Never Mind The Stand-Up: Phill Jupitus Preview
Phill Jupitus, who started his career as an aspiring performance poet on the 80s music scene, is probably best known to the public as a regular team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. (I say regular: he has only missed one episode of two hundred and fifty five, a fairly impressive record.) He also appears occasionally as a guest on QI. He is now going to be hitting Warwick Arts Centre with his latest stand-up show, which is on tour after a sell-out run at last summer’s Edinburgh Festival. However, this show has a bit of a twist on the usual comedy conventions; he advises his audiences to:
Leave your preconceptions at the door, but don’t forget to bring your curiosity.
Phill has created a character sketch show that changes with every performance. His motivations for this experimental new show came from wanting to push the boundaries of stand-up, which he says “is generally risk-adverse, but I wanted to build something with an element of risk because that’s when the best stuff happens.”
You’re Probably Wandering Why I’ve Asked You Here… is a piece that uses three characters: a veteran of the stage, a veteran of the Second World War, and a recently deceased Phill Jupitus from 2052; all of whom field questions from the audience which explore and reveal their different personalities. Not the usual comedy then, but Phill’s improvisational talents have been honed over his sixteen years of appearing in quick-fire panel shows. He has said that the experience has been exciting for him, because each show is different depending on the level and quality of audience interaction. Phill shares an amusing anecdote from a recent performance when “an audience member said to me as The Late Phill Jupitus, ‘Tell us about your first Budget’. I replied, ‘A lot of people were very surprised when I was made Chancellor by Prime Minister McIntyre in his all-comedy Cabinet.’ The more the audience invest in the show, the more they get out of it. They will never be short-changed.”
Phill has compared this new show to improvisational jazz, in some ways; every single show is unique and every show funny in its own way. It is a true experience for both the audience and the performer and a full on interaction between the two, creating a form of organic comedy. Obviously, it takes a huge amount of talent to make a show like this work and there is massive risk involved as Phill doesn’t have any fixed material to fall back on during the show. However, if the reviews are to be believed, Phill has not disappointed so far in his improvisational skills: One4Review said of the show that “I left an hour later with further admiration of the man’s talents and his willingness to try something different… It is an experience that should not be missed.” If the critics are right, Phill’s show should be a huge success as it continues on its touring circuit and I can’t wait to get involved on the night.
Phill’s show, You’re Probably Wondering Why I’ve Asked You Here…, comes to Warwick Arts Centre on June 4th, tickets available from the box office and on the website.
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