Daniel Bye’s new solo show Imaginary Friends offers a surreal, satirical take on grief, media, and identity, exploring how we navigate loss and shape ourselves through stories...
Hey Daniel! Thinking about the classic nature vs. nurture debate, I’m curious: were you funny as a kid?
I was a fairly shy and awkward kid, and I used humour as a mask to pretend a confidence I didn’t really have. As I got older, I learned this was a good icebreaker. But is this funny person the ‘real’ me? How would I know?
Imaginary Friends is your return to solo performance after several years. What made now the right time for you?
I toured a show with a friend (singer-songwriter Boff Whalley of Chumbawamba) a couple of years ago. But there’s nothing quite like the direct relationship between one person and the audience. I’ve missed it.
In a noisy world, where do you go when you need to recharge?
I’m one of those idiots who enjoys running up and down mountains. Racing down the side of Scafell Pike, there’s no room for anything but the present moment. Everything else goes quiet. It’s my meditation. There’s absolutely nothing in the show about this – the character I play would be much better off if he went out for a run, but he’s totally boxed in and the idea of switching off or recharging doesn’t occur to him for a second. He’s like a human doomscroll.
In what ways does Imaginary Friends explore authenticity in the digital age? How do we still act authentically?
The central character in Imaginary Friends loses his moral compass after the death of his brother. Without that anchor, he goes chasing after hits and clicks and likes, numb to the real-world consequences. Or not numb, but someone trying to make everyone else feel the way he does. Even without that kind of profound grief, I think we’ve all lost touch with that quiet voice telling us what really matters, under the pressure of the incredible noise of contemporary life.
What's grabbing your attention in the UK culture scene right now? (could be anything)?
There’s a hunger for a good time among audiences at the moment, hardly surprising given how bleak everything is. Audiences are warier, though, about coming out to watch something that gives a hard stare at the contemporary moment. It doesn’t look that appealing – they’ve been living in the contemporary moment all day, and the last thing audiences want is to feel like they’re being told off on their night out.
With that in mind, I recently saw Tambo & Bones by the brilliant ATC, which manages to be an incredible ride that still manages to do some deadly serious work. Work that manages to be wildly entertaining without sacrificing real engagement with the world is pretty rare at the moment, so that show really stood out.
Click here to learn more about Daniel Bye's Imaginary Friends.