WHAT’S ON
evenings of stand-up per year with an average of over 80 per cent of the available seats sold.” In the last two years, the Theatre Royal has also hosted shows by Jimmy Carr, Al Murray, Russell Howard, Dara O’Briain, Stewart Francis, Stewart Lee, Omid Djalili, Alan Davies, Ross Noble and the ever-popular veteran comedian Ken Dodd. Plus the BBC radio comedy panel game I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue has been staged at the Norwich venue twice – once as a recording of the show and then returning recently as a stage show. So far booked to appear this year are Adam Hills, Sean Lock, Russell Kane, Julian Clary, Al Murray and Sarah Millican, with a return by Ken Dodd – and of course, Norfolk’s home-grown comedy duo, The Nimmo Twins, otherwise known as Owen Evans and Karl Minns. Ross Noble is also pencilled in for an appearance, with tickets on sale soon. Julian Clary, who appears on April 17, has been in the business 30 years and acknowledges the industry has “changed beyond all recognition”, while his own style has evolved, too. “It used to be an eclectic selection of people in small rooms above pubs in the 1980s. Our comedy was a reaction against the rightwing men in bow-ties who were being offered as light entertainment in those days. “There was a certain amount of anger and delight in confronting people when I started, which has more or less gone now. Making people laugh is my main aim in life these days. I don’t think there’s so much to be angry about now.” But while the anger has subsided, Julian doesn’t feel pressured to tone down his live shows and on his latest tour will be sharing The Joy of Mincing. It’s a celebration of his 30 years of camping it up and is aimed at a 16-plus age range. “It’s the one time you can let rip a bit, on stage,” he said. “I don’t want to be filthy for the sake of it, but I think it’s a comic device. You just exaggerate who you really are on stage. I’m quite fond of moments of vulgarity.” An analysis of Britain’s comedic tastes, carried out in 2014 by Ticketmaster (State of Play: Comedy UK) found audiences in the East of England weren’t keen on “toilet humour” but did like saucy jokes and were also big fans of regional jokes – something Owen Evans of The Nimmo Twins agrees with. “Norfolk people can definitely laugh at themselves – it’s just when other people laugh at them, they don’t like it!” he quipped. Presenting a four-night run of their 20th Normal For Norfolk anniversary show at the Theatre Royal from August 10 to 13, the Nimmo Twins’ whole act is based on poking fun at all the funny little idiosyncrasies of their
People perhaps assume that you just walk into a room and make this stuff up, but jokes are very hard to come by
Sean Lock