Comedy favourite Ross Noble is on fine form ahead of his upcoming UK tour which will see him bring 'home' his latest madcap show, showcasing that unique brand of comedy, which he has already tested out in Australia.
The locally-born comedian, who now lives Down Under, is looking forward to taking to the road over here on his new 57-date Jibber Jabber Jamboree tour which will get under way in October and bring him to his native Newcastle for three nights from November 16-18 at the 02 City Hall. And the huge solo tour, his 21st, will then run until March 17 next year, taking in another North East date along the way - Middlesbrough Town Hall on March 2 - as well as two shows at London Palladium.
Since news of it was first announced, excitement has been building among local fans keen for another dose of Noble's famously freewheeling style of inspired comedy. And it seems that the comedian himself is looking forward to it as much as anyone.
Having performed to Australian fans earlier this year, he says of the difference between audiences: "The UK audiences look a lot paler - you can almost sense the lack of vitamin D in the room! But also, they’re really committed: just getting to shows nowadays is so difficult with everything being so expensive and the transport being so difficult.
"Audiences are like: ‘We are seeing a show, it's happening!’ It's not just seeing a show, it's having a night out." And fans are promised a real treat with his latest stream of consciousness taking in more nonsensical improvised laughs - or as Noble calls it "razor sharp observations on things I haven’t thought through".
What can give him extra food for thought is what has become something of a tradition at his shows, with fans leaving items on the stage during the interval for him to use in the second half. These have ranged from pins from a 10-pin bowling alley to an oil painting of Noble as a centaur.
Whatever happens, it promises to be interesting. The only difference between Noble on-stage and off is that during his shows "I show my working out" he says. He adds: "As I'm talking, my brain is constantly interrupting itself, so I'll be saying something and then that'll spark another thing, and then something else will come in - and I explain all that as it happens.
"Those thoughts still happen when I’m off-stage but I don’t say them all out loud so, if you meet me in the street, I can seem kind of distracted. I’ll often get halfway through a sentence and just stop -it drives my wife up the wall."
Over the years, the star, 46, has spread his wings, branching out into musical theatre - such as with his award-winning role in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein which had its UK premiere in Newcastle in 2017 - and earning even more fans on his YouTube channel with the likes of a spoof Winterwatch-like nature documentary series. And then there was an appearance on The Celebrity Apprentice Australia in 2020.
He says: "In the final, Lord Sugar actually said in the boardroom that he’d love to give me a job. But that it would be really entertaining for a fortnight and then he’d be out of business. I thought: ‘Fair enough'."
He came second and recalls: "I just couldn’t get fired. There was one week where they gave us this big pile of sand and I had the idea to sell it by pretending it was cursed sand from the tomb of Tutankhamun, that you could sprinkle onto your enemies.
"Afterwards, parents kept coming up to me in the street asking where they could buy it so I made up these cursed sand envelopes and started selling them after gigs. I ended up making more money for the Red Cross than the TV show was giving away as prize money!"
It's touring, however, that is described as Noble's "natural habitat". Stand-up enables him to be writer, director and performer, with everything under his control - and instant - in a way that regular TV show cannot be.
Compared with his early days on the road, touring now means much better hotel accommodation he says but he adds: "There are people coming to see me now who came with their parents when they were kids.
"That messes with your head a little bit. I still think of myself as being like 22 or 23 years old."
For a full list of Ross Noble's tour dates and tickets see here and for City Hall information see here.
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