The wanderlust seems to have settled most comfortably in his soul, and has no intentions of being “shook-off” any time soon.

Comedian Danny Bhoy has taken his unique brand of comedy from the bleak winters of his home country of Scotland to the beaches of Australia and New Zealand, and tramped across North America.

In just a few short years, Bhoy (a quirky take on the classic song) has seen his comedy career blossom, building up a following and a reputation for being one of the most-travelled comedians in the world.

“I just like it,” Bhoy said. “Being on the road is exciting to me, and meeting people in their home country is great.

“I like to pick up on their accents–which even in Canada are quite different. I can tell the difference from Vancouver to Toronto.”

His own accent is a subtle ear-pleasing blend of Scottish mixed with East Indian, and his razor-sharp wit and natural insightfulness blends well with his down-home-comedy style.

“My style is that of a story-teller,” Bhoy said. “It comes from the tradition of meeting up with friends in coffee shops and pubs, mostly to get away from the bleak weather outside, to share a laugh and share stories.

“There was no dining al fresco under a warm Tuscan sun staring at the glorious view for us,” he added. “We got our laughs from each others’ lives, our friends and family and some real horror stories that got funny in re-telling.”

That ability to get people to laugh was always buried inside Bhoy, who admits, like many comedians, that he was the “classic class clown.”

“I was always getting in trouble, impersonating the teachers, that sort of thing.”

But he did go on to university and graduate with a degree in history, which lead him to a succession of temporary jobs, none of which inspired him.

“A degree in history,” he mused. “We’re a dying breed, you know. There’s nothing you can do with it.”

His personal epiphany happened on one of those dead-end temporary jobs, where he continued to entertain his workmates with his quick-wit takes on life.

“I finally realized that I liked to make people laugh,” he said. “So I thought I’d see if there was a career in comedy. It was always there, I just had to find it.

“Comedy was waiting for me, and I just had to wake up and see it.”

His first solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe fuelled his passion for laughter, and in a few years he has built a following with his effortlessly funny routines. He was also nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Individual Comedy Performance.
Doing solo stand-up might be daunting to some, but Bhoy likes being onstage by himself, testing the waters for audience reaction.

“It’s actually a very solitary profession and an education process,” Bhoy said. “I grew up saturated with Bollywood films, the colour, music and dancing.

“Comedy has none of that. But there is the immediate reaction of the crowd.

“There’s no exact science to it. You do it in front of the mirror, then try it on. What blows the roof off one night, might get a smattering of laughter the next. For me, there’s never a specific theme. I just sit down and fill my head with ideas and develop some and see how it works out.”

Still eager to test the laugh-meters around the world, Bhoy plans to do “some more gigs” in Mumbai, India, where he looks forward to the opportunity “to explore that side of my heritage.”

As for most comedians, scrapping up the ladder to the top takes years of persistence, but Bhoy puts a rosy spin on the trip.

“It does take years and years to work out who you are, to work out what kind of comedy suits you,” he said. “You need stage time, time to find your voice.”

The working out part has obviously been working well for Bhoy, who kicks off his cross-Canada tour in St. John and wanders his way west, with a Kelowna show at the end of March and bids adieu in Vancouver.

To those aspiring to a future in stand-up, Bhoy ends on a comic note:
“Give up! I don’t need any more competition on the road!”