Welsh Rare Bit

ROB Brydon doesn’t like talking about himself, which is strange considering how much he likes chatting about everything and anything else, cracking us up in the process.

Unless of course the famous comedian is pretending to be his brilliantly funny alter ego, the eternally optimistic cabbie cum relationship counsellor, Keith Barret.

Until now that is, because for the first time ever, the 43 year-old is enjoying a stand-up tour as none other than himself.

And you, dear reader, are obviously delighted because he sold out months ago.

Because at last we get to meet the man behind the mask and the TV personalities.

His own numerous hit TV series – Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive, The Keith Barret Show, Marion and Geoff, Human Remains and Director’s Commentary were all huge successes, as well as his parts in the massively popular sitcoms and sketch shows Gavin and Stacey, Little Britain and Supernova, with a couple of comedy movies thrown in for good measure.

So why push the boundaries and risk it then Rob? “I’m really excited about appearing as myself this time. It’s easier to perform as Keith because his views are set, and I’m not always sure what I think about things! But I’ve really enjoyed being myself on stage,” he explains.

The performer, who has also carved a notable career as a straight actor in dramas such as Oliver Twist, Napoleon, Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore, Marple and The Way We Live Now, continues: “The show is just me talking on stage. I like that natural feeling of me simply chatting to the audience.

“I’m trying to make the show personal and conversational. In general, I don’t talk much about my family. But I wanted to give this show a sense of truth and authenticity, and I was keen to talk about the things that really matter to me.

“So in the show I talk, for instance, about the recent birth of my son. He arrived nine days early and came pretty quickly, so it had to be an unplanned home birth. It was very nerve-wracking!”

But Rob is not restricting himself to chatting about his family in this show. He covers a whole range of subjects such as the joy of voiceovers.

“I talk about how ludicrous it is doing voiceovers for products such as Toilet Duck. I also discuss how having a very flexible voice has been a great help to me over the years. I can make anything sound good. ‘Hi, I’ve got herpes!’ Doesn’t that sound great?”

Another subject which Rob mines to great comic effect in the show is his native Wales. “I married an English girl, so our family is half English and half Welsh, and they have very different responses to everything,” muses the comedian, who studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. “The Welsh have a very emotional side, and we always view everything with a great sense of drama.”

The performer recently made Rob Brydon’s Identity Crisis, an acclaimed BBC documentary about his attitude to Wales, which has influenced the live show. “Before producing the documentary, I had a niggling sense of disenchantment with Wales,” admits the comic. “I’d been away a long time and had begun to see Wales in a negative light.

“But spending time there again for the documentary made me remember the things I love about Wales and realise what a huge part of my life it is.

“And Gavin and Stacey has had a huge effect,” Rob reflects. “It’s made Wales much more palatable to a very wide audience. In the past, Welsh sitcoms have never made it on to the national network. But Gavin and Stacey presents a very authentic view of Wales. It shows that there is much more to the country than the lazy stereotype of rugby, sheep, Shirley Bassey and choirs.

“In fact, there’s never been a better time to be Welsh – there’s Duffy, Gavin and Stacey, Torchwood, Doctor Who….” he says pausing for breath. And although he’d never mention it, Rob Brydon is already right up there with the Welsh greats. Keith Barret eat your heart out!

Rob Brydon has sold out at the New Theatre on Monday.