Bristol born and bred, Mark Watson is a professional stand-up comedian, radio host and novelist on one hand, and a husband and father on the other, but how does he manage it all? He’s coming to Liverpool to perform his new show, ‘Flaws’, in which he explores human character defects and looks at the impact his own flaws have on his life.
Ahead of the show, he’s taken time out of his demanding schedule to talk to Your Move about success, Ron Weasley and throwing TVs out of windows.
Your new show is called ‘Flaws’ and your new Radio 4 show is about success. If you get up on stage every night and talk about your flaws and issues, how do you ever feel ‘successful’?
It’s a good question – the situation is definitely a contradictory one. Stand-ups get very used to relying on the love and affirmation of the audience, but if that affirmation comes from describing everything that’s wrong with your life, it’s a bit ironic. As a result I think most comics like me have wild mood swings and are basically nutters.
Do you consider yourself to be a success now? Can you pinpoint the moment when you realised you’d become a successful comedian?
I’d say that the first time I went out to perform in Melbourne and Sydney was probably a moment when I thought ‘I’m going to get away with doing this as a career’. The idea that someone will fly you that far, just to talk nonsense into a microphone, continues to amaze me if I think about it. But I don’t ever think of myself as ‘successful’ really, it’s just not in my character to do that. I’m always restless, always raising the bar for myself. It’s a slightly unhealthy habit to be in; it’d be much better to stop and smell the flowers, as they say, but I’m not much of a flower-smeller.
According to the internet, Emma Watson is your sister. Can you confirm or deny this, and is Hermione your favourite Harry Potter character?
Emma Watson IS my sister, but it’s not the Emma Watson you’re thinking of. And I’m not hugely familiar with the Potter books, but Ron Weasley is probably my favourite. He’s unfashionable but he gets the job done.
How do you manage the balance between stand-up comedian, radio host, author and father?
I manage it pretty badly, that’s the short answer. I always take on slightly more than I can manage professionally; it’s one of the things that make me feel most alive. But the jobs do get in each other’s ways as much as they complement each other. And all of them sit pretty badly with family life. So… yes, I’m working on it.
You’ve written several novels, with your most recently released one being Hotel Alpha. What’s the concept behind the book and its accompanying series of short stories?
It’s a novel about a grand London hotel over 30 years, and in addition to the main book there is this collection of 100 short stories, one set in each room of the hotel, which can be read online at hotelalphastories.com. So the overall work is a combination of old-school textual novel and interactive digital landscape, which sounds a bit pretentious but it’s fine actually. It’s just a way of cramming a much bigger range of material into a single book – basically creating a sort of super-book, in quantity if not necessarily in quality.
You’ve guested and hosted a lot of panel shows in the past. Which panel show would you love to guest on that you haven’t already?
QI is the only big one that I’ve never done, so I suppose that’s a target now, although I don’t really set out to do many panel shows these days – as you say, I’ve done a lot, and I’ve become more interested in doing stuff that’s more in my own voice and on my own terms. Oh, I’d love to be on Match of the Day if that counts, naturally.
What’s are the best and worst things about being on tour?
The best thing is the rock and roll feeling you get from zipping around the country meeting audiences who’ve come specifically to see you. When you start out as a comic, that’s basically all you want: to have your own crowd, however big or small, and to be able to entertain them.
The worst thing? I suppose the flipside of rock and roll is that it’s quite an unhealthy way to live. You don’t look after yourself properly; you can end up eating badly, drinking too much, and throwing TVs out of the window, that sort of thing.
Are you looking forward to coming to Liverpool?
Yes, I really am. It’s a strange thing, but I’ve never really played there much. The last time I was in Liverpool on tour I performed at the Empire, which is much too big for me, and I spent most of the night wishing I was John Bishop (as we all do from time to time). It’s been a long while since I had the chance to get intimate with Scousers. At last the time is coming.
Catch Mark Watson at the Unity Theatre on 16 and 17 February. For more information and tickets visit www.unitytheatreliverpool.co.uk
