JUST over 20 years ago
Rob Newman and his comedy partner David Baddiel were selling out
stadiums and commanding an astonishing level of celebrity status and
success.
The pair were the pin
ups of their generation and responsible for turning comedy into the
new rock’n’roll.
However, while David
went on to find a continuation of fame and fortune with projects such
as Fantasy Football League after they split, Rob's career went a
totally different way.
Indeed for a while he
virtually disappeared from view, shunning the limelight and only
popping up from time to time to do one-off solo projects.
The time away allowed
him to reinvent himself from the poster boy image he clearly felt
uncomfortable with to the politically astute, anti-establishment
comedian and writer he actually was.
But now Rob, or Robert
as he prefers to be called, is back with a new show, the New Theory
of Evolution and which he is bringing to the Balham Comedy Festival
next week.
Part of a nationwide
tour, it is his first new show for seven years and as we chat it's
clear the 49-year-old is delighted to be back behind the mic.
"I've never done
the Balham Comedy Festival before but I'm really looking forward to
it," he says. "The Bedford Pub, where it's held, is a great
venue and I've seen some amazing comedians there over the years.
"I did perform
there once and it was the sweetest loveliest gig so I'm pleased to be
able to bring the show here."
The New Theory of
Evolution sees Robert tell the story of how a series of personal
disasters and jammy flukes led him to stumble upon a whole new theory
of evolution, which he calls the Survival of the Misfits.
It’s a story which
includes altruistic vampire bats, Prince Kropotkin’s daring escape
from a Tsarist dungeon and Richard Dawkins’ postman wrestling
naked.
"I've been touring
it for a few months now," he says. "It's normally 90
minutes long but at Balham I only have an hour so the audience will
get a greatest hits version with a bit of ukulele at the end - great
comedy always ends with a song!
"But the main
thing is I put forward a new theory of evolution."
It sounds a bit heavy I
suggest tentatively. Do people need a degree to understand it? He
laughs.
"Oh yes, everyone
who comes along will be required to sit a general knowledge test and
those who fail will be banished to the next room!
"Actually although
it's more focused on science it is tremendous fun to talk about,"
he enthuses. "It's about ideas, and if you have got ideas, you
open up this whole new world which gives you much more material to
talk about - for example the strange behaviour of wolves or flat
worms.
"Audiences want
ideas and I think there is a hunger for that - it certainly gives you
more to get your teeth into and it doesn't make it less funny - in
fact it makes it more funny.
"There is a big
industry out there telling us that we are born selfish and it's such
a depressing idea so it's the job of the comedian to cheer everyone
up and get rid of that wrong idea by tearing a hole in it.
"I have had a few
guffaws from audiences...!"
Softly spoken, but warm
and extremely polite, throughout our chat Robert comes across as
thoughtful, almost nervous and at times seems almost embarrassed by
his younger self.
"When I read these
reports of what it was like back then [at the height of his fame], my
experience was completely different," he says simply. "It's
not something I recognise.
"I remember being
chased around back stage by the security guards. They just saw a
scruffy bloke and thought he shouldn't be back stage so they chased
me. It was quite tense.
"I got very
nervous and stressed out - I didn't have any sang-froid."
So are things better
now that he's back I ask?
"Oh yes," he
enthuses. "I am really loving it although I wasn't sure how I
would feel initially because I'd been away for a while," he
admits.
So why the long time
away? It appears health, parenthood and other projects got in the
way.
"I wrote my book
The Trade Secret which took me six years - I'm a slow writer and
thinker," he says somewhat apologetically.
"It's based on a
true story and there's a lot of Elizabethan swashbuckling that goes
on in it so it was great fun to do and I enjoyed escaping into that
world.
"I also had a
couple of operations on my back and spent a year learning how to walk
again though I'm OK now. And then I became someone's dad.
"It was only after
all that I started on this show and it involved a lot of workshops
and research.
"I hope now I'm
back the comedy is richer for all that experience - I'm certainly
enjoying it very much," he adds. "People have been warm and
generous in their reaction and appreciation which is fantastic.
"I think I'm
enjoying it more these days although I do miss the tour bus and my
tour manager," he jokes. "These days it's just me on my own
and in smaller venues."
And this is something
he prefers.
"I did a gig at
the Shepherd's Bush Empire with Mark Thomas which was nice but I
thought I was going to have a heart attack beforehand as I was so
nervous.
"It was terrifying
and really scary. Now I think anywhere bigger than the Hammersmith
Apollo doesn't work for me - or for comedy come to that, and I regret
having set a bad precedent.
"Even with bands
it is always disappointing in a large venue as you can't see them -
if I was that popular again I don't know I would choose a large
venue.
"I love smaller
places and the connection you have with your audience so I'm really
looking forward to the gig at the Bedford.
"The only thing is
that the pub is right next to the railway line so you always hope a
train doesn't come by in the bit just before the joke's punchline!"
Robert Newman's New
Theory of Evolution is at the Balham Comedy Festival, Bedford Pub,
Bedford Hill on Friday, July 11. Tickets cost £16. Visit
www.balhamcomedyfestival.com or call the box office on 0208 682 8940.
