Interview with Rainer Hersch

WHAT do comedian Rich Hall, opera singers, the London Firebird Orchestra and Oompah Brass have in common?

They are all joining musical maestro Rainer Hersch at the Southbank Centre for a mash up of music, song and comedy on Easter Monday.

Taking place at the Royal Festival Hall, the April Fools Comedy Concert will be hosted by Rainer and promises a two-hour fun filled musical jamboree for all the family.

The comedian, writer, performer and classical musician will bring his own unique take on a selection of music which he has chosen especially for the occasion.

It will feature star turns from his special guests American comedy legend Rich Hall, Oompah Brass, stars of classical music plus full a symphony orchestra and choir for the afternoon of comedy, music and mayhem.

It is the fourth year running Rainer has brought his April Fool show to the Southbank Centre and comes hot on the heals of his sell out Yuletide show last year.

"That was amazing," he says. "It was the first Christmas one I have done and it was brilliant fun - a sell out, full of people wearing antlers and festive hats - I've never seen anything like it!"

But now he's in the middle of rehearsals for his legendary April Fool's show, though admits it's a bit late in the month to be holding it.

"Easter is really late this year and April Fool's day actually was on a Tuesday so perhaps not the best day for families to come along," he says by way of an explanation.

"This is a family show and in the end it seemed a good idea to do it on Easter Monday.

"We are in the middle of rehearsals and it's pretty amazing so far."

And he says he's very excited not least because he'll be on the RFH stage, which he loves, with "loads" of people.

"It's the biggest concert I've ever done," he laughs. "As usual I oversee everything and this time I've got a 170-piece orchestra, a 72-piece choir plus the extras so it's pretty mega.

"I love the RFH - it's the best concert hall in London and probably the country as far as I'm concerned.

"It's the perfect place to do a concert like this and I'm very excited to be back.

"There's a great line up too so I know the audience will have a brilliant time - it doesn't matter if you are a music professor or couldn't tell a string quartet from a string vest, this is the show for you.

"It will be a guaranteed laugh every four bars. It's going to be very, very funny."

Music-wise, this year the concert will feature Queen's Bavarian Rhapsody, fictitious composer, PDQ Bach's Missa Hilarious, Rossini's Largo al factotum (translated), Rich Hall as Otis Lee Crenshaw and much, much more.

But don't expect any of the original versions.

"As with all my shows, it's a completely different interpretation that the audience will hear," he says. "For example the Oompah Brass band will do chart hits in an oompah style and it will be like nothing you've heard before. I'm really looking forward to their bit because it's utterly brilliant."

And he says working with comedic legend Rich Hall has been fantastic.

"Rich Hall is the comedian's comic," he says warmly. "He's so, so funny but he's also very musical and has released several albums.

"He has a spoof character, a Dixie country singer called Otis Lee Crenshaw who plays a guitar. We have taken some of his songs and scored them for an orchestra which he will be performing with our 170-piece orchestra as a sort of backing band. In between all of this he does his stand up so it's quite something."

As a piece de resistance he has the Queen coming in to do a rendition of God Save The Queen.

"It's not the real Queen of course," he laughs. "Last year we had her parachute in as a homage to the Olympics. This year of course she has a new grandchild, heir to the throne, so I've written a special version of God Save The Queen which will be hilarious.

"There's a lot happening! And it will all be done in my own inimitable style," he chuckles.

April Fools Comedy Concert takes place at the Royal Festival Hall at 4pm on Monday, April 21. Tickets from £9.50. Call the box office on 020 7960 4200.

Debris - Southwark Playhouse

ENCOURAGING young people who have never stepped foot in a theatre to do so is no mean feat but one director may have the answer thanks to an outreach programme linked to her latest venture.

Abigail Graham is directing Debris, written by Dennis Kelly, and which is being revived in London for the first time since it was premièred 10 years ago.

The play, about orphaned teenagers Michael and Michelle, is being staged at the Southwark Playhouse for four weeks from April 23.

"I don't want to give too much away as I don't want to ruin the plot but it's about two young people who are orphaned and who are trying to make sense of their dysfunctional lives," she explains.

"They are trying to survive and desperate to find a kind of hope in a slightly hopeless world. They want to piece together their story and find out where they came from.

"It's a fantastic and very challenging piece and about giving young people a voice," she adds. "There is a lot of humour but it's also about love, loss, pain, imagination and a sense of belonging.

"It certainly packs a punch."

As part of the production, the companies involved in putting the show on are running an extensive education and outreach programme with youngsters from charity Kids Company and students from LeSoCo.

"Southwark Playhouse is exactly the right place for this to be staged," says Abigail. "It is a theatre which takes risks and encourages the staging of bold and challenging plays and its audience likes to be challenged.

"We also wanted to stage the play somewhere where it would be possible to engage with the local community.

"Again, it was the perfect fit because of the connection the theatre has with the community around it.

"It's right in the heart of Southwark, in the middle of the Elephant and Castle where there are lots of young people and community groups."

The education and outreach programme has included giving 150 tickets for the show to local schools and giving work placements to some of those involved with Kids Company and LeSoCo.

It has allowed them to become part of the creative team and have access to the designers, lighting crew and production teams.

"They have all been mentored by members of the creative team," says Abigail. "They get to go to production meetings, have input, sit in on rehearsals and find out how staging a play in a theatre works.

"They've been absolutely amazing - asking loads of questions and not holding back when they think something doesn't work. They are also totally unpretentious in their ideas, enthusiasm and approach which is very exciting.

"It's been hugely beneficial for them as it gives them an insight into how it is all put together but it works both ways and we have really enjoyed working with them," she says.

As well as the work placements, Abigail and her team are employing some young people as marketing consultants to set up pop up box offices in various rather unlikely places around the borough.

"It's about bringing a new audience to the theatre," she explains. "There was a report out last year that said 28 per cent of people go to the theatre because of word of mouth. But if that 28 per cent doesn't include your peers or community that's 28 per cent a theatre company can't communicate with."

So to reach out to those who have never been to a theatre before, the box offices will be in places where young people hang out.

"They will be chicken shops, at bus stops, colleges and clubs," says Abigail. "The tickets will be £3 so hopefully they will see it as an attractive idea and if they come along we hope they are inspired to come again."

What she won't say though is where the pop up box offices will be. "We want people to find them!" she says.

The project won't stop at the end of the run either, as Abigail says they will be working with the youngsters and students for a year afterwards.

And she hopes the success of this project will lead to more collaborative ventures.

"It's been a fantastic experience for all of us and I really want to do more work like this in the future.

"If we get young people, or anyone who has never been inside their local theatre before to come in, have a good time and get something incredible out of it that will inspire them to come back and try something else, then that can only be a good thing."

Debris is on at the Southwark Playhouse, Newington Causeway between April 23 and May 17. Tickets £16, £14 concessions. Call the box office on 020 7407 0234  

Interview with Omid Djalili

OMID Djalili is a busy man. The award-winning actor, comedian and avid football fan has, by his own admission had a “bit of a day” by the time he is able to speak to me.

Meetings with various people about the autobiography he’s writing, roasting a rabbi and writing material for a new tour – it’s all go.

And when we do chat, he is on his way to do a gig in Bedford. "I'm so sorry," he says apologetically. "It's been a mad day with meetings and what have you so I've been a little bit rushed off my feet.... I'm not one to complain though," he jokes.

"But now we’re good to go,” he adds warmly.

And go he does, through a whole manner of different subjects close to his heart - his love of grassroots football, dying on stage and learning how to recover, celebrity, acting and reacting successfully to hecklers.

In fact he's on sparkling form talking 10 to the dozen throughout the conversation.

But he starts by telling me about his appearance tomorrow as the headline act for this year’s Udderbelly Festival on the South Bank.

"I was very pleased to be asked and to be able to do it as I've been wanting to for a while," he says. "A lot of my friends say it's a brilliant venue so I thought why not?

"Besides, it’s a tent isn’t it? I've always done well in a tent... maybe it's a Middle Eastern thing," he chuckles (Djalili was born in the UK to Iranian parents).

The Udderbelly gig will act as a wram-up for his nationwide Iranalmadingdong tour later this year.

"This is part of my pre tour - a chance to try out my new material and see what people think," he explains. "You have to do loads of gigs before you get it right."

And those who go to the Udderbelly show will be in for a treat.

The 48-year-old's trademark rapier wit will be in full force for the entire evening as, not only is he the main act, he's his own warm up as well.

"I had a warm up man once and you pay for them to basically come on and do a load of old material and then spend 10 minutes berating the audience for not laughing.

"It's very easy and I thought 'I could do that'. So now I do!"

