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_Silly Symphony

Jimmy Carr is a man who loves what he does for a living. On his last tour, the moon-faced comic played 139 dates. He then only had four days off before he started moving round the country again. So what did he do with those precious few days of holiday? Why, he performed some lowkey stand-up gigs, of course.

"I was actually a very, very lazy man before I started doing comedy," declares Carr with a laugh. "But really, talk about having nothing to moan about! I love playing live. I don’t really think of comedy as a job, it’s just a fun thing to do. I love doing a new show every year, it’s the best thing ever!" Such dedication to his art has turned Carr into a genuine comedy superstar. Not only does he travel the UK on a weekly basis to bring some more withering one-liners to his fans, but his quick wit brightens up TV panel shows like Channel 4’s 8 Out Of 10 Cats. He also recently found time to write a book with his friend Lucy Greeves, a history of jokes called The Naked Jape, and his third live stand-up DVD, Comedian, is out in November. Yet anyone quick to assume such extravagant success has gone to his head would be completely and utterly wrong. Carr might play a smarmy know-it-all on stage, but in reality he’s always quick to throw in a quip about his own position in the comedy firmament, never buying into his own hype.

"There’s not an awful lot of hype about me. Basically, what you get when you come and see me perform is a man talking. This isn’t Cirque Du Soleil. At no point do I fit into a small glass bottle. When people see a dancer, singer or an actor, they usually think, ‘Wow, I could never do that, that’s amazing.’ But when they see a comedian, they often think, ‘I tell jokes to my mates at work, I could do that.’ I think the only thing that might put people off is standing in front of lots of people. Jerry Seinfeld has a great routine about more people being afraid of public speaking than they are of death. So at your average funeral, most people would rather be in the box than doing the eulogy."

It’s a testament to Carr’s talent that he manages to produce a brand new show every year, something other comics in his position don’t always bother with. Repeat Offender is the apt title for his new show, another Pandora’s Box of witty wordplay and borderline-offensive putdowns which he’ll be performing on October 5 [2008 ]as the opening gig for this year’s BRMB Birmingham Comedy Festival. It’s a night Carr’s particularly looking forward to, especially because he’ll be performing in one of his favourite venues.

"I tell you, Symphony Hall is one of the best venues in the country," enthuses Carr. "I don’t why more comics don’t play it, it’s incredibly good. There’s not a bad seat in the house. For most of my audience, who probably wouldn’t normally go and see classical concerts there, it’s a new experience for them. So when they go there to see someone like me, they’re already having a good time before the night’s started, because they’re like, ‘This is just beautiful!’ Birmingham’s become a really great place to hang out in now too. I’ve really seen the change in the city since I started doing comedy. When I started out, the Bull Ring was still all dishevelled, and now the city’s such a nice place to spend the day."

For Carr, being part of the festival means he gets the chance to share his own good fortune with his fellow comedians.

"Comedy festivals are intrinsically a good idea. I like to think of myself as the marijuana of comedy – I’ll be the gateway drug for the Birmingham Comedy Festival. People who don’t normally go and see live comedy might come and see me cause I’ve been on TV, they’ll have a good time and suddenly think, ‘I quite like stand-up comedy.’ Then they’ll take a flick through the brochure and say, ‘Okay, I might take a chance on seeing this fella.’ That’s the ideal for any festival."

There is, of a course, a theory that cities have sense of humour specific to them, whether it be the self-deprecating humour of Birmingham or the down-to-earth banter of somewhere like Manchester. Having toured to practically every town, city and village across England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, Carr is in a unique position to judge this theory.

"You know what? I think they’re all quite similar," he decides. "There’s actually more of a difference in the audience’s reaction doing a gig on a weeknight than a weekend. Area-wise, there’s a difference playing somewhere like Edinburgh – which has a real theatregoing type audience – and, let’s say Belfast, which has fun but quite aggressive crowds. To be honest, that’s as big a difference you’ll get area-wise. There’s more difference doing a gig on a Tuesday and on a Saturday. People out on a Tuesday tend to be like, ‘What are we doing out?! I want to be at home watching CSI!’"

Carr is always this forthright, whether it be chatting about pushing the boundaries of taste or smashing the clichés of comedy. Get him onto the topic of comic timing, and he’s refreshingly honest about his opinion.

"I think people can make a fuss about it, and they don’t really know what they mean. They see a comedian and say, ‘Well, he had wonderful timing,’ and you ask them what they mean by that and they go, ‘Uh, he told…the punchline…after he told the joke.’ I just think comic timing is turning up at eight o’clock when the show is about to start and talking for two hours. That’s the best timing that I have."

Such candour makes a change from comedians who waffle on about their craft and the hardships of making people laugh for a living. For Carr, it’s just about telling a few gags and leaving his fans in hysterics. Nothing fancy, but it does the job beautifully.

"I just quietly go about my business really. I think the reason people see me year after year is that they can tell I’m clearly having a good time."

Interview by Robert Paulsons for What's On magazine, September 2007. No reproduciton without prior permission. www.icbirmingham.co.uk

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Jimmy Carr