Not too long ago, Chris Kent was working as an electrician in Cork. Today, he's living in London with his wife and toddler, gigging internationally and socialising at the school gate. We caught up with the comedian to speak about his new tour, Looking Up.
"This one is all about being a stay at home dad and a stand-up comedian," says Chris. "Me and my wife are juggling that. She's a teacher so I mind him during the day and then she comes in and I tag team out. I'm like, 'you find him, he's in there somewhere, trust me' and I run out the door," he jokes.
Despite living and gigging in the U.K, Chris will be performing his new material all over Ireland - and we do mean all over. Galway, Limerick, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Dundalk, Dublin and many more counties will be hosting the funnyman this Spring.
So, as a stay at home dad with a job on the road, when does he get the chance to sleep?
"He [his son, Jack] sleeps really well, actually. I think we were spoiled because he sleeps well at night and he has his day nap which somebody just told me he was going to lose. I didn't realise they drop that nap. I'm devastated.
"I love him but that's two hours I look forward to," he deadpanned.
Born in the rebel county, the Corkonian has had to adjust to life in London with his young family but already, they're feeling the pull of home. Mostly due to lack of sandwiches.
"I'd love to give it maybe another year but things for me are a little bit better here [Ireland] because I'm touring here. Also, they've got no sandwiches in England.
"They've got no sandwiches over there. They've no delis, you know? You can get a sandwich here if you want a sandwich but in England, you have to go into a pub and order a sandwich.
"In Ireland, there are sandwiches everywhere, you're never more than 6 feet from a sandwich."
Aside from the lack of sandwiches, Kent explained that working on the English comedy circuit has made him "feel like a newbie again" as past achievements are rarely taken into account.
"It doesn't matter what you've done in Ireland, to a certain extent," he explained.
"I've done six solo shows and been on with Russell Howard and supported American comedians and English comedians but no, it's like [they] still want you to drive a hundred miles to do five minutes at a club for free."
Additionally, the award-winning comic claims that he and other Irish comics are often pigeonholed when it comes to gigging in the U.K.
"They keep all the Paddy's different as well, they won't put us on together," he says. "I'll never work with Alison [Spittle] or Joanne [McNally], really. It would be a freak occurrence if that happened."
Whether Kent remains in London or moves home to Ireland, remains to be seen but, in the meantime, he says that he's looking to get a little more tech-savvy.
"I was actually thinking of doing a podcast. I recorded myself, like a lunatic, because I just talk to myself all the time anyway when I'm around the house on my own so I thought 'I'll see if this works'. I actually enjoyed it but I need to learn a few things, I'm not very tech-savvy."
