Open spot of the month: Richard Hanrahan

Age: 24

Based in: Edinburgh (originally from Essex)

First gig: Technically, when he was 17, but only started gigging regularly in 2010

Number of gigs: Around 100

Most memorable gig: One gig ended up pulling a man in the front row – and I’m not gay. I was doing this really bad gig, and two people in the front started making out. I got them up on stage and tried to do a three way kiss, and ended up kissing this guy – and it turned out I knew him – I‘d interviewed him two days before for Fresh Air [where he is Head of Programming]!

What do you try and do on stage?: I’m doing a PhD that examines the idea that you have things that are exterior to your body which define you as a person, like your Facebook profile, your phone, your fashion. I’m researching at how this new way of thinking about the self – especially with social networking – affects us politically as well as everything else.

With my comedy, then, I’m trying to get my inner voice and my outer voice to be in sync – that’s what Bill Hicks said when he finally found his way of being funny. I think it’s really important to not only be entertaining, but to do something more, to take the audience somewhere else – ideally to a politically interesting place. They always say that comedy is an art form, but really it’s more of a philosophy,

But I’m not that good yet, so I just do cock gags.

Who are your heroes on the Scottish Comedy scene? Paul Sneddon, obviously, he’s brilliant to everyone new on the scene. Every other big name seems to leave Scotland as soon as they get big, but he stays and does some really great stuff.