With a TV appearances including They Think Its All Over and Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Ben Norris as built up a sturdy reputation as a fast-thinking comedian and compere. He appears at The Glee Club from Thursday 7 Oct until Saturday 9 Oct as part of the Evening Mail Birmingham Comedy Festival. HOW DID YOU GET INTO COMEDY? Ive been performing stand up for 11 years, started my own club on a monthly basis at an Arts Centre in Aldershot near where I lived at the time. I would book acts I'd seen at a venue I regularly attended as a punter, The Cartoon in Clapham, and because we couldn't afford a compere I would introduce the acts and quickly became addicted to the limelight. WHO ARE YOUR COMIC INFLUENCES? I reckon one of the biggest influences must have been Tony Hancock (a Birmingham lad I believe). My dad had hundreds of his radio shows on tape and would play them to us as kids on long car journeys and the like. He had great comic timing and a very peculiarly British personality .... as did Tony Hancock. FAVOURITE COMEDY FILM AND WHY? The Life of Brian, simply because it is the funniest film ever made. FAVOURITE COMEDY TV SERIES? Probably The Office becuase it's great and my cousin Martin Freeman is in it, (he plays Tim). HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR BRAND OF COMEDY? I wouldn't like to describe it as a brand as Naomi Klein has told us brands are bad ... however I would like to think that amidst the lies and exaggeration there is an honest and thoughtful voice attempting where possible to ignore the path of least resistance although content to occasionally embrace the humble knob gag. (maybe I'll get into pseuds corner in Private Eye with this one?) WHICH COMEDIANS DO YOU CURRENTLY ADMIRE? Who am I working with in Birmingham? Anyway, it's them. BIRMINGHAM AUDIENCES? The people of Birmingham have always been generally a great audience, there are always exceptions of course like that bloke who gently poured his beer over my shoes during one particular show but he was convinced to leave shortly afterwards so no harm done. ANY INTERESTING EXPERIENCES OF PLAYING IN THE CITY BEFORE? My car broke down after a Saturday night show at the Glee one time and I spent from 1 in the morning till about 3am in Hurst St waiting for the AA. If anyone wants to make a documentary about the underbelly of Midlands' nightlife (often hanging over a pink PVC skirt) then this is the place to be ... totally surreal and not a little scary. HIGH-POINT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? Performing at comedy shows and festivals in places like Cape Town, Sydney, Hong Kong and Prague. LOW-POINT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR? Getting offered an advert for a guaranteed fee of fourteen grand and having to turn it down as I'm a veggie and it was for New Zealand sausages. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE? Write and perform a successful sitcom then chat show, appear in several movies, retire to a penthouse in the new Bullring ... or something like that. WORST HECKLE? "Have you ever thought about sit-ups?" This was shouted by a woman ... at a frickin benefit gig to boot, I have of course now managed to get my pre-birth figure back.) Ben Norris, plus Steve Gribbin, Rob Rouse, Glenn Wool are appearing at The Glee Club, The Arcadian, Birmingham, from Thursday 7 to Saturday 9 October 2004 as part of the Evening Mail Birmingham Comedy Festival. Tickets: Thu Food and Comedy: £11.50/ £9.95 online; entrance only £8.50/ £7.50 online/ £5.50 nus, 8pm; Fri £13, £11.50 online, £6.50 nus, 8pm; Sat £15, £13 online, 7.30pm; Sat Late Show £12, £11 online, £7.50 nus, 9.45pm. Tel: 0870 241 5093. www.glee.co.uk For more on the festival, visit our section: www.icBirmingham.co.uk/comedyfestival | 
Comedy Festival 
