Comedy: Life as Rob Rouse knows it
Liz Crosthwaite • Published 7 Oct 2012 11:30
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He started out as a geography teacher, struck out in stand-up comedy, did a stint on The Friday Night Project, filmed some chortlesome shorts with his pet duck, has done a spot of acting, some radio work, and a lot of touring, leaving funny bones aching wherever he goes.
Now comedian and father-of-two Rob Rouse has a new show, Life Sentences, intriguingly described as 'the expression of one man's utter befuddlement at the unmitigated arse-mongery surrounding modern life and the confusion of bringing a daughter into a seemingly ever-more distorted world'.
The show, inspired by Rob's shock discovery he was, in fact, a radical feminist trapped inside the body of a 38-year-old man upon the birth of his daughter, tackles the insanity and contradictions of modern life.
"I think the themes [in the show] are monumentally universal!" Rob told The Guide. "Also I really think comedy, music, theatre, film, whatever, should always be transporting you to someone else's world and if it's well done will always connect.
"When I was 20 I howled at Alan Partridge, although that's about a man having a midlife crisis and Blackadder was set in different historical periods! Ultimately, good comedy is about human nature, so the subject matter is fairly irrelevant."
Asked whether comedy had got too safe these days Rob said: "Obviously there's different stuff that suits different tastes and different guidelines about what's considered tasteful or not. I do think, though, that if stand-up is on TV after nine'o'clock, it should be absolutely whatever the comedians want to talk about and the gloves should be off. However that will never happen."
The dad-of-two added that the idea that comedians are the 'new rock stars' is a fallacy.
"In my humble opinion, the only people who are, or can be, rock stars are rock stars. I really don't think comedy is about being cool. Cool isn't funny is it? Because if you're cool, you're winning and winning isn't funny, so for me comedians aren't cool. I love them and I love comedy, but wouldn't trust anyone who thinks it's just about strutting around in a pair of trousers. That's just b******s."
Rob Rouse is at Maidenhead's Norden Farm on Friday, December 7. Book tickets for £15, on 01628 788997 or via www.nordenfarm.org.
This article appeared in Bracknell News 04 Oct 12
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