During the evening he will talk about "all sorts of different things" before finishing with a Q&A session.

One of the main topics of conversation will be how he's "cracked the code" of relationships.

"There is a universal code on all relationships," he says. "It's not just romantic ones but any that people have. We don't know why we are friends with certain people nor why any relationship goes wrong.

"It's intriguing and something I'm very interested in. I've done my research - I've been married for 22 years - and I've now cracked the code and will be revealing it at the Udderbelly," he adds proudly.

As well as relationships, he will be putting our obsession with celebrity under the microscope.

"Celebrity is relevant to all our lives," he insists. "We are all celebrities in one milieu or another - if you get promotion, when you are perceived to have more power than others and how you deal with the power, it's not just about those on TV."

What he won't be doing is talking about topics he is perhaps best known for - such as that of being an Iranian in Britain.

"I've done all that being a fish out of water stuff," he says. "When I started I felt I had to do talk about those kinds of things. I'm actually very integrated in this country so I need to do something different."

He says that making sure the audience has a good time and laughs a lot is what matters to him most though.

"I'm very quietly pleased when people put nice things about my gigs on Twitter," he says warmly. "When they say they've had a great night, that's fantastic. I think that brings me far more pleasure these days.

"They've paid their money and want to laugh and enjoy themselves. It's the memory you create for an audience that's important."

And Twitter has had another impact on his time recently. When he found out that Hereford United Football Club was in danger of being wound up due to a lack of cash, he sent a supportive Tweet.

"They need about £78,000 and I started a campaign to help raise the cash they need," he says.

"Hereford were the original giant killers when they beat Newcastle United in 1972 so if the club goes it would be a real blow.

"I am a passionate supporter of football, particularly grassroots which is really struggling right now.

"It's disgraceful because it offers amazing outlets for kids to join a club, have a go at a team sport and get some exercise in the process.

"I worry that if Hereford goes then other clubs will follow."

Instead of donating money, he offered to do two fundraising gigs, which have raised £21,000.

"They've even promised to name a stand after me so there's a bit of pressure - hopefully I'll be hilarious!"

And pressure to be funny is something he knows about only too well.

"Between 1998 and 2002 there was a gaggle of us who used to drive around the country doing gigs," he says.

"There was a lot of banter in the car and we laughed a lot. It was great fun and some of them are the funniest people I have ever met."

But not only were they funny, they also didn't hold back in giving Omid the brutal truth about his performances.

"They did take the piss out of me, doing bits of my act that went badly. And I've had my fair share," he laughs.

"I've had some real stinkers - one night at Jongleurs the crowd was shouting 'off off off' before I'd even come on so I ended up doing a disco dance and they just started chucking beer cans at me. I kept dancing and they kept chucking stuff. Eventually I managed to turn it around but it was close!" he chuckles loudly.

"You need to do about 1,000 gigs before you find your voice and I've done 2,500 now so I'm easy with it.

"I have learned over the years to develop a bullet proof skin!"

But the memory of those bad gigs has not deterred him and the past 20 years have seen him sell out gigs around the world, win awards and branch out into acting.

"I flit between acting and comedy depending on what else I'm doing and scripts that I get. It's great to have the variety and acting helps me do my stand up. It's very exciting to have two disciplines.

"But I haven't found the perfect role yet. One day I might even write a film," he muses.

But for now he says he's looking forward to the Udderbelly gig.

"It's wonderful travelling around and performing to people in places I've never heard of, but London is my home town and the older I get the more I connect with a London audience," he says.

"I also tend to see a lot of people who look like me - slightly squat, bald, over weight, Middle Eastern with a chin beard....

"It's going to be hilarious!"

Omid Djalili is at Udderbelly on Saturday, April 12. Tickets cost £25. Visit www.underbelly.co.uk/ or call the box office on 0844 545 8252

Interview with comedian and actor Alan Davies

TWO years ago Alan Davies returned to stand up comedy with a huge and long awaited national tour of his show Life Is Pain.

After an enforced absence from the circuit of more than 10 years he could have been forgiven for being a tad nervous.

But as it turned out if he was, he needn't have been, as the tour was a huge success receiving rave reviews.

The 47-year-old is now back with his hotly anticipated follow up show, Little Victories which he is currently taking across the UK and will be bringing to the Fairfield Halls in Croydon on April 12.

But why the absence I ask as we chat ahead of the gig?

