Interview: Craig Campbell

The majestic mountain moose in a tiger striped onesie brings his thrilling new show Easy Tiger out of the Fringe jungle and onto the world stage for his third solo tour.

Craig Campbell recently supported Frankie Boyle for the third time on his national tour and was a hit on Alan Davies’ As Yet Untitled (Dave). He’s also performed on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow (BBC One), Russell Howard’s Good News (BBC Three), and was responsible for easing the contractions of an expectant mother who laughed so hard at his performance on Dave’s One Night Stand (the srory of an encounter with a badger) that her waters broke.

“A fantastic yarn weaver, with charming tales of his travels and hugely funny observations” Time Out

Here’s Craig…

So, tell us what to expect in Easy Tiger. More wonderfully shaggy-dog stories of hiding in woods, not stealing boats [see clip below]?
The ‘unexpected’ of course, as always: but with more current stories on the world’s and my own predicaments – my arthritis and our Russian relations being two topics of note!
One may only be lucky enough to be hiding from curious cops in woods adjacent a boatyard, blazed out of his gourd on shroomys, once in one’s life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=1dXYv_ereTI

You’ve recently left rural Devon, your home for many years…  
Yes, I’m no longer down in Devon which also forms a component of my show. I’m drawn to go back as my small plane flying and many warm memories still remain centred there – but Devon is now a holiday destination and no longer my home. I still love the West Country, though – I still get my bike serviced at Bath Road Motorcycles in Bristol, and I can’t ever see that changing. Perhaps one day I’ll be lucky enough to live in the West Country’s New York – and the best little city in Britain..

You seem more of a country than a city chap – perhaps unusually among comedians, who tend to need cities, people, stories and incidents all around them…?
That would’ve been the case until very recently, for sure. Oddly enough it was just that interaction that perhaps I began to feel starved of and separated from.., anyway, my early retirement in sleepy Devon is very much behind me now.

There’s quite an influx of (excellent) Canadian comics in the UK now. Why, do you think? Need, I would expect. It’s a heck of an effort to make for want! I would expect family and cultural connections plays some part, as well as admiration for the UK’s comedy reputation. Canada’s where you go if you want to see a bear, Edinburgh is where you go if you want a 25-day show run in one venue. Also the fact that we are largely closed out of performing in the States, while their comedians have 100% unfettered access to our markets (of course). We have a much more amiable working relationship with the UK!

Craig Campbell plays the Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken on Friday, October 6. For more info, visit www.thecomedybox.co.uk

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