Nottingham comedian Matt Forde is bringing his live comedy show, 'Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right' to Glee Club in May. The show features Matt's trademark political comedy along with his famously hilariously comedic impressions of footballers and politicians.
Matt Forde, who is originally from Nottingham, is now based in London but he looks forward to his homecoming gigs in the city. He is excited to return especially as travelling back during Covid has been difficult.
"I miss Nottingham every day and I pine for it - particularly in the summer. I always wish I was down by the canal and I miss it a great deal. I'm in Nottingham on May 5 and I'm really excited about it because gigging in the city is always a special night. It's a very special atmosphere and it's the one I look forward to the most," he said.
He added: "The nightmare has been that because I do the Rock 'n' Roll Football radio show on a Saturday, I have barely been able to get to any Forest games. I've never missed Nottingham more than I have done this season because I have been admiring from afar what Steve Cooper has been achieving and the atmosphere of the ground looks incredible. I'm barely at home because I'm working every day but when I get a moment off, the first place I go is Nottingham."
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When he does get time to visit Nottingham, Matt has a long list of favourite places starting with a good pub crawl and a visit to Taco Bell.
"I like a pub crawl to places like the Crosskeys Pub, the Six Barrels, Old Trip, the castle and Salutation and The Royal Children pub. I like the ones down by the canal too such as Fellows, Clayton and Morton. Nottingham has a lot of local fine food outlets like Bird's Bakery but it is also one of the only places to have a Taco Bell in the UK. It's my guilty pleasure to have a pub crawl around the city followed by a Taco Bell."
He added: "There are so many good places and that's without mentioning Hockley. When the sun is out, down by the canal, outside the old trip or around the castle is absolutely paradise. I think it has to be the happiest place in the world, just sitting near the castle for a few beers in the sun. It's the eighth wonder of the world on a sunny day."
His new show, 'Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,' is a political satire show featuring voices of well-known politicians and, due to Matt's love of Nottingham Forest, some football legends too.
Matt said: "The show sums up how I feel about politics in general in that the last few years, no one side has not been appalling, ridiculous and daft. It's a show that makes fun of politicians on all sides with lots of impressions of people like Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak and Donald Trump. I chuck in a few football ones too because I am a big fan so I included Gary Neville and Roy Keane."
When it comes to playing politicians, does Matt have a favourite and has he ever had feedback from the people he impersonates?
"At the moment, given the news, doing an impersonation of Boris is a real pleasure. It's not just the voice but the facial expressions, body language and all of that. While Boris is my favourite, I still throw in a lot of Trump and Keir Starmer too. A lot of people approach me after the shows to say Starmer was their favourite. Although Trump will always be my guilty pleasure."
He added: "I've impersonated some of them to their face over the years. I remember doing Tony Blair to Tony Blair once. He said to me that the first time he saw me impersonate him, he thought it looked nothing like him. However, his kids came to see it and they said you really do talk like that. Keir Starmer said my impression of him wasn't very good, which at the time, I don't think it was but it has improved. It's always really risky to impersonate them but most of them take it very well."
As a radio host, Matt was recently joined on-air by Hollywood star Nicolas Cage where the conversation turned to Nottingham Forest and pasties.
"I got asked to interview Nicolas Cage and obviously I said yes. As a Forest fan, it was funny to ask one of the world's most famous people, on a football radio show, if he had heard of Nottingham Forest. We were lucky to get offered it and I've been asking everyone what they think of Forest, so why should Nicholas Cage be any different?"
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right takes place on Saturday, May 5 at Glee Club. Tickets can be found through the Glee Club website.
