It’d take more than hecklers to knock down Tig Notaro

Asking comedians about their most memorable heckle is a sure-fire way to hear a funny anecdote. But for Tig Notaro the question dredges up an unpleasant memory of her first visit to Ireland, several years ago, at Kilkenny’s Cat Laughs Festival.

“I got yelled at that I was ‘horrible’ and ‘ugly’ for 30 minutes. That was kind of disturbing. It was one of the worst things that happened to me. That scarred me for a few years,” Notaro says.

Notaro was later told her material wasn’t suitable for the 1am slot in a pub. “And it was the end of the festival and people were tired and drunk. It was one of those things that, after it happened, I flew back to Los Angeles and I had a show in the Improv in Hollywood and I had no fear going on stage, because I had already been through the worst-case scenario. Nothing had ever happened that bad before.”