Dane Simpson takes his 'old-mate jokes from the pub' to the Edinburgh Fringe

Comedian Dane Simpson has a new title to add to his rapidly expanding resume.

“I’m now an international comedian,” he laughs, speaking on the phone from Scotland.

“I love the sound of that, it’s pretty bad-arse!”

The Wagga funnyman is currently performing at the world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, and is a world away from his Riverina home.

“I was talking to an American stand-up here yesterday and she was like ‘where are you from in Australia?’ and I said Wagga Wagga and she’s like ‘get out of it’!” he says.

“The Americans in particular just think that all us Aussies are always taking the piss – and I love that we’ve got that reputation.”

The Edinburgh Fringe is one of the world’s biggest comedy events and can be a make-or-break experience for aspiring comedians.

“Coming off a couple of years without making money I really wasn’t keen to travel earlier in the year,” says Dane.

“Even the most popular comedians come over and spend all this money on marketing, they sell out shows and then still come home in debt.”

But 2022 has been a big year for Dane and his star is definitely on the rise.

His show Didgeridoozy won Best Comedy Weekly Award at the Adelaide Fringe, he performed at the Comedy Allstars Supershow in Melbourne and recorded a special for the Paramount+ streaming platform.

“After I did the Adelaide Fringe a couple of comedians that I absolutely love and respect came to see the show,” he says.

“Jimeoin was one of them and he said ‘we should go to Edinburgh’ and he rang his producer then and there after the show.”

Veteran British stand-up Stephen K. Amos also encouraged Dane to head to Edinburgh and with the backing of these two “big dogs of the industry”, he decided to give it a go.

Rather than booking his own venue, Dane has secured a hosting gig through his producer.

“I’m lucky enough that he’s producing shows for a venue here called the House of Oz, and it’s purely Australian acts showcasing some of the best performers from Australia, it’s called Ozmosis – The great Australian variety pack,” he explains.

While he’s had to make a few tweaks to his material, like swapping ‘texta’ for ‘felt tip’, he says the Aussie humour translates well for the UK audience.

“I realised that they’re just yarns, they’re old-mate jokes from the pub, and they are really into it here,” he laughs.

“I’m getting a lot of love from the audience with the silly stories about my dad and I find the didgeridoo is going down really well.

“Most people haven’t even seen a didgeridoo before, let alone seen somebody play it, so that’s really fun.”

There are a host of Australian performers in Edinburgh for the festival, including Wagga’s Michelle Brasier, and Dane says it’s an amazing atmosphere to be a part of.

“So many great acts and such a warm welcoming energy, there’s just something for everybody at the Edinburgh Fringe.”

Another factor that swayed his decision to travel was the fact that he owed his wife Eleanor a honeymoon.

“We got married in January and have been so busy, so we thought we might just combine it to kill two birds,” he says with a smile.

“Do Edinburgh then take off for a trip around Europe afterwards.”