Comedian Mark Steel brings his award-winning show to Oxford Playhouse

Mark Steel is stuck on a train when we speak – it’s been delayed so he’s running late.

“At least it’s all good material,” I commiserate. He replies: “Oh don’t say that, that’s just insulting. Would you say that if I’d had my leg amputated as well?”.

OK, but lots of comedians use material about their hotel rooms, planes and trains because they spend so much time there.

“I know and that’s just insulting – that they honestly think most people in the audience have had the same experiences. For most people it’s a treat,” the former socialist says. “Anyway shall we start again?”

I like Mark Steel, his no messing attitude is a breath of fresh air in this world of diva comedians and comedy arena tours and he makes me laugh, a lot. As well known for his Radio 4 shows as he is for his stand-up, his latest guise Mark Steel’s In Town has been so successful he’s still touring it, hopping from town to town, city to city, checking them all out, asking residents about a place’s quirks and characteristics, and then bringing them altogether in a hilarious, interactive comedy show, pitching up at the Oxford Playhouse soon.

“I’m half way through The History of The Melton Mowbray Pork Pie at the moment and its so boring,” he laughs. “But you have to keep going because there might be a comedy nugget in there somewhere. Although what book-sellers think when I order The Paving Stones of Burnley or whatever I don’t know.

“In fact it’s easier to pick up information about a tiddly little place that no one has ever heard of, because everyone knows everyone and everything, than bigger places like Newcastle or Nottingham. In Saltburn for example I discovered a 19th century penchant for seal chasing. But the seals soon got scared of all thse big blokes running around, so the men started dressing up as women instead. Transvestite seal chasing...?”

That he speaks his mind is a given, but Mark Steel is also a professional, devoting himself to his job, reading random books and trawling through libraries for historic anecdotes to use in his show. “I can’t just get up on stage somewhere like Luton and say, so what’s going on here then, haven’t you got an airport? So I use twitter a lot and people tweet me stories and tips that will only make sense to the people who live there.”

Has he unearthed anything about Oxford yet? “I have,” he says triumphantly. “Did you know that when they planned the Didcot to Oxford railway line the main opposition to the scheme was that Oxford didn’t want riffraff coming into town, so the compromise was that you could only board the train from Didcot to Oxford if you were a graduate,” he says in disbelief.

“I have also been looking into the Oxford Riots when a bunch of students murdered the landlord after a kerfuffle in a bar in the 1300s and got off with a fine. It sounds a bit like the Oscar Pistorius trial...” he adds provocatively.

So what makes the grade? “It has to be funny, that’s what makes it interesting because even though everywhere is being made to look the same underneath they are totally different and quirky.”

Always close to the mark, Steel doesn’t care about rubbing people up the wrong way. He just wants you to have a good time at his show. “It’s brilliant fun. I’ve been doing this a while and it never gets dull, and still has loads of mileage in it, because there are so many places in the UK, it’s amazing.

“So when my agent rings up and tells me where I’m going, half the time I don’t even know where the place is. Narbeth, is that in Wales, Cornwall or the Shetlands?”

On Monday, October 6, Steel will arrive in Oxford early and spend his day perusing our city to get the most out of his evening on stage at the Playhouse. “I love Oxford. It’s a great mix of town and gown which the people who live there seem to tolerate,” he tells me, “and I get to tease the audience for not being as intellectual as I expected.”

So where is he from? “Swanley in Kent. It’s one of the worst towns in the world.

“People tweet me all the time saying they didn’t believe me and then happened to pass through Swanley and realised I was telling the truth after all.

“You see I am always right.”

SEE IT
The double Sony Award-winning Radio 4 Show Mark Steel’s In Town is back, this time at Oxford Playhouse on October 6. 
Call 01865 305305 or see oxfordplayhouse.com
His Twitter name is rmarksteel

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