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Friday, October 5, 2012


THEATRE -COMEDYEXTRA Followusontwitter @Argus_TheGuide Jailhouse joker keeps it all real


DIDyouhear the one about the prison officerwhobecameasuccessful come- dienne? Well you’ve probably heard of AvaVidal,whobrings her showAva VidalGoes Dutchto Cardiffnext week. Ava,whowasinspired to get into com-


edybywatching ChrisRock, didn’t originallyintend to go into stand-up.“Iwanted to get into writing,” she says. “I foundall the doors were closed and thatthe quickestwayto get it out therewastoget into stand-up and that’swhatIdid.” Avadidn’t findit easytoget


into stand-upcomedy, particu- larly as she had twochildren to raise: “Sometimes youfeel ‘thatgig went reallyterribly’. If it weremeonmyown, I’d think ‘I’m not doing thatagain’.But I had to get backout there,” she says.


COMEDY STAR:


Ava Vidal


Puttingsomeof her previouswork experience into practice,Ava reveals her on-stage confidence is just atrick: ‘It’sasort of hangover fromthe prison service.Iactuallylookmoreconfident than Iam.Whenyouwork inamale prison, youcan’t go around looking ter- rified, even if youare.’


Ava’sTVwork has included appear- ances onMockthe Week and she draws muchofher act fromreal-life experi- ences: “It’s allme,it’s allmyownlife, it’s everything thathappens around me,” she says. Part ofAva’s act involves her recounting stories about raising her teenage daughter.Unlike somecharacters thatform stand-up comedians’ sketches, Ava’s daughter is very real and her most-valued critic: “She says ‘your deliverywasabit off there,’ or ‘I think thatjoke’s too long withoutapunchline’. She’smoretechnical –she’s a critic,really.” Aswell as touring,Avais thinking about future projects: “I’m puttingacouple of projects together.Who knowswhatwill happen with them, butI’m real-


ly enjoying doing it. Ialso haveasitcom idea andabook ideaIwant towork on.” In the meantime,you can catchAva


Vidal atChapter Arts centre,Cardiffon October 12. Visit chapter.org or call 02920311050 forticket information.


AndyHowells


JAMES RAMPTONtalks to comedian ROSS NOBLE ahead of his date at Cardiff Millennium CentreonOctober 21


It will allbefine with legendRoss


STAND-UP STAR: Ross Noble


ROSSNoble iscomedynobili- ty.For the past 21 years,hehas been one of our leading stand- ups.Hehas been responsible for13sell-out toursandseven top-sellingDVDs.Hecame 10th in Channel 4’s 2010 poll of


100Greatest Stand-Ups. Hehas also performedevery- wherefromSingaporeandHong KongtoMontréalandBudapest. Atthe ageofjust 36, he is alreadya stand-up legend. Thetremendous newsis that


Ross isnowembarkingonhis first majornationwide tour fortwo years.The Geordie stand-up,who isknownas ‘the king of improvisa- tionalcomedy,’iscomingto athe- atre near youwithanentirelynew show,Mindblender.Bookearly – tickets forRoss’ showsalways fly offthe shelves. Whatdistinguishes hiscomedy


is his completelyuniqueandvivid imagination.Hepossessesagift forwonderfullyfunnyandinnova- tive streams of consciousness.No twoRossNoble showsare ever the same. RossandIare talking inacen-


tralLondonbar in the lead-up to the tour.Heisasnaturallyhilari- ous in person as he is in atheatre. Theshaggy-haired,Newcastle comedian,whohas alsomade memorableappearancesonsuch TVprogrammesasHaveIGot NewsForYou,QIandThat SundayNightShow, begins by saying thathehas justhadayear off, during whichheindulged his passion forriding dirt bikes by taking part inanextreme off-road race in Transylvania. “Ihadbeen gigging solidlyfor 21


years,soI thought ‘I’ll take this year off. I’ll spend the time doing normal things likeanoff-road motorbike race through Dracula’shomestate!’” Thecomedian admits hewas


nervous about returning to the live arena after his yearaway.“I beganperforming again in Australia earlier this year.WhenI started,Iwas thinking: ‘Do you have to bematch-fit likeaboxer?


WhatifI’ve forgottenhowtodo it?’


“But themomentIwalkedon


stageandthe light hitme,itcame flooding back. Itwaslike getting backintoawarmbath. “Thebreak has givenmeanew hunger.Ihaverechargedmy mental batteriesandcomeback with fresh energy.Having the year offhasmademeappreciatehow muchI’d love stand-up.Going backhas been suchfun.” Ross’ showshavearare energy because he is suchadazzling improviser.The comic,who recentlymade his debut as alead- ing actor in afeature film,ahor- rormovie entitled Stitches, explains that,“Whatalot of come- dians will do is write aload of jokes,see whichonesworkand thenhonethem. “But Isimplygoonandimpro-


vise stuff.Thatmight spark the seed of the next idea,andthatin turn might spark the seed of the next idea. I’m so keen to explore newideas thatIdon’t keepthe original idea.Myshowisacon- stantwork in progress.” Isn’t thatapproachincredibly


scary,though?“No,”Ross replies. “Thebestwaytodescribe it is to sayitislike drivingacar.When they first start driving, most peo- ple are nervous.Theyhave to look at the gear stickanddon’tknow whichpedal is which. But once they get to the pointwherethey can drive without thinking, that’s when they reallystart to fly. “Stand-up is exactlythesame.


Playingaroughclubis like driv- ing in heavytraffic.Youmight driveupacul-de-sac,but then you can showoff,doahandbrake turn andget backonthe road!” Ross,whose latest stand-upDVD


will be released later this year, never plansmuchbefore goingon stage.“Thatgets in the way.The wayIdothings is easier,because it allowsmeto play. If youget too caughtupin themechanics of whatyou’re doing or over-think it, thattakesaway fromenjoying it. Whenreviewers saythatIjust talk veryamusingnonsense,Isee


thatasthe biggest compliment because youcan’tmakeanaudi- ence laugh fortwohours unless it’s funny. If it looks easy, then job done!” Thecomedian,whocan spin a


whole showout of the hairdo of someonesitting in the front row, will never tire of the experience of makinganaudience laugh. “WhatIreallyloveiscreating


images in people’sminds.It’s like readingabook–everyone sees it differentlyintheirownhead. Iget arealbuzz offthat. There isareal sense of joyasyoucan seethem picturing the story in their head. It becomes somethingmorethan a joke.Ilovethatshared experi- ence.”


“Whenthey’re telling colleagues


aboutmyshowatwork the next day, people should be saying, ‘You reallyhad to be there!’ “Iwant to create something new


every night whichisonlyfor those peoplewhoare there.Thenthey feel they are part of something special, rather than justwatching the showpassively. “Bouncing offthe audience is


the most amazing sensation. Sometimes youcansee thatpeople whohaven’t been tomyshow before are freaking outwhenI start talking to the audience. They’reworried because alot of comedians rip audiencemembers to pieces forother people’s enter- tainment. “ButIdon’t do that. Ijustwant


to gettheminvolved.Idon’t pick onanyone ormakeanyone feel excluded.Myaudience getsme. Theyrealise there’snomalice in it.Thatallowsmeto go alot fur- ther because people aren’t terri- fied.Iwant to saytothe people whoare coming tomyshow, ‘Don’tworry,it’s all going to be fine.’Thatshould be the title of the tour!” ●RossNoble will appear at


Wales Millennium centreon Sunday, October 21. Tickets cost £25andare availableonline at wmc.org.ukandfromthe box officeon02920 636464.


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