Al Murray's Beautiful British Tour hits Venue Cymru

Mar 5 2009

AL Murray knows Britain’s deepening economic crisis is no joke – but the comic still hopes to wring some humour out of the financial meltdown.

Like all skilled stand-up artists, he’s acutely aware of the fine line between comedy and tragedy, and he believes people use laughter to lift their spirits even in dire situations.

Most famed for his TV show Al Murray’s Happy Hour in which he plays an pontificating pub landlord, he is making that character centre stage on his Beautiful British Tour which takes in Llandudno.

He reckons audiences love the landlord because he’s a universal figure.

"Everyone can relate to him, if only because he spills beer and spouts garbage, everyone knows someone like that!"

A key theme to the show will be the landlord giving his take on Broken Britain, asking who broke it and what are we going to do to fix it?

Al’s razor-sharp wit will be on top form as his character analyses the recession.

He said: "The Landlord will be reflecting people’s anger about the financial crisis caused by a bunch of greedy bankers. People are genuinely furious. They’ve lost our money, and now we’re having to use our money to bail them out. At the end, the Landlord applies his five golden rules to mend Britain. What are they? You’ll have to come and see the show!"

The character will also be fulminating about religion, and various society ills, including youth crime.

"Most kids are really nice - it’s absurd to think they’re all going to knife you!," said Al. "But the Landlord comes up with this catchphrase - ‘is that what Churchill died for?’ People go, ‘yeah!,’ and then realise he’s talking complete nonsense. In fact, Churchill died peacefully of old age!"

He’s relishing his return to the live stage after making three series of his award-winning TV chat show. "There’s nothing like the buzz you get from a live audience. If you’re doing 53 gigs in a row, you can constantly fine-tune stuff, be spontaneous. Improvisation means every night is different. You can go off on a tangent with an audience-member without having an autocue saying ‘get on with it’.

"Improvisation is the one element stand-up has that no other art-form has. There’s no fourth wall, so improvisation is woven seamlessly into the fabric of the rest of the show. I love seeing stand-ups who are quick off the mark."

He’s also looking forward to playing large venues, like Liverpool’s Echo arena, Birmingham’s NIA and the O2, London.

"What I do will suit that space. The Landlord is already a larger-than-life character, so I’m covered in that respect. Also, I’ll be playing in front of this amazing set - a row of giant, 12-foot-tall beer pumps and barrels."

The latest tour will coincide with the launch of his new ITV sketch-show, Al Murray’s Multiple Personality Disorder, showcasing a range of hilarious new characters.

"It has some brilliant writing and the make-up is amazing. Sometimes, I’d make-up and the character was just there immediately. I’m very fond of Barrington Blowtorch, a high-society thief. Whenever the cops turn up at one of his crimes, he has a fantastically convoluted explanation for it."

Al Murray The Pub Landlord’s Beautiful British Tour, appearing at Venue Cymru, Llandudno, on March 25, is sold out. tel: 01492 872000 (sold out); Apollo Theatre, Manchester, April 23, tel: 08444777677; Echo Arena, Liverpool, May 3, tel: 08448000400; Birmingham NIA, May 6, tel: 0871456000.