With his special, Daniel Fernandes turns life’s heaviest chapters into unexpectedly light moments
Some shows make you laugh, some make you think and a rare few make you feel seen. Daniel Fernandes’ latest special, Do You Know Who I Am? falls firmly into the third category — a darkly funny, deeply human piece of storytelling that is crafted around truth of the uncomfortable experiences of familial life that are rarely brought up. Ahead of his show in Hyderabad, Daniel speaks to us with disarming honesty, quick wit and the ease of someone who has spent years turning the unspoken into comedy gold.
Daniel Fernandes’ new special turns personal pain into comedy gold
Excerpts:
Does Hyderabad have its own sense of humour and response style?
Hyderabad’s audiences have the most energy I’ve seen anywhere in India. Their responses are enthusiastic, loud and surprisingly, they’re all very sober.
Do You Know Who I Am? is your most personal show yet. What made you feel ready to bring such emotional themes to the stage?
Looking for punchlines in uncomfortable and dark spaces has become a bit of a feature of my work. When I was going through a great personal loss, laughing through the pain became my coping mechanism and that’s why I wrote this show.
What’s your writing process like? Do you sit down and structure jokes or do ideas come to you in everyday moments?
It’s a little bit of everything. I come up with most of my material on the fly as I’m living life. Those form the basis of individual jokes which I then tie into a larger narrative and I put it all together on stage, one show at a time. I do have a notepad of ideas but I don’t write most jokes down. The whole show exists somewhere in my mind.
Do you have a favourite moment or joke from your career that makes you laugh every time?
It’s hard to pick a favourite, but the most recent one is a joke I wrote about knife crime in London. It killed across my UK-EU tour for a very international audience. I plan to open the remaining India dates with it — Hyderabad included.
As a comic, how do you decide which stories from your life are meant for the stage and which ones stay private?
It comes down to comfort level and what I’m okay being vulnerable about. Heavy things make us feel like we’re the only ones going through them — nothing could be further from the truth. Talking about them humourously creates a shared experience where everyone feels a little lighter.
This show deals with family, loss and growing up. What surprised you most about how audiences connect with it?
I was taken aback by how many fans brought their parents. Watching them laugh with pure abandonment of all the horribly dark things I say on stage filled me with joy. I’m pleased the special connects with everyone from ages 16 to 96.
You’ve been performing for years. What still excites or challenges you about stand-up today?
The newness of every performance. No matter how your last show went, every variable resets and you have to start from zero to earn every laugh over the next 90 minutes.