Famous for edgy one-liners and a bizarre honking laugh Jimmy Carr, one of the biggest names in UK comedy, is bringing his award-winning live act to Bangkok for the first time next week as part of his Funny Business world tour.
He’s already sold out two shows on Sept. 11 at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit Hotel and a third show has been added on Sept. 12. The show is hosted by Comedy Club Bangkok to celebrate their second anniversary.
Jokes such as, “I have no problems with buying tampons. I am a fairly modern man. But apparently they’re not a ‘proper’ present,” have made Jimmy Carr a comedy superstar. His DVD sales top the charts with each release. His talent for indecent jokes and deadpan delivery, contrasted by his clean-cut appearance, have made him a TV favorite too.
But it’s his slavish commitment to touring that has really made this stand-up star stand out. Performing on four continents to over two million people so far, the controversial comedian is a mainstay on the live circuit and can always be found peddling his brand of filth-laden mirth somewhere or other.
You’re on the South East Asian leg of your World Tour for Funny Business, is this your first time performing in Bangkok?
Yes, it is and I’m very excited about it. It will be the 29th country I’ve performed in so far this year. I really can’t stop touring, I think I’m addicted to the endorphins you get from appearing onstage. The traveling can be exhausting but it’s a great way to get new material.
How do you plan on spending your free time in Bangkok, do use a guide, or just see where the devil takes you?
I’ll probably do a lot of tourist things, I always try to make an effort to take in all the sights but I don’t know where yet. The guys who arranged the gig (Bangkok Comedy Club) will probably take me out for a drink and show me around. But I want to get out and explore. If I am too looked after, I won’t discover anything for myself.
Speaking of the devil, you often talk about how you used to be religious and didn’t lose your virginity until you were in your twenties. How did you go from that to the raunchy comedy we know you for?
I look back and see that I used to have faith in God, now I don’t. It’s almost embarrassing. I don’t recognise who I was. I believed in a magical person in the sky, who made everything in the universe. It’s not like I was an uneducated man. I was actually educated beyond my intellect, but I was a product of my background. I accepted certain things without giving them proper thought. As soon as I did, in my mid-twenties, I realized what I had believed was really not the case.
What would the younger Jimmy Carr make of Bangkok, what would he make of the current you?
To be honest, I think he would be thrilled and find it very exciting. It’s not like I didn’t have a sense of humor when I was young. If 14-year-old me could see my life now, I think he would be very, very happy. After all, being a stand-up is about as rock ‘n roll as you can be without any talent. Plus it’s less wear and tear than being in a rock band, there are no groupies to manhandle, for one thing.
Your act centers around a lot of wordplay, do you have to work hard at this?
I work so hard at it. But I work hard at being a comedian, that’s not a proper job is it? The kind of comedy I do isn’t about storytelling or telling people about my perspective on life. Some comedians are carving a statue out of marble, making a work of art — I am making something simpler out of Lego bricks.
You seem to get a kick out of saying the wrong thing, are you able to control yourself or do you have a sort-of uncontrollable urge to say things?
Joke Tourette’s, it is. It’s weird being a comedian because we can get away with so much. We are expected to say something funny in awkward situations. We have license to say the unsayable, to give voice to what others might be thinking. Still, I am asked often if I mean what I say. NO. GOD, NO.
You have been involved in many media controversies for your material. Have you ever apologized for a gag?
No, I don’t think I have. I often use the “I’m sorry if you’re offended” response. But I think I am apologizing on behalf of the newspapers to the public.
My view is that people who know my style of comedy came out for a laugh, had a good time and no one was offended. Then the Daily Mail, or whoever, takes one of my gags and plasters it across the front page. They have exposed something to people who don’t share the same sense of humor as me or my audience. I don’t want to upset anyone, I have no axe to grind. I see myself as an equal opportunity offender.
After co-writing the Naked Jape with Lucy Greeves, do you see yourself writing books as you get older, as comedians often do?
Oh, I don’t know. I wrote that pretty early on in my career (2006), after I’d been approached to write an autobiography. I love autobiographies, but I like them to be written by 80-year-old men or a person with a really unique take on things. I didn’t have one of those in me. What I had was a belief in jokes. Which are far more important to me than the average person. I tried to write something that would be academic-ish but also funny.
Stand-up is the best job in the world. Why would I want to give that up to write a novel or be a politician? I want to be a journeyman comic. A lot of my heroes, like George Carlin or Joan Rivers, they died with their boots on, so-to-speak. They just kept going and going and going. I love that.
Jimmy Carr will be performing Funny Business at The Westin Grande Sukhumvit on the 11th and 12th of September. For tickets and information, visit the event’s Facebook page or www.comedyclubbangkok.com.
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