Phill Jupitus is a master of many realms. As an actor, performance poet, cartoonist, musician, improvisational comedian and podcast host – as well as a regular guest on QI and team captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks for 19 years – he’s gathered an incredible and eclectic skill set. Having just finished performing in the recent stage musical run of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jupitus is ecstatic to get back into the wonderful world of stand-up.
“The looseness of it – the freeform nature of it – is what appeals to me,” the UK comedian says. “That is always how the comedy evolves. It’s almost a sort of improvisational mess, that then starts to achieve density, and weight, and shape, and form. It’s just through doing it repeatedly. That’s what I’ve always liked, is that in these gigs, different thoughts will come to you because you’re a human being onstage and your mind is working.
“I did a show years and years ago about Star Wars that started out as a five-minute routine,” Jupitus recalls. “Just five minutes of gags about Star Wars, that within a month was a 20-minute set just about Star Wars. Within six months, it was a one-hour show just about Star Wars. The last time I did it, after a UK tour, it was longer than the film Star Wars. I was doing a comedy routine that was longer than the film it was taking the piss out of. That, to my mind, defines how I work. You’ve got to be constantly squeezing every idea and notion. Find the new in what you do.”
Describing his latest show Juplicity as “low-energy chaos”, Jupitus will be heading to Sydney this Comedy Festival season with a multitude of incredible stories from his life. Comedy comes from truth, he says, and he loves the thrill and freedom of the stage. He explains that he feels his “performing brain” take over while weaving a tale, and often finds himself shocked at what he’s capable of when locked into the ethereal mindscape of improvisation – but he finds his own surprise to be half the fun, too.
“I am personally willing to sacrifice myself for the entertainment of strangers,” Jupitus laughs. “There’s something I talk about in this bit that I’m going to be doing in Australia that I can’t believe I’m saying these words onstage in front of strangers. It’s a true story about my childhood, my mum, and something she told me that is so personal and harrowing, I find myself thinking, ‘Why are you saying this to these people? I’m sure they liked you.’
“The audience reaction is somewhere between open-mouthed silent horror and a whiplash, like when you get in a car shunt. I’m not going to spoil it by even telling you what it’s about. If you want to know my horrifying personal secret, then come and see me.”
Phill Jupitus plays the Factory Theatre on Friday April 28 – Saturday April 29 for Sydney Comedy Festival.
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