Dan Schreiber

Who are you and what can we expect from your performance?

Hi, my name is Dan Schreiber, I’m a stand-up comic and I like to talk about everything from my love for Brian Blessed, to ancient Chinese wheelbarrows, to how crap I am with girls.

You’ve been plucked from the Edinburgh Fringe and popped onto Radio 4. Is there anything you’ve had to do to make your performance work for the airwaves?

I have to make sure to mention I was raised in Hong Kong, so that people knew what my accent is, otherwise they would have miss my whole act trying to figure out where I’m from. This happens to me a lot when I do standup.

Would you like to be involved with radio in the future? Are there any shows you’d like to be part of?

Definitely. I’d love to be a Radio 4 Extra DJ, doing the links between old 70s sci-fi radio play re-runs. I’d also like to be a part of any comedy exploration documentary – particularly ones that go looking for yetis. Also, if Jarvis Cocker ever needs a sidekick…

Speaking of the Fringe, can you tell us any stories from this year’s festival?

My friend Tom Davis, who I shared an hour show with on the Free Fringe, spent the month in a flat with someone who turned out to be a former gangster - the guy had a scar on his forehead from when someone embedded an axe in his face. He was also at one point banned from most pubs in Edinburgh. Regardless of his past, he was a really nice guy. He kept offering to make me curry and DJ at me on his decks while I ate it. The only problem was he started coming to all of our shows with his mates, who hated me. They would speak through my set, and I couldn’t say anything to them, because I wanted to keep on living.

Anyway, word spread and we ended up getting bigger crowds because people wanted to experience our gangsters.

Did you see anyone at the festival that you think we should investigate?

Gerry Howell is awesome. So is Pete Heat, a magician/comedian. And so is Bobby Mair. Also, I LOVE Celia Pacquola, but you’ve already investigated her for this show.

Edinburgh aside, is there anything else we might recognise you from?

You may have heard my name on the credits of Radio 4’s The Museum of Curiosity, which I co-created and co-produce, or read my name on the QI credits as one of the elves. I’ve done a few TV things too. I was also in the Emperor Yes music video “Wasps”.

Finally, let’s have the all-important ‘careers talk’… Where do you see yourself in five years?

In five years time, I will have released a bestselling book entitled “Brian Blessed for Beginners”, be starring in a big six part BBC documentary entitled “How I found the Yeti” and helping Buzz Aldrin plan missions to Mars. I’d also like to have a girlfriend by then.