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Faye Shortt, the daughter of comedian Pat Shortt, is deliberately stepping out from under her father’s shadow and building a career that mixes stand-up, presenting and acting. From clashing feelings at drama college to testing material online and on stage, she says the shift into comedy happened gradually — and has now become a clear ambition.
From drama school hesitation to a love of comedy
Shortt arrived at drama college wary of following a familiar path. She deliberately avoided comedy at first, uncomfortable with the idea of being judged for echoing her father’s work.
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That changed when a tutor encouraged her to try lighter, playful pieces amid a string of intense dramatic roles. In the smaller, experiment-friendly setting of drama school she tried it — and discovered she loved making people laugh.
Working with her father felt organic
During the pandemic, Shortt and her family made sketches at home for fun. Those low-pressure projects led to asking if she wanted to appear on a few live shows with Pat. She accepted, and the collaboration grew naturally from there.
She describes their professional relationship as collaborative. They co-write material for shows and enjoy returning to work together after periods apart. Shortt also credits her father with instilling resilience and a practical work ethic that helped her find her own voice.
Early resistance from audiences and the grind of building a name
Performing on bills where the headliner was her father presented challenges. Early crowds sometimes assumed she was there because of him, not because of any training or experience. That skepticism made testing new material on stage tougher.
She says those moments were part of a broader learning curve. Drama school at 18 left her very different from who she is now. Confidence, she adds, is built slowly: trying out sketches online, taking small presenting and acting jobs, and keeping at it even when a set doesn’t land.
Handling negativity in public life
Shortt acknowledges that online criticism still gets to her, like it does to many performers. Her response is practical: she removes abusive comments from her pages and clears upsetting messages from her inbox when she can.
At the same time she makes a point of valuing positive feedback, saying a kind message means more when it arrives after the negative noise.
Recent highlights and future plans
Appearing on the TV programme Six stands out as a “pinch-me” moment for Shortt. She says the experience felt natural because she already knew some of the presenters, having been interviewed by them before. That familiarity helped ease her into doing more on-screen work.
Looking ahead, her ambitions are clear. Shortt plans to keep building a presenting career — she hopes to secure a regular slot in the next few years — while also pursuing more acting roles across TV and film. She wants to write and tour a one-woman show, and to keep growing her profile through radio and television.
Although she would like to try performing in the UK, she stresses her affection for Ireland and her family ties. In the local comedy scene she names Aoife Dunne as a performer she admires for both her work and the experience of collaborating with her.
