Interview: Michael McIntyre

Oh him! We love him. He was on that show – Would I Lie To You, Mock The Week, Eight Out Of 10 Cats (add every other top line comedy show) – exuding chubby cheeked bonhomie, creating delightful worlds of silliness, glorying in the adoration of the audience.

And with his clipped vowels and smart appearance, people expect some cut-glass bon mots – not the physical gags, the comic acting, the telling Seinfeld-esque observation that shows that this London man walks among us and sees the things we do – if not in precisely the way we do.

It looks like a lot of work but the comedian who took the 2006 Royal Variety Show by storm makes it all look so effortless. He said: “I want to luxuriate in the audience. I feed off the adrenaline and get wrapped up in the atmosphere.

“When thousands of people have paid to see you, that in itself is very exciting. If I’m in the mood, everything flies.�

Before his breakthrough as a nominee in the Perrier Best Newcomer award in Edinburgh in 2003, he was a not very successful biology student at Edinburgh University. It was clear then, as now, that this was a man born to be jolly.

Michael’s secret is in creating a sense of conspiratorial laughter, inviting the audience into his world, creating an effortless rapport, telling a comic tale with polished skill and breathtaking confidence.

He said: “The more I improvise, the funnier I am. If you have set jokes, you lose a bit of the electricity. But when you’re reacting to the audience and making yourself laugh in the process, everyone gets carried along by it.�

And he’s relishing his recent success.

He said: “I’m paid to point out the funny things in life that other people are too busy to notice. I get an initial idea which gets a laugh and then I build on it. The audience are saying, ‘I like that, comedian, now take me further’. I’m going to quote Jerry Seinfeld here. He said that, ‘a bad crowd helps you edit material, a good crowd helps you experiment’.

“Once people are involved in your world, you can manipulate it and kill people with laughter. At least, that’s the idea.�

Indigo2, Oct 28, £19-£21, doors 7pm, 0844 844 0002, www.ticketmaster.co.uk, Jubilee: North Greenwich.
n Michael’s tour coincides with the release of his DVD on Monday, November 17. Live And Laughing, £19.99 contains 90 minutes of his stand-up filmed at the Hammersmith Apollo.