A chat with the Boy With Tape On His Face

 

Really well. After Edinburgh we got quite a bit of coverage on BBC, and the Comedy Proms also really helped inform people that I existed, so that helped with tickets. We've sold out most of the tour and we'll put on another one next year. So it's going well, I'm really happy with it.

 

In Edinburgh last time we were back to back, and he was having a bit of a meltdown with the whole festival, saying, I don't get it, I don't understand. I just had to say, relax, it's fine, you're just having an odd one. Because he's so off the wall it's a hard one for him, whereas with my stuff it's accessible for everybody. 

 

I like to think within the first two minutes. With normal stand-up it's the first joke or line that determines whether you have a good show or not. At first they might think, this is a bit strange, but then they'll go with me for a wee bit of time. If I don't get them in those first few minutes, though, it's a hell of a lot harder to win them over.

 

People now come to the show almost knowing what to expect. I still enjoy it when people come to the show having no idea what to expect at all. It's like when you discover a comedian and everything they say is really funny. But if you see them again you already know the style and the rhythm, and it might be good but it'll never be as good as that first time.

 

I've been very lucky that people I get on stage normally play along. I've played some very strange gigs but they all turned out fine. With the character I've developed it's really low status so if you heckle it's a bit like kicking a puppy. The audience tend to turn on each other if people try to ruin the show. When I get people on stage I want them to be calm, and I want to establish that when they get up there's a big round of applause, that everything will be okay and no-one will be humiliated. 

 

Absolutely. I started out as a street performer and still do street shows. I think stand-up at the moment is taking a turn to be quite interactive. If you take Adam Riches, he's a very interactive show. And magic is taking more of a move into the comedy scene as well, with acts like Barry and Stuart. People want to be a real part of a show rather than just watching it.

 

Well, yeah. There was one show in Manchester where I pulled a guy out of the audience, and I have one bit where I take white gaffer tape and make a face on their t-shirt. I ripped it off and the moment I did that he completely freaked out. He stomped off the stage like a three-year-old child but because he reacted that badly, the audience reacted by booing him, which was really weird. He sat down on his chair and sulked and it was kind of funny.

 

I think it's the fear, he thought I was going to tape up his mouth. It's really strange the conclusions people leap to when they're on stage. I do another part of the show where I blindfold somebody. I got this guy up on stage, put the blindfold on, and then he really quietly said, 'are you going to set fire to me?' It was a genuine question. Like, do you really think I'm going to douse you with fuel and set fire to you in a comedy slot? This is the fear that people have. 

 

It's a really low-status thing. I'm disabled because I can't talk, but then I'm getting people up on stage to help me. But they don't know what's going on whereas I know exactly what is happening. It's a really fun balance to help each other, which is really nice to be on an even playing field.

 

Yeah, I think I can. It changes the things I do. A lot of smaller things go out the window and I have a few set pieces. It was ridiculous at the Proms because I was shaking two hobby horses and throwing a plunger at a toilet seat, this is not an appropriate thing to be doing in this environment. But people warm to it because it's so silly.

 

It's reinterpreting it to make it work. I'm always looking for ways to make it more interactive. The red button and other things could make it much more interactive. You do have to think more about where cameras are and how you react. It becomes more about watching people's reaction to your show.

 

Yeah, it was very fun. It was about creating something where people would want to visit the website, and my wife had been playing a lot of point and click games online. I knew when I created the character that one day I wanted to create a game so it was a useful opportunity to pop up.

 

Just a little bit. I'm not coming at it from a character point of place. I'm coming at it from having done it as a five-minute bit in street performing, as a novelty of being bored in my other show. There's not a great amount of character development done with it. Over time it's picked up a few more details, but I don't need 20 minutes before a show to get into character.

 

Well, no...I look at things a wee bit slower and everything becomes an opportunity. I start thinking a bit more like the Muppets, where everything is alive and everything can talk, and see what else I can make happen. Some people have back stories for their characters but there's none of that.

 

This is a funny one and I sort of regret saying that now – a lot of people say I have expressive eyes. You cover your mouth and you become a ninja because people only look at your eyes. And then they become important and people start telling themselves these stories. And because there's no message in the show it's really good, people sometimes make things up and really think about it, in some cases more than I have. I could look like I'm thinking something when I'm really just thinking, why has that light gone out? Why isn't this music working in stereo? 

 

That would be hilarious. I do want it to be interactive, and I want people who like it to become a fan of the show. Through that I've had some people send some really strange pictures and cartoons in. Some schoolkids write in saying they should be studying English and Maths and instead they send pictures of Tapeface. 

 

Not too bad actually. You've got to remember there's an hour of physical activity on stage so it does come off okay. If I'm doing lots of shows in a row, like one day in Edinburgh I had lots, and I had red square around my mouth.

 

It'll be the first show because there are still people who want to see it. Then I'm fine tuning a second show which will get a run-out at New Zealand at a festival, and that's gearing up to Edinburgh in 2012.

 

Nope – there's no message, or story. If you like that first show you know it'll be audience interaction, playing with props, quiet moments. But it will all be different to the first show.

 

I've managed to be a boy for a while. I'll keep doing it until the novelty wears off, that's the joy of this. When it starts becoming repetitive then I'll stop, but as long as I'm still interested I'll keep doing it.