Comedian and 9-1-1 regular Bryan Safi is trading his dispatch headset for a microphone this summer as he takes his new comedy show to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
In his first solo show, titled ‘Are You Mad At Me??’, Safi explores queer identity, childhood humiliation, adult intimacy issues and more through the medium of stand-up, with a few theatrical and extremely camp surprises thrown in for good measure.
We caught up with the comedian, who has played gay emergency services dispatcher Josh Russo on 9-1-1 since 2018, to find out more…
PinkNews: Your new show is titled, ‘Are You Mad At Me??‘ Could kind of talk me through that concept a bit. I know you explore anxiety and insecurities, so where did that idea come from?
Bryan Safi: I mean, it is the question I ask the most in my life. I am a big people-pleaser, for sure. And what’s curious about people-pleasing is, like, people-pleasers don’t like it. They find it excruciating, but it really is a thing where you just walk away from a conversation at a party thinking, ‘did I say the wrong thing? Oh my god, are they mad at me?’ And then it just spirals from there.
And so, this solo comedy show really is like a spiral through identity, queerness, rage and people pleasing, and told through the lens of someone who has spent his entire life trying to be liked by everyone in every room, and I’m now just ready to blow that room up. So it’s part-storytelling, it’s even a little musical, and I’m calling it a theatrical unraveling. It’s funny, personal, chaotic, and grounded also in a voice I’ve been developing now for years.
PinkNews: Oh, that sounds so cool. And actually, I’ve seen your show being described as a mix of stand-up, storytelling and something more theatrical. So is that ‘something more theatrical’ the musical element?
Bryan Safi: Yes, so I have three songs. One opens the show. It’s truly silly and absurd. It’s a cover of Paula Abdul’s “Cold Hearted Snake”, but as a ballad, and revolves around my boyfriend going trick or treating without me on Halloween, and me being really anxious about that. I mean, it’s so dumb. It’s really so stupid.
But another one is in the people-pleasing aspect of it, about the anxiety I have returning a t-shirt to the Gap, because returning a piece of clothing is literally saying ‘I’m not pleased’. And when I return a piece of clothing, I literally stake the place out like a CIA operative circling the block and making sure the same person who sold it to me is not the same person I’m returning it to. Do you know what I mean? Because then I, like, won’t return it if it’s the same salesperson, I’ll end up buying three more. And so one of the songs is truly just a spiral about my anxiety returning a t-shirt and coming up with reasons why I’m returning it, while reassuring the person who sold it to me, ‘it’s not your fault, it’s my fault, I’m so sorry, don’t hate me’. It’s just ridiculous.
PinkNews: So musical comedy, is that something that you’ve always ingrained into your work, or is that new for you?
Bryan Safi: No, it is something I’ve ingrained in my work. I came up in comedy through a program called The Groundlings in Los Angeles, and you use music a lot in your improvisation and in your comedy and building out your stuff, and I just love it. I think it’s such a great way to tackle something serious so that people can really grasp it. Because at least in the music I do, it becomes so absurd and ridiculous that it’s more fun to sing along with your pain than to talk about it.
PinkNews: Yeah, that’s so true. Also, as you mentioned, you explore like queer self-discovery in your show as well. Can you tell me a bit more about that?
Bryan Safi: Yeah, I think queer people will recognise a lot of this show. I think growing up, you over apologise for who you are and what you think, and you police yourself constantly at school. You’re trying not to appear too gay. Sometimes, depending on your home life, you’re at home, trying not to appear too gay, watching what your hands do, watching what your voice does. And I think queer people especially have almost a seventh sense of reading a room like it’s something to be decoded, finding out what’s safe and what isn’t. And this is really, I think, for anyone who’s tired of shrinking themselves and is ready to stop doing it.
PinkNews: That’s really well put.
Bryan Safi: Thank you.
PinkNews: I feel like that’s something most queer people can relate to in that way, but it’s nice to come at it with comedy rather than, you know, something more depressing.
Bryan Safi: Absolutely. This show is stupid, just so you know! It’s got some strong messages, but it is silly and fun and wild.
PinkNews: We’re obviously living through a tough time for LGBTQ+ people politically at the minute, so I wondered if politics has ever made you change your approach to comedy and your art as a queer comic, and how you speak on queer issues as well?
Bryan Safi: Absolutely, it’s made me get louder. As you mentioned, queer visibility and vulnerability really aren’t luxuries anymore. They’re completely urgent, and this show is loud on purpose. I’m doing the show because I don’t want to feel small anymore. I want other people to know they don’t have to be either.
What’s been so surprising, at least in the States, and I’m sure in other places too, is how allyship seems to be dwindling under this administration. People are afraid to speak out on a large scale, companies who used to support the queer community like Target are shrinking back with their DEI programmes and initiatives. And so really, it almost feels like we’re having to rely on ourselves more than we have maybe in a while. And I want everyone to know that it’s time to kick the door down, and I’m excited to do it.
PinkNews: Yeah, absolutely. And also with you performing in Edinburgh, you know, we’ve got a lot going on here at the minute, especially with the UK Supreme Court ruling recently.
Bryan Safi: Unreal. Horrifying. I mean, we definitely felt that Stateside. [It’s] just dehumanising, demotivating, and really, I’ll never understand why people attack the most vulnerable populations to ostensibly feel better about themselves, or perhaps to distract from deeper issues. It’s such an easy thing to do, people have been doing it for centuries, and we just need a new playbook on that, I think.
PinkNews: For sure. Are there any comedians or specific pieces of media that have inspired your work?
Bryan Safi: Absolutely. First of all, Sandra Bernhard has been a huge influence on me, even from when I was young. She’s a huge influence on me. I love everything that cat Cohen does. Catherine Cohen, she’s hilarious. She’s a comedian. I’m obsessed with anything Amy Sedaris does, anything Cole Escola does. Oh, Mary, which is on Broadway right now, was almost a catalyst for this show, just sort of thinking, well, if I think it’s funny, I think other people will, and if it’s resonating with me, I think it’ll resonate with others, even though it can feel very specific and ridiculous. It just really freed me in many ways. That’s been really exciting to watch.
PinkNews: That’s nice. It’s also refreshing, when comedians sort of list their influences, it’s usually a really long list of straight white men. So, like, hearing yours is great.
Bryan Safi: [Laughs] It’s so true.
PinkNews: So you’re performing your show in Edinburgh, but I know you did it in LA and New York as well.
Bryan Safi: Yes, I did test shows, like preview shows, sort of almost like they were drafts. This will really be like the culmination of all those things.
PinkNews: Do you have feelings around like the audiences being different? I know a lot of US versus UK comedy can be quite different with the different reception to it. Do you have any thoughts about that?
Bryan Safi: Yeah. I mean, there will be no jokes about people in LA or New York really, because, I don’t know, sometimes that’s a little too specific, but I generally feel the themes that I talk about are themes that everyone feels and hears. And the show starts out with this Paula Abdul cover that is so ridiculous that I think everyone sort of gets on the same playing field there where we’re just like, ‘well, this is crazy.’ After that, I think everyone has settled in to like, ‘Okay, we’re on this journey with you.’
But I don’t know, I’ve performed in the UK many times before. The reception is always warm and excited. I guess I’ve spent a total of about a month in Scotland before, and it’s such a beautiful place. The people feel very deeply rooted. And I’m just excited to get to know it even better.
Bryan Safi will be performing his show ‘Are You Mad At Me??’ at Underbelly Bristo Square: Friesian from 30 July-24 August at 5.20pm. Tickets are available here.
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