W‘s *
‘THERE'S VERY LITTLE MIDDLE GROUND WITH THE MONKEY '
Things change
Up to now a carefree spirit wreaking surrealist mayhem everywhere he goes, Ross Noble tells Jay Richardson of his newfound serious(ish) outlook
espite just losing his farm in Australia to the i Drecent bush fires and flying into the UK on the 1 morning of this interview. Ross Noble 3 maintains he‘s completely primed for questioning. l
‘Oh. wait, I‘ve put too much pressure on myself.‘ the Geordie comic suddenly falters. ‘I was about to say you’ve got me at my absolute peak. But if I don’t answer your questions like a young Peter Ustinov . . . I've overdone it, haven’t I‘.”
Suffice to report, the 32-year-old ex-pat remains as eccentric, entertaining and endlessly digressing as
his hydra-headed. tentacles-creeping set. ‘I told him I wanted a big monster with a turtle's body. wings and claws. and for it to have four heads. all of ‘em mine. chasing me down the road.‘ Irrespective of the
inherent flakiness of Noble‘s imagination. ‘people
and things being fired out of cannons‘ and monkeys remain consistent preoccupations. ‘Monkeys always
appear at some point. less because I‘m into wildlife
ever, temporarily indulging my pseudo-diagnosis that his apparent boundless capacity for free
association bollocks might relate to his dyslexia. ‘If someone wants to hook me up to some electrodes. lab monkey style, I‘d be keen to find out.‘ the ex- circus performer replies. ‘I can’t write fast enough to
daughter. ‘Yeah, I’ve had this desire to put everything I see in my mouth. It‘s quite weird because I‘ve always had a childlike outlook on
and more because I like Planet oft/w Apes. For three or four weeks. whenever a monkey was ready to make an appearance I would restrain him. Then there‘d be several people at the stage door afterwards angry that I hadn‘t mentioned them.‘
Well. you can’t fight your primal instincts. ‘You nearly said you can't fight monkeys.‘ he enthuses. ‘They‘re always going berserk. that's the beauty of
the monkey, very little middle ground. They‘re either record anything, so I end up just leaping from subject to subject. I’ve always seen it as lack of organisation rather than a gift.’ He has however, just been gifted a new muse. his inspirational baby
cheeky or ripping somebody's face off. I‘m a huge fan of animal attack shows. It’s one thing seeing a monkey attack somebody violently. quite another seeing it do it in a pink lamé costume. a little fez or something. A tiny simian Tommy Cooper losing his
mind!”
things. My old London house always looked like Tom Hanks' flat in Big. I love having a baby because
I get to play with her all the time. I can't wait until
she’s a bit bigger and can join in. At the moment it‘s
just a lot of face pulling on my part.’ For his new show, Things, Noble commissioned
40 THI LIST 19 Mar—2 Apr 2009
So what are his plans for the future‘.’ ‘Probably buying a new house to be honest because mine’s fucked. That would be top of the list. though at least I don‘t have to worry about housework for now. I’m going back in June to do some sort of benefit. We lost our home but my family’s safe and I‘ll do what needs
to be done for the folks that weren’t so lucky.’ Iron Maiden’s illustrator Derek Riggs to design a typically eye-catching poster, which in turn inspired i
Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 20-Sun 22 Mar.
Hans Teeuwen A couple of years back, there was a brief Dutch comedy invasion of the UK. Teeuwen was clearly the most eclectic and inspired act of the bunch and here he attempts to cement his quasi- Dadaist reputation. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Fri 20 Mar.
Ross Noble See preview. left. Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 20—Sun 22 Mar.
Russell Kane Last year’s if.comedy nominee explores the British love of imperfection with more of his Gaping Flaws. The Garage, Glasgow, Sat 27 Mar; The Stand, Edinburgh, Sun 22 Mar.
Chris Addison Star of The Thick of /t and Lab Rats. Addison brings us a welcome flash of his erudite wit. The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Thu 26 Mar.
Isy Suttie You may have seen her in Peep Show and you could well have caught her playing various sweat cabins during the last couple of Edinburgh Fringes. Here, she gets some space to breathe and unleash her character-led comedy doings. The Stand, Glasgow, Thu 26 Mar.
Jon Richardson Pal of Russell Howard, the 6 Music presenter gets all Dogmatic in the most hilariously pedantic way he can. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 26 Mar.
American Homecoming Scott Capurro introduces to the stage some of the USA's hottest comedic talents. The Stand, Glasgow, Sat 28 Mar.
Gangster Party Frankie Boyle and Kevin Bridges team up to kick life into the last dying embers of the Glasgow festival beanfeast. The Stand, Glasgow, Sun 29 Mar.