Jack Brookmyre has admitted it can be a good ice-breaker if people know who his dad is.
But the rising comedy star, who won an army of new fans at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, added: “You won’t get very far in the world of stand-up unless you can make an audience laugh.”
He is referring to dad, Chris Brookmyre, one of the UK’s top crime fiction writers, whose thriller, The Cracked Mirror, won the 2024 McIlvanney Prize for Scotland’s crime book of the year.
Chris and his wife Marisa Haetzman, a former consultant anaesthetist, have also written a series of acclaimed historical crime novels together under the pen name Ambrose Parry, with their latest book Death of Shame longlisted for this year’s award.
Jack is used to hearing his parents discuss their novels on stage at book festivals around the country. These days, however, it’s more common for them to be watching him in the spotlight.
The 25-year-old continues to make a name for himself as a rising star of the Scottish comedy circuit.
He said: “As long as I’ve been around my dad has been a published author. When I was young my mum was working for the NHS and if my dad had a book event nearby he couldn’t leave me in the house on my own so I’d very often just come along.
“I knew my dad had a reputation, especially in his early books, for being quite silly and comical and I always quite liked that.
“But I actually took a lot of influence from my grandad – also Jack Brookmyre. He loves what I’d call ‘nonsense’, and there’s a part of my routine that is very much influenced by the way that he would just mess with me.
“A lot of the stupid humour I have I would probably credit to him and I suspect it’s where my dad gets it too.”
But Jack insists the family name can only help up to a point.
“I’ve met a lot of people in standup who have stage names but I thought ‘I’ll keep the one I’ve got… it might help people remember me’.
“It doesn’t come up often, although the first time I gigged with (Scottish stand-up) Joe Heenan he saw my name on the bill and asked, ‘Any relation to Chris?’
“So it can be a good ice-breaker, but if I went out there and died every night, I wouldn’t get very far in the world of stand-up.”
Since starting stand-up while studying philosophy at Glasgow University, Jack has featured on comedy bills up and down the country. He also stars in BBC Radio Scotland’s topical sketch show Noising Up, which is back for a new series.
After quitting his day job as an administrative assistant at a motorhome rental company to focus on standup and voice work full time he is honing his skills.
He recently went down a storm at this year’s Fringe, winning new fans with his routine of absurd and observational comedy combined with a repertoire of impressions from president Donald Trump, to Sir David Attenborough and a Fife-type Arnold Schwarzenegger.
His family have been hugely supportive of his chosen career, acting as a sounding board for new material and attending gigs.
He added: “I’ve always been able to do accents and impressions. When I was younger I did them at home, and it was my parents who first said, ‘ You know, that’s actually really good’.
“Sometimes I’ll tell them about stuff I’m working on and they’ll get quite excited to see it, so they’re both fans.
“They’ve been to so many gigs, and it’s always been encouraging to know in the back of my mind my parents are never going to turn around and say, ‘No, you can’t make a living in the arts, you need to get a real job’.
“I know my mum was really tickled by my Fifer Schwarzenegger.
“I think my Gollum voice is the best impression I’ve got, and the most accurate, but Donald Trump is my favourite to do and to make stuff up with. Where the funny comes in is more about his turn of phrase, how he speaks and how he phrases things.
“My grandparents also come to see me when they get the chance. I don’t know if my grandad has picked up on his influence in my set but I know that he’s definitely an influence on me.”
