I started performing in New Zealand at the end of 2007. After a handful of open-mic gigs I made it to the final of Rawquest, a newcomers competition held as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival (NZICF). Paid gigs followed around Auckland halfway through 2008 and at the end of the year I was nominated as Best Newcomer at the NZ Comedy Guild Awards.
In 2009 I performed as one half of a show called Full English at the NZICF (
http://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=2223). The show sold out and we were also filmed in the six months leading up to the show as part of a documentary (Stand Up) about the comedy scene in New Zealand. Stand Up was later nominated for multiple awards at the NZ Documentary Festival. Full English did extra shows in Wellington and Auckland after the festival.
In 2010 Full English 2 returned to the NZICF with a longer run of six shows and was also performed at the Hamilton Fringe. I also performed my first solo hour of comedy in a show called A Theory of Everything.
In 2011 Full English performed for the last time in the Adelaide Fringe Festival (
http://www.ripitup.com.au/article/3051). I also performed my first solo show at the NZICF with several nights being sold out (
http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/comedy-fest-2011-review-danny-mcchrystal-4150223). Later in the year I auditioned for a spot on an annual NZ TV comedy gala called Aotearoha and was picked to be on the show. I ended up on national television for a couple of minutes after the show was edited for television (only twelve out of 50 applicants ended up on the television show). This is my biggest gig to date with the sold out show filmed in front of over 700 people.
In May 2012 I returned to the UK ahead of my show at the Free Festival in Edinburgh in August. The last performances of A Theory Of Everything were held over 14 nights (
http://www.threeweeks.co.uk/article/ed2012-comedy-review-a-theory-of-everything-danny-mcchrystal-free-festival/ ).
After six months living in Edinburgh I got to the point where I was getting paid spots at The Stand but am now based back in the north-west of England. References from promoters and other comedians are available from New Zealand upon request.
