For the first edition of my interview series, I was lucky enough to meet the actor and comedian Miles Jupp. Jupp has slowly become part of the British comedy elite thanks to his regular appearances on panel shows such as ‘Have I Got News For You’, ‘Would I Lie To You’ and ‘Cats Does Countdown’. Beyond this, he’s also triumphed in the art of sitcom – most notably for his portrayal of Nigel in the cult BBC2 series Rev alongside Tom Hollander and Olivia Coleman. But now Jupp has stepped out on his own for a nationwide Stand Up tour.
Press Play, below, to listen to the full interview
The introverted, eccentric actor and comedian Miles Jupp took to the stage at Medina Theatre Isle of Wight on Saturday 21st October on the most southern leg of his critically acclaimed nationwide tour, Songs of Freedom. An audience of 250 crowded into the auditorium to hear the one time children’s television actor desperately rant on a vast range of subjects from irritating children to elitism at Waitrose.
It soon became clear that this wasn’t any old Stand Up gig. You could argue that Jupp doesn’t do Stand Up comedy at all. Instead he narrates a series of extremely bizarre situations making the audience feel a certain amount of empathy for him until the story reaches a humorous climax. There is something quite refreshing about a comic having such a unique approach to the art of live comedy and by the audience’s reaction it’s very successful.
Throughout the show there were slight comedic echoes to Jupp’s inspirations; Eddie Izzard and Alan Davies in the manner in which he switched subjects without even taking breath. It’s easy to see that this style of comedy may work itself back to the mainstream in the coming years and Miles Jupp is more than capable of spearheading this minor comedy revolution. Yet there remains a tenderness to his humour which makes it almost universal for any age. That is of course providing you’re comfortable with the occasional C bomb thrown in for good measure!
Jupp promptly announced at the start of the show that there would be no encore so the very last joke of the evening fell to a story about his brief but memorable stint as a restaurant critic. Again, his art of storytelling was so capturing that the audience failed to spot him exiting the stage through uncontrollable laughter. In my mind, a sign of a very good comic.
It was an absolute pleasure to interview Mr Jupp on his life, career and DIY aspirations and only hope you like listening to the first installment of Beyond The Title: The Interviews as much as I liked seeing him perform.
Beyond The Title