James Mullinger interview

With now just over a week until the start of the 18th Leicester Comedy Festival our copies of the festival brochure are becoming decidedly dog-eared and covered with highlighter as we pick the acts we’re looking forward to seeing.

James Mullinger follows up his sold out shows from last year’s festival with a brand new hour of mirth. ‘James Mullinger’s Schooldays’ is the title of the show and we spoke to the man himself to find out a bit more…

Hi James! So, tell us a little about yourself and your new show. Hello, my name is James Mullinger and I am a stand up comedian from Tooting, South London. I live, sleep and breathe comedy. In my spare time I go watch other comics or watch comedy on DVD. Days off are spent writing new jokes. Even on holiday I always have to book some gigs at local clubs. On the first night of my honeymoon I performed at The Improv in Los Angeles. Luckily, I have a very supportive wife. My new show is called James Mullinger’s Schooldays and it is about my horrific time at boarding school. I spent every night being bullied and every day getting drunk, stoned or arrested for shoplifting. I use genuine video footage and embarrassing diary entries and most audiences cannot believe it is all true! Doing the show is very cathartic for me and seeing people laugh at my misfortune makes me feel like it was all worth it. I was useless at sport, overweight and a bit of a dick at school. Having said that, I still am most of those things.

How did you get into standup?

I had always wanted to do it. My whole childhood was spent listening to Ben Elton tapes and watching Frank Skinner’s extraordinarily good live videos. My first gig was early 2005 in the back room of a Caribbean bar in East London. The day building up to the gig was spent reciting my script and feeling nothing but abject fear. I can safely say that the only way I would have been more nervous was if I was doing the gig while bungee jumping from the Brooklyn Bridge. To give in to the fear and eschew the gig in favour of a night in front of the television would only have been admitting to myself that I did not have what it takes. I had to at least try and live my dream. The stage was a door on beer crates. The gig went surprisingly well which set up an unrealistic expectation because the next five bombed.

Best/worst heckle?

Heckling happens far less often than people think because people that pay to see comedy are generally are not idiots who wish to ruin a show. That said I was once doing a joke about masturbating with a Sooty glove on during a show at Havant Arts Centre and a man piped up: “Why didn’t you use Sue you gay?” which got a massive laugh and still does when I talk about it in my act. Clearly in the homophobic world of Havant, it’s perfectly acceptable to shag a children’s puppet, as long as you are not being gay about it. Homophobia is a serious matter but is often so stupid it is laughable as it is in this case. When I first started out someone shouted “You unfunny c**t” to me during an open spot at The Comedy Store. Not much you can say to that is there?

Who inspires you as a comedian?

Jerry Seinfeld is the greatest of all time. Watching him is a masterclass in stand up. Chris Rock is a genius but Louis CK is the comic I aspire to most. His ability to say the unsayable and his profound honesty make him the most important comic working today. The best British based comics working today are Shazia Mirza, Scott Capurro, Richard Herring, Shappi Khorsandi and Robin Ince.

Any acts you’re looking forward to seeing at Leicester Comedy Festival?

The Leicester Comedy Festival is amazing. I have performed here in some capacity ever year for five years. Last year I did my first ever solo show over two nights both of which sold out. The audiences were amazing and very comedy savvy. I always like to see Jimmy Carr because he was very supportive to me when I was starting out. And I absolutely adore Andrew Doyle who is doing his first full length solo show at the LCF. He is a comic genius. I also love Joe Rowntree who is doing his magnificent show.

Fave toy from your childhood?

As you will hear in the show – Sooty and my Castle Greyskull.

Any pet hates?

I love stand up but I do hate being away from home. I have a loving wife an a three month old son and I hate being away from them.

You can catch James’ solo show ‘James Mullinger’s Schooldays’ at The Crumblin’ Cookie on Tuesday 15th February (9pm)

head over to www.comedy-festival.co.uk for more info and to book tickets.

Follow James on Twitter: @JamesMullinger

The Crumblin’ Cookie: 68 High Street, Leicester, LE1 5YP