Easily Offended People Shouldn't Leave The House

Daniel Sloss

Scotland's Daniel Sloss is not merely 'the next big thing' in comedy. He's shaking up the form by defying political correctness — intelligently, rather than sensationally.

Sloss is in Australia for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Like many a stand-up comedians, he sleeps in after show nights. But today the 25-year-old is alertly awaiting this 1pm call. "I was just reading comic books," Sloss divulges.

"In many ways, the easily offended are the ones who need to see this show the most."

Having long attended the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his dad, the Kirkcaldy, Fife prodigy began performing at just 16. He's since successively appeared at the Fringe himself. Sloss is a regular on UK TV. Stateside, he's guested on Conan five times. Sloss has now honed a mode of subversive and subtextual black comedy — he's even joked about his sister's cerebral palsy (Sloss has previously suggested that her tragic passing in childhood underlies his early desire for levity). Sloss touts himself as "a massive comedy fan" — he constantly studies other comedians. And he's ambitious. Following 2010's pilot sitcom for the BBC, The Adventures Of Daniel, he's working on a US production. "It's still in development," Sloss says. "It's very rough ideas." He's determined to conquer the US. "I wanna be a great," Sloss proclaims. "But I'm fully aware that it might take me until I'm 45."

Sloss' current stand-up show is Dark — the title "a little fuck you" because he was "sick" of his comedy being reductively described as "dark". He's already performed it extensively — in the UK, Europe, New York and Los Angeles.

Yet the provocateur is frustrated by the explosion of internet outrage over comedy's dealing with taboos. "If you're easily offended, please don't come. But, then again, if you're easily offended, don't leave the fucking house - you're ruining it for the rest of us!" Ironically, a four-and-a-half star review of Dark in The Age proposes that, "In many ways, the easily offended are the ones who need to see this show the most." Indeed, Sloss' comedy prompts audiences to confront their reactions. "I don't know if I'm consciously challenging," Sloss responds. "I do jokes about death and religion and drugs and paedophilia," he laughs, "But, again, I never say things to intentionally shock an audience. I don't say things just to get a reaction. But, if something I say gets a reaction, I find it important to deconstruct why… 'cause it's such a visceral reaction nowadays to be upset by something that someone says. There are trigger words and there are trigger topics that set people off. But it's never about the word — it should always be about the intent. Unless it's intended to be offensive or it's just done to get a reaction. It's possible to talk about certain subjects with not the intent to offend people or upset them, but just to make them think and laugh at it — 'cause I truly believe that you can find humour in anything." Some punters interpret his material personally — which Sloss deems "narcissistic and arrogant". Comedy isn't literal, he argues — comedians "create a character" and routinely employ "misdirection".

Happily, this frequent visitor to Australia maintains that we're generally open-minded. "I tend to find you guys are a little bit harder to offend. You obviously use the word 'cunt' as liberally as I do, which I respect. You understand it is a term of endearment."