realise that it would be a long time before I would be back in a room like that again. There are so many venues I would like to do. I would love to gig at the Comedy Store, having been several times as a punter, long before I got into comedy. I have so far avoided the brutality of King Gong, but there is not really another route for a comedian with no profile to get booked there. My experience of Edinburgh has all been on the Free Festival and it took me a little while to realise that not every room is a dingy basement with a mic in the corner. I guess I would really like to play at The Stand as it is such an iconic venue and has been for so long. It is often the first place I go to see what’s on, as they often have my favourite comedians during the Fringe. I would also like to gig in Udderbelly, who wouldn’t want to perform inside a giant upside down cow
Which comedians make your properly belly laugh?
So many! I think the best gig I ever went to was to see Rhod Gilbert who did about 3 hours and I was blown away by how someone could be that consistently funny over such a long time. I also think James Acaster is incredible. I was fortunate to perform on a show when he was previewing Cold Lasagne and watched him effortlessly hold the audience in the palm of his hand for an hour, even though the material was all new. Away from the big TV names, if Matt Price is ever on a gig that I’m doing, I always stay to watch him. He is incredible at taking the gig in a direction that you are not expecting and making sure that every show is unique and just for the people in the room.
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