Interview: Paul Whitehouse
Victoria Nangle talks new characters, comedy idols & harry
Greetings to you both! How are you today?
Hi Vicky Nangle. We are fine. I’m just taking my medicine and washing it down with vodka before going to see my psychiatrist. Harry is praying.
How’s the prep for this marvellous tour going for you?
It’s alternately great fun and then daunting. I’m so old I can barely remember who Harry is, never mind all our lines.
You both have respected histories of acting in other people’s works. What is the draw to create the whole thing from start to finish, to have the whole world in your hands? (No pressure!)
Ha. Well I’m not sure we have done a lot of other people’s stuff but we have not really done many of our old or recent characters live and we thought we’d better get in fairly quick before we can’t manage it at all.
Which characters called the most to you, when you were deciding what to include from your back catalogue?
We’re trying to do all the characters from our back catalogue but obviously one or two won’t make it. I’ve even managed to squeeze in a few Fast Show characters while Harry’s not looking.
What do you think Smashie & Nicey would make of the scandals that have erupted from their DJing era?
Smashie and Nicey are keeping schtum on the advice of their lawyers.
And which characters surprised you when you returned to them?
I’ve really enjoyed Harry doing Stavros and Loadsamoney in rehearsals, as well as his old-fashioned dad who tries his best to do a wedding speech at his son’s marriage to his gay partner.
Are there any new treats you could let us in on?
There’s some audience participation with our posh surgeon characters who are happy to perform a quick “snip below” on anyone in the front row and we also need help from the audience to play all the Dragons and Evan Davis for our version of Dragon’s Den.
The elephant in the room question: why live? After so many television series, awards, the versatility of film – why take it all into the live arena?
We’ve been trying to do a live show for a good while and if we don’t get on with it soon, there’s a good chance we’ll drop dead!
Who do you both admire, and who do you each admire that the other doesn’t quite see the shine of?
I’m a big fan of Reeves and Mortimer. I don’t think either of us would slag off someone in print who didn’t make us laugh… but I’m not a big fan of Harry Enfield.
What is the key to comedy on a large scale – as you’ll be doing around the country?
We have to perform stuff a bit “bigger” and more out to the audience rather than to each other. The real thing should be that we enjoy it with the audience and if, or rather when, we go wrong we can make a joke of it and roar on!
If you could have any three comedians from time and history as your support act for the tour, who would you pick and why?
Well for a great night it would be Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, Monty Python and Reeves and Mortimer for me… not that I’d want to follow any of that lot.
If you could have any superpower – each – what would you have, and what would be your first adventure?
Perfect recall… then I’d go on tour… oh wait a minute…
Finally, someone bequeaths you the Brighton Pier. What would you do with it?
Leave it exactly as it is.
Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse – Live Tour 2015, Brighton Centre, Friday 23 October 2015, 7.30pm, £37.50/32.50, brightoncentre.co.uk
Extra date added due to huge demand – Sunday 8 November 2015.
