Balancing the Books… and the Jokes: James Tricky Brings Don’t Count On Me to the Fringe

In his debut solo hour Don’t Count On Me, comedian and chartered accountant James Tricky explores what happens when you trade spreadsheets for spotlights - and why sometimes the riskiest choice is the one you can’t ignore. Ahead of his Edinburgh Fringe run, he talks to Hinton Magazine about his unlikely path from finance to funny, the reactions of family and colleagues, and what he hopes audiences take away (besides a newfound love for tomato purée).

Tell us a bit about Don’t Count On Me.

I feel like I always need to start by saying that the show isn’t about accountancy, and in no way do you need to have any knowledge of it to enjoy the show. Now that that’s out the way, I would probably say that Don’t Count On Me is about trying to make a decision between something very safe and logical and something which is seemingly insanely risky and probably quite irresponsible. The only catch is that you've been meaning to choose the risky option for several years because it feels like it’s always been calling out to you. There are also some stops to explore how I ended up with this choice in the first place (mixed-race parents, I'm looking at you), which hopefully provide a nice bit of context as to who I am and how I got here.

As a chartered accountant, how did you transition into comedy?

The real question is how did I transition from an interest in comedy into a chartered accountant! I started doing comedy long before I’d even looked at my first set of accounts at university, as part of the Bristol Revunions, who introduced me to sketch, stand-up and the Edinburgh Fringe in general. But when graduation started looming, it didn’t really feel like something I was going to be able to immediately pursue because I was pretty sure there was no money in it. So I picked up a grad scheme in accounting with the intention of doing something a bit more serious. But I think I’m finally at the point now where I might be able to transition back into comedy after six years of accounting.

What reactions did you have from colleagues, family and friends?

I think family and friends always kind of knew. My parents are very supportive of the decision, I think partially because I’ve proved to them that I am capable of working a “real” job — which I reckon they are fully expecting me to go back to. My colleagues, on the other hand, were SHOCKED. I’d not mentioned it to anyone at my current job because sometimes it’s easier than dealing with a lot of questions about it, so as far as everyone was aware, I was just in the finance team.It was about a year into my current job when one person in the office saw me on a poster in the wild and decided to look me up on Instagram (almost rude it took them a year to look me up, but anyway). The next week or so, the news started to spread and people started to ask questions, but they were all just very excited about it! A few have now also come to see some previews, which is very lovely — so it’s been as well-received as I could’ve hoped.

Is the long-term plan to quit the day job?

I think that would definitely be the dream. But I’d also like to make it clear that I don’t completely hate accounting! Of course I definitely prefer doing comedy when I can, but to be honest, it’s just so tiring to do both. The thing with having two jobs is that you have to WORK two jobs. Ideally there’ll come a time when I can make the leap into being a full-time comedian who moonlights as an accountant, and I’ll finally know exactly what to say when someone at a party asks me what I do.

How are you feeling about your debut solo hour at Fringe?

The answer to this question changes daily. Some days I can’t wait to get up there and show everyone what I’ve put together, and some days I’m so nervous that something is going to go really wrong in the build-up. I know there’s a tendency for performers to put a lot of pressure on their debut hours, so I’ve been doing my best to temper my

expectations and just try to enjoy the process as much as possible. I’m now mostly hoping that people come to the show and we can all have a laugh together.

What do you hope audiences in Edinburgh take away from Don’t Count On Me?

Primarily good vibes and some jokes they don’t forget. I know that sounds silly, but it is a comedy show after all. Otherwise, if I could maybe inspire some people to go and try that thing they’ve always been meaning to do — if that’s a dance class or to spruce up their garden — then that would be a big bonus. Finally, I’d love it if people would finally start to appreciate tomato purée for how great it is

Don’t Count On Me will be at Pleasance Courtyard (Cellar) from 30th July to 24th August. Tickets available HERE