"There was so much going on," he says almost apologetically by way of explanation.

"I was away for about 10 years. I stopped touring and found I didn't have any material for a start so it was a catch 22.

"Good material is kind of essential - you can't go on stage talking about nothing - you have got to have something to say, preferably funny stuff, otherwise the audience will get bored.

"Plus I was doing TV and other things, then I met Katie, my wife, and then had kids. 'Life' happened basically.

"But I did miss it and it's really nice to be back."

For his legion of loyal fans it is good news. Not least because Alan is held in such obvious esteem and with immense affection, though he baulks at the idea of being labelled a "national treasure".

Since he broke onto the comedy circuit in 1988 he's rarely been idle. In fact these days he's a busy man with TV appearances as the resident foil to Stephen Fry's genius in QI, or as the duffle-coated crime solver Jonathan Creek in the BAFTA award-winning TV show of the same name, not to mention writing scripts, books and material for his stand up shows.

But stand up is his first love and where he started and when we chat he is in the midst of tinkering with the material for Little Victories, which has been inspired in part by the arrival of his two young children.

"They provide me with endless amount of material," he laughs when I ask what these Little Victories are.

"It's like the children finally eating something - especially stuff you've been trying to force them to eat for ages," he chuckles.

"Or getting them to put their shoes on, or even just getting their shoes on them. Or managing to get some sleep - I've spent the last few years having had little sleep! It's about life's little moments when you think you have beaten the system and then find you are back under again!

"The show tries to find the funny side to being a parent and all that that entails. I think people empathise with these events in life."

So plenty to talk about then.

"Yes, absolutely," he says. "I found the last show resonated with those who came to see it which was extremely gratifying especially as I'd been away for so long," he adds warmly.

"Basically Life Is Pain was about becoming a dad in my 40s. This show is more about anecdotal stuff that happens once the novelty has worn off! It's very hard work being a dad you know," he jokes semi seriously.

"All the clichés are true!" he adds in mock horror.

He admits he worries about "stuff" more now he's older and has parental responsibilities and Little Victories is no exception.

"When I toured two years ago I was nervous but it was better than I expected. We did 55 shows and 81 per cent of the tickets were sold which was amazing - I didn't anticipate anyone coming out so it knocked me sideways!"

Affable, chatty and down to earth Alan is also surprisingly modest and unassuming about his success. The only time I sense a slight tension creeping in is when he mentions his TV show Whites which was axed after one series on the BBC.

"I was disappointed about it," he admits. "I thought it was worth another series."

Despite this he's happy with his lot.

"I have worked hard and love what I do," he says. "Writing my book [My Favourite People And Me] was really hard but I was proud of it. But after Whites got cancelled I thought I ought to do something I know I can do - and that is stand up.

"It's incredible because I still get a buzz from it although there is the responsibility to give the audience a good time," he adds. "They've made the effort to come out and booked the babysitter so you should never forget that."

Which brings us neatly to Fairfield Halls, a venue he says he's fond of.

"I like Fairfield Halls although it's a big room. It's very nice and relaxing there. It could do with some attention..." he chuckles before adding: "But it's much loved and one of those places where anyone who's anyone has performed.

"It's very manageable and you can see the audience in a room like that which is great. For me that's what it's all about.

"That's one of the reasons I wouldn't want to play somewhere like Wembley - apart from the fact I'm not sure I'd fill it, I just don't fancy it and wouldn't feel comfortable because you have to charge so much money.

"Also you can't really have a chat with an audience if you can't see them or they you.

"I get why some people do the stadiums but I prefer smaller venues," he adds. "If I was that popular, I would rather do a long run in a theatre where people can see you.

"The worry is there are so many tours out there that some comedy clubs are suffering which is a shame because that's where most of us start out.

"I won't be a national treasure if this gig isn't a sell out though!" he adds laughing heartily.

I ask what’s next after the tour finishes. “Well I’ve been trying to write a sitcom and there’s a novel waiting to be written.

"We're filming Series R of QI in May and June. It's a show I love though I don't remember any of it afterwards," he laughs. "I am in it trying to think of something interesting to say!

"But who knows, I might enjoy this tour so much that I’ll write another show.”

Alan Davies is at Fairfield Halls on Saturday, April 12 at 8pm. Tickets from £20. Visit www.fairfield.co.uk or call the box office on 020 8688 9291.

