Comedy / Dani Johns
Dani Johns on age, oversharing and being a ‘recovering chav’
Early in her standup career, comedian Dani Johns would often bill herself as a “recovering chav”.
It was a line that functioned as both self-deprecation and shorthand, giving audiences a sense of her background and a way into jokes about class and identity at a time when she was still working out how she wanted to be seen on stage.
But, speaking to Bristol24/7, the 34-year-old from south Bristol is candid about how that framing came from a belief that she needed to be a recognisable persona to be taken seriously as a standup comic.
“People started to say to me, ‘Oh no, actually, you don’t sound working class,’” she said.
“And then I realised, actually, it’s not so much about what I want to portray.
“It doesn’t matter what you want to portray. It matters how the audience view you.”
“So you have to relax and realise you’ve just got to be yourself. You don’t want to try and be anything or anyone.”
Dani said comedy, for her, is less about catharsis and more about giving audiences a joyful experience
Dani was speaking ahead of hosting a major comedy fundraiser in aid of Age UK Bristol at St George’s Bristol.
Laughter Lines is set to bring together a mix of generations onstage, headlined by veteran club comic Jeff Innocent who is joined by Scott Bennett and Jack Campbell.
All proceeds go into Age UK Bristol’s unrestricted funds meaning they can support everything from social events to emergency advice services.
The decision to book Jeff, who is 68 and been a pillar of the UK comedy circuit for decades, was a deliberate one.
“Promoters think about gender balance now, which is brilliant,” Dani said. “They think about ethnic diversity too more, especially for TV (although that isn’t that reflected in the clubs which is still a massive shame). But I don’t think people really think about age.”
She continued: “It’s a protected characteristic and massively important. Half the audience in most comedy clubs are over 50 anyway. Why wouldn’t you want to see yourself reflected onstage?”
“Comedy, energy and joy truly have no age limit,” said the comic, speaking ahead of her fundraiser for Age UK Bristol
Dani’s journey into comedy began almost by accident.
Raised in a working-class family, stand-up did not feel like a “real” option. “I thought comedy was Russell Howard and then nothing,” she laughed.
It wasn’t until an office Christmas party when a colleague told her she was funny that she even learned what an open mic was.
“I thought they were just in American films with someone playing a guitar and singing,” said Dani, who then made it her New Year’s resolution to give comedy a go.
Since that point, she has become a fixture of the Bristol comedy scene and beyond, recently supporting Jason Manford at the Beacon – an experience she describes as both nerve-wracking and confidence-boosting.
“I watched hundreds of people walking into the venue and thought, ‘Oh shit they’re all going to see me.’
“But it went well and Jason was so kind. He even told a story about when he supported Lee Evans and thanked me onstage.
View this post on Instagram
Alongside performing, Dani deeply cares about making the comedy scene a more inclusive place, saying the industry remains dominated by standups who have the right connections and can afford the risks of embarking on a career in comedy.
She’s a co-director of Best in Class, a community interest company that supports working-class comedians, particularly at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The collective covers show costs, pays performers and offers bursaries, subsidised accommodation and mentoring, all things Dani said are desperately needed: “The Fringe is insanely expensive. A full month can cost £10,000 or more. That’s just impossible for most people.”
“It’s also connections,” she went on. “Even having somebody in your family who works in the arts is a massive deal, because then you can see that it’s a viable career.
“My family are scaffolders, cleaners and barmaids. They think it’s nuts that I do this.”
Working-class comedians navigate financial instability, lack of industry connections and uneven access to opportunities, Dani told Bristol24/7
On stage, Dani’s style is honest and cheerfully self-deprecating. She’s the first to admit she’s a chronic oversharer but tries her best to have boundaries.
“I don’t give a shit about embarrassing myself,” she said. “But I would never want to embarrass anybody secondhand through something I say.”
Trying new material, she adds, is unavoidable but, of course, sometimes uncomfortable: “You have to be bad to get good. There’s no way around it.”
View this post on Instagram
Nowadays, Dani still uses her “recovering chav” persona occasionally, but with a clearer sense of irony.
“I think over time, I’ve just completely started to be myself on stage,” she said. “I’m quite weird but in an adorable way, not in a creepy way, so now I lean into that.
“Whereas before I used to overthink everything and was really careful with what I say, now I just say it and if it was funny, great. If it’s not, oh well, I tried. Who cares?”
‘Laughter Lines’ takes place at St George’s Bristol on Thursday, February 12, at 7.30pm. For tickets, visit www.stgeorgesbristol.co.uk/whats-on/laughter-lines-age-uk-comedy-fundraiser
All photos: Jonathan Bowcott
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
