Comedy

Mark Watson
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Mark Watson pre-Hampshire chat

By Laura Nightingale
October 20, 2011

COMEDIAN Mark Watson has started his tour, which includes two stints in Hampshire, to give fans an evening of frantic wit, rambling and emotional neediness.

Bristol-born author and stand-up Watson will be coming to Aldershot’s Princes Hall and The Haymarket in Basingstoke this October.

Not only a funnyman, Watson, 31, is a Cambridge University graduate, a new father, a husband, an award winner and part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe scene.

Last year, via his daily blog, he invited fans to suggest destinations for his 2011 shows.

He comes to Aldershot on October 27 after appearing at Basingstoke tonight, with a mixture of old favourites and new material, experimental stuff and greatest hits to those who have previously been deprived of his trademark wit.

Watson said: “I have managed to visit Aldershot more than most other towns on my tours.

“I was in Aldershot this June and again four years ago at the West End Centre.

“The show will have more improvisation and off-the-cuff lines.

“I’m based in London, so it’s easy for me to get on the train and still be able to come home to spend time with the family after.”

Watson said performing in front of a live audience was something he prefers but in the past he has been on TV and on radio and will be tapping into both those mediums over the coming months.

He has made regular appearances on BBC 2’s comedy panel show Mock The Week; he has also been a panellist on BBC music quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks four times, once as guest captain and once as presenter, in addition to appearing on current affairs panel show Have I Got News for You. He has appeared on the popular BBC panel show Would I Lie To You? and he also makes regular appearances on debate programme Argumental. He also has his own stand-up slot on Radio 4 soon.

Comedy was not a career Watson had ever planned, and started life wanting to be an author.

Brought up by supportive parents and graduating from Cambridge University with an English degree, Watson soon realised it was quicker to write jokes than books, so he started with that.

Watson said: “My parents got me to read a lot, I used to write as a kid and I was part of the school magazine and plays.

“I am quite a nervous person and I am not an extrovert like some comedians.

“But you do get used to going on stage and you become controlled.

“It’s like an adrenaline rush and the positive energy you get from competing at sports.”

Watson has appeared regularly at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, winning the first ever Panel Prize at the if.comedys in 2006 and being nominated for best newcomer at the 2005 Perrier Comedy Awards.

His other awards include the Time Out Critic’s Choice Award 2006 and a Barry Award nomination for best show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival 2006.

Tickets for either show cost £15 and are available from the Princes Hall box office on 01252 329155 or the Anvil Arts box office on 01256 844244.