Interview with Boy George

BOY George needs little introduction. Born George O'Dowd in Bexley in 1961 he shot to international superstardom as the lead singer of 80s pop band Culture Club whose string of hits included Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Time (Clock of the Heart), and Karma Chameleon.

The group enjoyed phenomenal commercial and artistic success selling millions of records with top 10 hits in every country and scooping a multitude of awards.

With its heady mix of reggae, soul and new wave not to mention the allure of Boy George and his soulful voice and androgynous look the band was at the forefront of the era's New Romantic movement.

But by the mid 1980s George had taken a back seat from making music, instead forging a successful career behind the decks as a DJ.

However with all the success had come an addiction to drugs and all that went with it....

But now he's back, clean, lean and raring to go with his first studio album in 18 years - the aptly titled This Is What I Do - and a small tour which includes the Indigo2 on April 3.

The new album, a sublime mix of soul, reggae, rock and pop, has been well received, which George is clearly delighted about.

"It's a really good record," he says proudly. And as we chat it's clear the passion for making music is still very much in evidence.

"I wanted to do something old fashioned and more traditional and it felt the right thing to do to make a studio record with a live band."

He made it with some of his "favourite people", including producer Youth, and some of the tracks were co-written with Culture Club bandmate Mikey Craig.

"I changed management and started fresh with people who see me as I am now, rather than as I was," he says.

"I don't have a record label but I felt it was the grown-up thing to do to make it myself, find a distributor and do it independently."

Inspiration came from his South London roots and the 1970s music scene which was the soundtrack to his youth.

"I grew up in the 1970s so that was what I went back to. It was the most incredible but bonkers decade - the last time the kids had music their parents didn't like!" He adds: "This album reflects the eclectic music of that decade.

"There is still the reggae influence but there's also pop and rock elements. I really enjoyed making it."

And it brought back plenty of memories.

"I remember seeing Bowie at the Lewisham Odeon," he recalls.

"I was 11 years and 11 months. "God knows how I managed to get a ticket! I can't think how my parents allowed me to go as I was so young.

"I spent a lot of time at the Lewisham Odeon - I saw Chuck Berry, David Essex and loads of others. If I couldn't get a ticket I'd either blag my way in or hang out at the back to meet them after the gig.

"In those days you were more likely to be trampled on by a stampede of girls wanting to catch a glimpse of Rod Stewart as he tried to leave the building and get into his Rolls-Royce which was parked at the back! There were no cameras in those days, so no selfies!" he laughs.

"The funny thing about South London is I ran screaming from it when I was 17 but my family is still here so I visit regularly. When I started DJing I played in Dartford and the crowd shouted 'You're one of us!', which was amazing. I am really proud of where I come from, though. South London is still a really vibrant, funky place with a great vibe.

"But it was so different back then. "Back in the 1970s fans knew their place. We used to sit outside Bowie's house in Beckenham. His wife told us to f*** off and we were really happy - things have changed since then," he says, laughing loudly.

In fact, the whole industry is different, though George is philosophical enough to "just get on with it".

"Back in the day you'd turn on the radio and hear everything and anything. It's much more formatted now, which is a real shame, and radio is no longer as creative - but I don't get depressed about it."

But the biggest change has been the advent of social media, which George has embraced.

"It's great!" he laughs. "Facebook and Twitter allow fans anywhere in the world to talk to you - even somewhere like Mongolia. It's the direct contact and relationship with your audience: it's brilliant.

"I do wonder who they are, though, because all they want to know is what I had for breakfast! It's hilarious."

As well as his upbeat view on life, he comes across as wiser and more philosophical: "I feel the same passion as I've always had but I feel more privileged to do what I do and feel blessed that I do the job I love.

"At 19 it fell in my lap and I didn't have the gratitude. I didn't have to stop and think, and when you are young you don't. You get more in touch when you are older and learn to say no to things.

"Now as an older man I can invest in happiness and do stuff that makes me happy. That's the difference between now and then."

But right now he says he's looking forward to the Indigo2 gig.

"I have got a great audience and when I do live shows it's just amazing," he says warmly.

"It is exciting - the most powerful thing, and it's the only place where no one else can be you and you can be 100 per cent yourself. There is only one live Boy George!" he laughs.

Boy George is at the Indigo2 on Thursday, April 3. Tickets from £27.50. Visit www.livenation.co.uk, www.ticketmaster.co.uk