Bye Kids: An Interview with Jack Dee

‘I want to spend less time with my family,’ says Jack Dee, the famously deadpan comedian who will be coming to Warwick Arts Centre on 30 October, explaining why he has decided to end his six year touring hiatus.  ‘I think that’s a very good reason for touring. Everyone with children will surely agree with that.’

Yes, Jack is back, and the critics are in agreement that his 2013 tour is a work of comedic genius. The Evening Standard describes him as, ‘never less than triumphant… turning grumpiness into an art form.’ His trademark of turning misery into mirth is unparalleled by any other comedian, making him one of the finest stand-ups the UK has to offer – so thank goodness he’s back on the circuit, despite the huge successes of his other projects over the last 6 years. His BBC Two sitcom, Lead Balloon met huge critical acclaim for its sharp, acerbic wit, as did his hilarious memoirs, Thanks for Nothing, which are modestly dedicated to himself and ‘without which none of this would be possible.’

Dee, who has been happily married to his wife Jane for 23 years and is the proud father of four children, admits he had reservations about returning to touring despite declaring it his ‘first love’.

‘At the first warm-up gig I did after that six year break, I felt like a complete novice. I didn’t know where to begin. But almost immediately it came back. I’ve never taken it for granted – to do it well takes real application.’

He goes on to describe the adrenaline rush of when stand-up goes well, to create a rare break from his cynical, grumpy persona.

As well as a long list of other commitments such as six best-selling DVDs, hosting the Radio 4 ‘antidote to panel games’ I’m Sorry I Haven’t Got a Clue, as well as the aforementioned memoirs and TV show, part of the reason for Dee’s long, tour hiatus came as a result of dwindling enthusiasm for it. After a long, exhausting tour in 2007, the comedian says he needed ‘to step away from it and recharge’, adding that ‘the day you stop enjoying stand-up is the day you should stop doing it.’ Now though, he is happy to say he has regained his passion.

So which subjects can we expect from this stand-up show? His teenage children have provided huge inspiration. ‘My take on it is,’ he says, ‘that adolescence should really be regarded as a form of mental illness. Once you’ve accepted that, everything makes more sense. It’s very alarming when adolescence happens to your children. Most parents don’t believe it will happen to them. But overnight, you lose the person you’ve been living with for 10 years and someone else entirely emerges. Suddenly you’re living with someone who’s metamorphosed into a lunatic.’

Much of his act is based around the idea that life is colluded against him, as a man who believes everyone has got it in for him – and he is the master of keeping up his curmudgeonly act, but is equally assuring that the real him is much more genial – although no one ever believes him.

For further details on Dee’s tour, go to www.offthekerb.co.uk