Patrick Monahan is a well known name around Leicester Comedy Festival and if you’ve ever seen him live, you’ll know why! This year he’s back with his show That 80s Show at The Little Theatre on Friday 24 February (TICKETS), as well as 2 special Pub Quiz for Kids shows at Peter Pizzeria. We caught up with Patrick before the festival to find out about the new show, reality TV and what else is coming up. We’ve also got a pair of tickets to give away to his show at The Little Theatre, so read on to enter!
How would you describe your stand up to someone who has never seen you perform?
It’s very huggy, very warm, very friendly and very interactive. After the show, if you don’t come round to my house for a cup of tea and to meet my family I am very disappointed! It’s a very up-lifting feel-good style of comedy.
Your current tour is called That 80s Show and focusses on your experiences growing up, do you find that audiences can identify with your stories?
Yep the most important thing about comedy is that you need to connect with your audience. Stand-up is very different to a theatre play or a lecture where a fourth wall is sometimes put up by the performers and the audience watch like a TV audience, knowing nothing and wanting to learn. With stand-up it’s about telling people about your life and observations, but also about drawing parallels between what you do and what your audience do too, so they can laugh and then turn to their partner or friend beside them and say “I do that too, I should be up there doing this show!”
You became a bit of a TV regular through Let’s Dance for Sport Relief and Show Me The Funny, what’s been the best tv experience you’ve had?
To be honest it’s all been really good fun! I’ve jumped off a 10 metre diving board doing summersaults in the name of light entertainment for Splash! The dancing for Sport Relief was amazing – learning to dance and working with 10 professional dancers really makes you raise your game! And of course winning Show Me The Funny was brilliant!
Would you ever do I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here?
I’d never say never! But I reckon that show gets scarier by the minute – it can’t be long before someone on that show actually gets eaten by a snake and the rest of the camp mates have to eat the snake! I’d do the show if I could take cheese sandwiches in an invisible lunch box.
You’re a regular now at Leicester Comedy Festival, do you have any particularly fond memories of the festival?
I love doing the Leicester comedy festival – it’s a great way to spend February and not have to worry about the cost of Valentine’s Day!
I’ve had so many fun shows in Leicester, one of my highlights has to be running from the stage at the end of one gig to another gig that involved live cooking and then dashing off to do my evening solo show! So many shows in one day and loads of fun!
You’re also doing some family shows during the festival, including Pub Quiz for Kids, what does doing comedy for children differ to your regular shows (apart from the lack of swears)?
Doing comedy for kids doesn’t actually differ that much to performing to adults. For both audiences you need plenty of jokes and plenty of energy!
The great thing about performing kids comedy shows is that they don’t need alcohol to laugh and they’re already up for having a great time from the very second you start the show – so you have to start at a 100mph whereas with adult audiences you can get more manic as they drink more.
Which comedian do you think you’re LEAST similar to?
That’s a good question. Probably the Marx brothers, because there was 3 of them and there’s only me. And one of them could play a harp.
You also came 3rd in the Top 20 Hardest Working Comedians 2016. Are you tired yet?
Haha..never…I will never be tired of comedy, I’m writing this while on my way to my 3rd gig of the day… “when you tire of comedy you tire of life”, once said by no great poet!
Come this time next year at Leicester Comedy Festival, what will you have been up to in the 12 months in between?
I’ll have completed an international tour, written a new show to tour after the one I’ve just completed, finished writing a play that I’m working on, learnt some new dance routines and probably have had a new haircut. But it depends how long I can let me hair grow before I get stopped at airport customs and supermarkets.
Patrick will be at The Little Theatre with That 80s Show on Friday 24 February. Tickets are available from the Comedy Festival website.
WIN
We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for Patrick’s show. To enter just answer the question on the competition page.