» Rob Deering interview
Victoria Nangle has a chat with the award-winning comic with the charming ‘smile’ Rob Deering
Vicky: How would you describe the show?
Rob: It’s a balance between being a feminist and being a ladies man. I’m kind of like – I’m not really a lad, although sometimes people think I am. And I am quite likely to be the kind of person to say – “Hell-ooo ladies!”. So, on the other hand, I disapprove of, let’s say for example Nuts magazine. I haven’t described that very clearly.
V: So you would like to be a ladies man but you actually sympathise too much with women?
R: Yeah, that’s true – but I don’t know if I do sympathise with women because a lot of them aren’t very good feminists themselves. Not in this day and age. These youngsters – they don’t remember the day. You know, it’s time for us to rise again once more sisters.
V: They don’t know they’re born, do they?
R: Yeah. Well, they know they’re born because they start doing Botox.
V: They want to look like they’ve just been born.
R: Right. And this is coming from me – and I look like a baby.
V: Whose boobs are in the picture in the poster?
R: Ah, yeah. I felt quite uncomfortable about that because obviously it was supposed to be quite a pro feminine non bad body fascism slant to the show and yet I basically found a library photo of a woman I would never pay or meet and cut off her face (laughs).
It seems hypocritically harsh.
V: They are quite memorable.
R: I think I’m the only person in Britain who’s not disturbed by that picture. But everyone ever since has gone – ooh, ‘ello! (chuckles). I think I definitely overshot and silliness slipped into disturbing with that image. But that’s okay, it’s a great conversation starter.
V: It doesn’t look like your sister or your mother or anyone?
R: My mum reckons it looks like her, but I don’t think that’s accurate.
Or maybe I don’t want to know or think about that.
Rob Deering: Boobs 2008, at Fletch @ St Andrew’s, Friday 15 May and Saturday16 May, 8pm, £12/10.
