HK Magazine Exclusive: Talking Funny with Al Murray
When Al Murray invented the persona of The Pub Landlord while backstage at a comedy show in 1994, he had no idea that two decades later he’d be selling out London’s O2 Arena and touring the world as one of the UK’s most popular comedians. Sean Hebert caught up with Murray in the middle of his 162-show tour to chat about coming back to Asia, controversy in comedy, and the adaptability of his famed character.
HK Magazine: First time gigging in Asia?
Al Murray: No, actually. I came to Hong Kong in 1996 when I was still quite green, and we did some shows for a week—a long time ago, now.
HK: Will you draw from that for this trip?
AM: I am a different person now, and Hong Kong is bound to be a different place. I was there just before the handover, so that in and of itself was interesting—what the city was like, and the atmosphere at the time. But I am really looking forward to going out there again, because what I love is taking my act to different places and seeing how it goes. It’s always a thrill.
HK: Your legendary crowd work is a big part of your act. Is it harder to improvise when you travel to new places?
AM: To be honest—no. People ask me, “Do you adjust what you do to where you are?” The simple answer is “Yes I do,” because I talk to the crowd every night. The excellent thing about crowd interaction is that it makes everything else easier. I get to talk to the audience, find out their mood, and push their buttons to find out what they like and don’t like. If I just had to go on and do jokes—God, that’s a nightmare. But brassing people up is a good way for everyone to get to know one another, so to speak.
HK: Ever had to change your act because of local or cultural differences?
AM: Not particularly. The type of person that The Pub Landlord is supposed to be is so identifiable—he’s full of himself, he reckons he knows everything, and he’s ludicrously patriotic. I think those are all pretty standard things that people don’t like, or that they want to laugh at—so it tends not to be an issue. We were in Paris and Switzerland recently and if anything, I get this reaction: “Oh yeah, that’s what the Brits are like. They’re full of themselves, and full of shit.”
HK: So you don’t have to change yourself, because you’re inherently a foreigner imposing on someone’s land?
AM: Yeah! All stuff I expect may be relevant in Hong Kong.
HK: When you write are you looking for the funniest topics, or do you have an agenda?
AM: In this year’s show, there is a bit I wrote about news reporting. It’s about how everything now is in such a state of hyperbole, that you can’t really decipher what’s going on in British politics. So I say, “Right now, we have the worst government ever in Britain, but then again, they are having to clear up from the worst government ever, who only replaced the worst government ever…” because that’s how it’s told to us. That really irks me because it means we don’t get to talk about politics properly.