Wolverhampton Literature Festival: Comedy star shares thoughts on what it is to be human
The human condition and the differences between a public and private face will be discussed by one of the country’s top comedians.
Robin Ince is a man who dons many hats, described by the Guardian as a “becardiganed polymath” and who is a comedian, author, broadcaster and speaker of scientific ideas.
The 51-year-old will be presenting ‘I’m a Joke and so are you’, a show about ideas and thoughts, as part of the Wolverhampton Literature Festival tomorrow.
He said the story of the show, which he will be discussing with local comedienne Susan Murray, had two dominant inspirations for him.
He added: “One was the Inside No.9 episode, ‘12 Days of Christine’ which ends with the realisation we have been watching someone’s final memories as they are dying after a car crash.
“It had a profound effect on me and brought into focus a car accident I was in shortly before my third birthday.
“The other incident was doing an event about comedians and therapy on the night we found out Robin Williams had taken his life. I made a documentary about myths, rumours and truth about comedians and mental health.”
To form the show, Mr Ince spoke to some of the world’s top comedians, neuroscientists and psychologists and said he found the disparity between having a public face and a secret inner life can cause serious problems.
He spoke about his own feelings, saying: “I have a desperate desire to make people happy and this probably sounds rather preposterous, but seeing people’s sadness is something that depresses and disturbs me.
"I like doing shows that are silly and absurd but which I hope make some people not feel as alone as they might have done.”
Mr Ince has been a visitor to Wolverhampton on a number of occasions, enjoying the pop art collection at the art gallery, as well as performing in the city and seeing a number of bands like Ned’s Atomic Dustbin and the Wonder Stuff.
The idea came after doing a show in Wolverhampton with Professor Brian Cox, someone he developed a friendship based around science and synth pop, and he began speaking to a member of the city council about doing something at the festival.
Mr Ince spoke about what he hoped people would take away from the show.
He said: “I hope people leave feeling more excited about finding out more about what it is to be human. Maybe they will also realise they are not as weird as they thought or at least that they are just the right amount of strange.”
‘Robin Ince: I’m A Joke And So Are You’ takes place at 8.30pm, with tickets costing £3 plus booking fee. Find out more at wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk
