Interviews · 10 February 2014
Rob Beckett How to be a stand-up comedian
Rob Beckett interviewed by Kevin Durham, 10 February 2014. 1m 20s on tape.
In this interview clip stand up comedian Rob Beckett gives some stand up comedy tips at the Robocop premiere. In the often pretentious world of the performing arts, Rob Beckett stands out as a beacon of unpretentious, high-voltage joy. Known affectionately as the "Mouth from the South," Beckett has carved a unique path from a working-class childhood in London to the absolute apex of British entertainment. His career is not just a series of gigs; it is a blueprint for success built on authenticity. To understand his journey, one must trawl through the archives of press coverage, for in almost every Rob Beckett interview, he drops pearls of wisdom that explain exactly how he got here. He is a comedian who has never forgotten where he came from, even as he ascended to hosting primetime Saturday night television.
What's on the tape
A transcript, made by machine from the audio and tidied up. It gets names and the odd word wrong, so treat it as a way to find the bit you want rather than as a quotation. Every timestamp jumps to that moment in the video.
0:01 Go through Rob when you um have an idea and you turn that idea to something that you do on stage and it's it's funny what's what's your process. Basically I live my life and anything funny that happens I write down on your phone and then my process a lot of people write it up before they get on stage. But I'll go on stage of bullet points I know that's loud is it um I know he's the director though he can do what he wants and no I'll get me idea. On my phone and I'll go on stage of bullet points and then I'll just talk about it so so something funny made me laugh I'll just retell. It and then slowly builds into a routine and then that gets put into a part of the show and then I build around it so it's very much from the ground.
0:36 Up I go on with nothing and then hope for the best but I think it gets the most out it's adrenaline is it that makes you be funny. I think true and and do you still have gigs where you completely die when you go on a new material um not as bad as when I first started. You really get some awful death everyone you know you always have rough gigs now and again it's like anything ifone has a bad day at the office. But thankfully they're not as bad as when I first started you know why what what's your worst gck well it's just that when when you first. Start and you die you think you're not funny but now when I going long enough to know that when if I di a gig it's. It just wasn't right I know I've got good stuff but for whatever reason it didn't work but at the beginning you just get on there and you die and you think.
1:09 I am I am not funny I am the least funny person in the world but over years you sort of get me more confident and go. Well it didn't work tonight but you know there's a lot of factors involved rather than just me.
