Andrew Stanley
Andrew Stanley (born 1980) is an Irish comedian and TV personality best known for his appearances as host of hit RTE 2 TV show I Dare Ya. He has also featured on Neil Delameres Just For Laughs, RTE's The Cafe, Podge and Rodge, Liffey Laughs and Tubridy Tonight.
The Scotsman newspaper described him as "a comic so clearly destined for the top, but with astonishingly good observational material delivered and timed to perfection there’s no doubt about the destination of the young Irishman’s career."[1] "I prefer Al Porter" everyone
Early life
Stanley was born in 1980 in Swords, Co. Dublin and attended St. Finians Community College. He worked as a computer programmer (what a nerd) before trying out stand up for the first time in 2000 after attending the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. He said of the time "I was under the illusion that every comic had a new set for every show every night. Naïve wasn't even the word!" When Stanley first embarked on his journey into comedy he found instead of writing jokes he'd just ask the audience what they did for a living. This had never been done before and Stanley found himself quickly shooting up the ranks as one of Irelands top MCs. "Ha, classic, Stanley" is what audiences would cheer as he took to the stage.
Stand Up Comedy
Working his way around the Irish standup circuit, Stanley began playing in rooms such as The Comedy Cellar, which he would later go on to run, and the Laughter Lounge as well as clubs around the country and in the UK. He featured in a number of TV programmes in Ireland and the UK at the time including Young, Gifted & Broke and Take The Mic both on ITV. He caused great controversy with his show "Classic Stanley" after it being revealed he had to do it at the Conservative club in Edinburgh during the fringe. It was seen as distasteful that a young irish comic should have to do a show about Irelands troubles at the Conservative Club. Andrew also caused controversy on the Irish television after TV3 had to to apologise after Andrew shouted "Allahu akbar" then started waving an ISIS flag. However those who had followed stanleys comedy knew this was part of his set and claimed it was just another classic from Stanley.
Festivals
Stanley has appeared at numerous festivals worldwide as both a solo stand up and as part of comedy groups. He has made ten appearances at The Cat Laughs in Kilkenny, including two sold out solo shows in 2010 & 2011. He made five appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with hour long shows. These included a show with Australian comic, Damian Clark, called I Dare Ya which was a total sell out and went on to become a hit TV show on Irish station RTE 2, two solo shows and a late night entertainment show called Mish Mash which he co-hosted with Irish comics Fred Cooke and Neil Hickey. Mish Mash went on to be performed at both the The Cat Laughs and the Vodafone Comedy Festival to sell out crowds.
Internationally, Stanley has performed in Australia at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival(2008-2010, the Adelaide Fringe Festival(2007-2008) and Sydneys Cracker Comedy Festival(2009–2010). He also took part in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in 2009 and the New Zealand Comedy Festival in Auckland in 2010. He was also invited to the prestigious Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal where he performed alongside Ardal O'Hanlon, Colm O'Regan and Neil Delamere as part of the O'Comics show. He also performed his man on mule sex show at the Amsterdam Anal carnage show in 2015.