Comedian Gareth Mutch on 10 things that changed his life...
1. Getting married
WITHOUT a doubt, the best thing to ever happen to me was marrying my wife, Eilidh. She’s my rock. My little Dwayne Johnson. I’d be completely lost without her. And she’ll love being number one on this list.
2. Going to Youth Theatre
MY life changed the day my dad brought home a leaflet for something called Play in a Week from my local youth theatre, then called West Lothian Youth Theatre, now Firefly Arts. That week turned into my life.
I made fantastic friends, learned how to perform, and I can’t thank all the staff and teachers I had there enough. I would shout from the mountains about how important and brilliant youth theatre can be. Even if you don’t go on to work in the arts, it completely brings you out of yourself as a child, builds confidence and I found a complete sense of belonging there. I loved that place. It did so much for me.
Really, it should be number one … but I’ve got to keep my wife happy. Firefly Arts, thank you for everything.
3. Studying acting and performance
GOING to college to study acting was incredibly important to me. I learned so much there. I still love acting, and it was at college that I learned most of that craft.
But I also learned something I’ve carried into stand-up. On day one, my lecturer said, “To be a really great actor, you can’t have any inhibitions.” Two minutes later, I was on the floor pretending to be a fox rummaging through bins.
It might not be your classic education, but it was mine, and I’m grateful for it. I still think about that whenever I wonder if I should share something personal on stage. Then I remember being that fox on the floor and think, “No inhibitions. Go for it.”
4. Losing my voice
WHEN I was 19, I completely lost my voice. I still have no idea what happened, but it was a horrible time. I sounded like an 85-year-old man who’d smoked 20 cigarettes a day.
I had a few surgeries on my vocal cords and spent a large part of that year unable to speak, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I went through a lot that year, and it taught me a few things. I’d love to say patience … but I’m still pretty impatient. In fact, I’m getting bored of this answer already. Next question.
5. Being terrible at school
BEING bad at school was brilliant for me. Not your classic message, I know, but I always had direction through the arts, and that just wasn’t part of my school curriculum, so I never really connected with it.
A lot of young people panic about school, exams and how it’ll set them up for life. And of course, that matters, to a degree. But what’s even more important is having a sense of direction and an idea of what you want to do. Sometimes school isn’t the best place to find that.
So, if you’re like me and rubbish at school, it’s not the end of the world. Try the arts. I bet you’ve got something to say.
6. My comedy heroes
I’LL never forget laughing as hard as I possibly could watching Lee Evans with my mum in our living room. I’ll never forget my dad taking me, aged 15, to see Rhod Gilbert at the Fringe the first comedian I ever saw live and completely falling in love with stand-up.
And everyone at school seemed to quote Kevin Bridges every single day. Without those influences, who knows if stand-up would ever have become the thing I fell in love with and dedicated my life to.
7. Being nominated at the ISH Awards
THIS meant so much to me because it was the first proper bit of validation that maybe I wasn’t wrong to throw everything at this.
I love stand-up, and I’ll always be grateful to the ISH Awards for shaking up the awards at The Edinburgh Festival. The fact that my name was even being mentioned in those conversations is still wild to me. I love watching the ISH journey every year and wish everyone the best of luck for nominations this year.
8. The Stand Comedy Club
MY first gig was here. I met my wife here. I made lifelong friendships here. I learned how to do stand-up here.
The best comedy club in the country. Bar none. It’s like a family in there; they really look after you. I would be nothing, comedically, without The Stand Comedy Club.
9. Skechers
SKECHERS. Wow. I’ve never looked back. Probably changed my actual life the most on this list. Bye, bye plantar – hello Skechers!
10. My mum and dad
THE support these two have given me and still give me is frankly disgusting. The belief they’ve always had in me is probably the reason I decided to go for it.
My dad is a very funny man, but stand-up or a career in the arts was never an option for him, and certainly never something he was made to believe was possible.
I think the worst thing you can do as a parent is stifle a dream, and I’m so grateful mine never did. They believed in me, and I adore them for that.
So, if you’re a parent reading this and your child has a dream, back it to the moon. With that belief, they might just achieve it.
Especially if they want to play up front for Scotland. Please never stifle that. For the love of everything, we need that most.
