Theatre

Five funny minutes with comedian Mark Dolan

Are you like me, in your mid-thirties? Remember Balls of Steel? It was brilliant, right?! Well I was lucky enough to bump into Mark Dolan ahead of his recent appearance at Udderbelly Festival.

Mark is a comic, writer, presenter, winner of Come Dine With Me, father, tall man with boyish good looks betrayed by a wicked sense of humour, and a real down to earth guy.

Scroll down for the full interview from that time our comedy blogger Ben Keenan saw Mark Dolan at Soho House…

Hey Mark! Great gig. Fancy gig, too! I heard Soho House dwellers couldn’t laugh…?

“Yeah, normally comedy is about escaping the grim reality of life. Soho House members haven’t got a lot of reality to escape from. And if they do get down, they can just order another Mojito! It’s a beautiful club and it was just a treat to be in a building that grand and not be moved on by security.

How’d you come about putting this together?

“There’s a brilliant company called Nice N’ Spiky who run gigs for all of the Soho House Group. They got me in because I’m reasonably well spoken, so they thought I wouldn’t scare the members.”

It would appear you’re a busy man these days. Tell us more…

“Well that’s very nice of you to say. What are you doing later? Shall we go for a drink? I am busy, yes. I’m hosting a weekly comedy radio show called Mark Dolan Eats The News, in which we lampoon the good and the great of public life. Jeremy Hunt has been keeping us busy this week. And I’m going to be in a comedy series for Channel 5 called The Funny Thing About. It’s like Grumpy Old Men, but for slightly less grumpy, less old men.”

How was working with Arnie?

“You’re referring to World’s Greatest Stunts on Channel 4. It was a huge amount of fun to do, but although I’m in it, I didn’t get to physically meet Arnie. He was kept separate from me by a thick curtain. But he smelt great. The show is a lot of fun, because it’s about the ludicrous lengths people go to in film and TV stunts. I’m the opposite. I wouldn’t ride a bicycle on TV, let alone jump out of a plane.”

So, what’s the lowdown on your Udderbelly show?

“It’s a show which will make you laugh and think in equal measure and not only that, it may well increase your hair’s natural shine, and give your eyes that extra bit of sparkle. That promise is not legally binding by the way, but I think there’s a good chance the general texture of your hair will improve after an hour in my company. The show is essentially a funny look at how to survive life. Something I’ve spent over 40 years trying and failing to do.”

Like this post? Be sure to follow Ben at @itsbenk for more of the same and to find out about all his upcoming gigs.