Interview: Andy Parsons

The new show, ‘I’ve got a shed’, has a pretty unusual title. What can audiences expect?
In my shed, I have an armchair, a TV and a window looking out onto the street. When people go by, I start pretending to hammer things. There is a lot in the show about technology, and how we think we are getting lots done, when really we waste a lot of time doing nothing at all.

A lot of students coming to watch the show will know you from Mock the Week, does your TV persona reflect what you are like in the live shows?
Yes, it certainly reflects some of it. But in the live shows it’s just you- not lots of other comics. It’s written, directed and produced by you, and there is no one censoring what you have to say.

Do you feel like you have to fight to get yourself heard?
Well, it’s the only show on TV with seven comics, and there aren’t seven political angles to every story, so you do have to get in there quick.

You appear to have a very perceptive, but gentle style of comedy. You don’t seem to find humour in belittling people- is that a conscious decision?
I don’t find humour in belittling people, but I do urge people to come along to the live recordings of Mock the Week. We record three hours of material and lots of that ends up on the cutting room floor, you’d be surprised at what you hear.

How did you develop your very distinctive style of delivery?
It just happened, really. You write things, you do a number of gigs, certain things work better than others, and a style develops. There was no conscious thought process.

Having worked as a writer on Spitting Image, satirising Margaret Thatcher, how do you feel about the polarised reaction to her death?
Spitting Image ran from the early ‘80s to the mid ‘90s. I came in as a writer just as she was leaving, so I actually had little to do with Margaret Thatcher. Twitter has shown, however, that the current generation have no idea who she is- there were so many teenagers confused as to why she was trending. So, in many ways, it has polarised the older generation from the younger generation.

Will you be playing ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’ then?
No, definitely not. But then, I will be talking about the future in my show. I feel like that’s very much in the past.

You have had radios and TV shows as well as live tours, which is your favourite means of performing?
The best is definitely the live stuff. It’s immediate, and it’s all you: you’ve written it, you’re performing it and producing it, no one telling you what you can and can’t do, and you don’t have to wait six months for the finished product.

What would be the ideal gig?
I like it best with an audience who are well up for it, and we surf the comedy wave for 2 hours!

Have you ever performed at the Warwick Arts Centre before?
I have indeed- on every single tour! I started in the smaller rooms, and moved up and up and up, and now I think I’m performing in your biggest room!

How do you feel about a student-orientated audience?
I don’t think it’s very ‘studenty’ at all. It’s very much across the board. They do a great job of marketing it to a wide range of people, so it’s really mixed.

I’ve got a shed is at the Warwick Arts Centre (Butterworth Hall) on Saturday 25th May 2013, 8pm. Tickets cost £15 + booking fee and can be bought here.