Spotlight: Will Setchell

Threatening to be glassed by a drunken Glaswegian heckler and his wife for wishing ‘if only your ancestors had polio’ in an improvised song is not the best reason for moving to Manchester. But that’s why Will Setchell’s here in the Northwest – and Glasgow’s loss is certainly the rainy city’s gain. A firebrand anarcho-vegan who is not one to stand down from a fight (though he really should, he’s ever so slight), Setchell imbues his act with a genuine passion for his material. Thought-provoking and often quite filthy, his is a unique voice in a world of increasingly safe comics.

First gig:
"It was at The Stand in Glasgow, when I was 16 and I have no idea how it went. According to my dad I looked 'fucking terrified.' I still am."

Best gig:
"I did a gig at a certain large club where I was convinced they would hate my brand of anarchist-whimsy but instead I got applause and laughter. I even got an applause break for pointing out sexism is rubbish, from the same crowd who were laughing at sexist gags a few acts before. It shows the arrogance of a comic that, as I walked off, instead of thinking, 'wow, I misjudged them' I thought, 'you, Setchell, are a fucking God.'"

Worst gig:
"I've been threatened with a glassing on more than one occasion for destroying hecklers too hard. Weirdly those weren't awful gigs, just dangerous. I did one though at the Fringe in 2012 where I could just feel the hatred coming off the crowd. Utter fucking silence. For an hour. Dire."

Favourite venue:
"I'm a big fan of some of the Manchester nights (XS Malarkey is always lovely, Tony Basnett's night in the Railway Inn in Didsbury, it’s a beautiful room and when the Comedy Store is on it's on) but it'll always be the Stand in Glasgow – I've had more good gigs there than I can even remember. Every time is a delight. Seriously, a delight. PLEASE BOOK ME AGAIN!"

Best heckle:
"Recently while doing a bit of material about the film Grizzly Man at the Fringe, when an American woman shouted, 'I knew that guy!' I asked what he was like. 'He's an asshole!' she yelled. 'Why?' 'He got eaten by a damn bear!'"

What would you be doing if you weren’t doing standup?
Drugs.

If you could be haunted by anyone, who would it be and why?
"Caravaggio – he knew how to party and paint and party and get in fights and party and die in mysterious circumstances. Plus, I'd definitely get him to decorate my living room. Duck egg blue, nowt fancy."

If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? And why are you on death row?
"Being vegan, my last meal would be inconvenient. I'd be in for Smashing The System though, smashing it hard then jumping up and down on the bits. Then sweeping them up; the cat comes in here."

What’s the largest animal you think you could beat in a fight? No weapons.
"I don't believe in hurting animals. Mind you, if it smacktalked my mother I could certainly wail on a gibbon."

If you lived in medieval times what would you do for a living?
"Probably have plague or something – if that's even a job."

Question from past Spotlighter Adam Rowe: Why do you even bother?
"Because one day I hope to earn more money than Adam Rowe."