Waxing, Wrestling and Heavy Metal Hamburgers: An Interview with Jarred Christmas

Waxing, Wrestling and Heavy Metal Hamburgers: An Interview with Jarred Christmas

19 August, 2011
by: Sjk

Ahead of his MC gig at next month's Greenwich Comedy Festival, Sarah Kendell gets some hilarious insights from the Kiwi stand-up on his best festival memories of the summer.

It’s not hard to see why Jarred Christmas is one of the most in-demand comedy MCs in the country right now. Animated, personable and never afraid to play the fool (as the Spoonfed Comedy team learned during a very special Christmas photo shoot last year), the Kiwi stand-up has had a busy year so far, taking on the compere’s mantle at pretty much every big comedy festival in the country.

Next month, he’ll be bringing his cheesy-dancing wackiness to Greenwich Comedy Festival, as South London’s residents say farewell to summer with one of the best line-ups outside of Edinburgh. I caught up with the always entertaining Christmas earlier this week for some fascinating insights on body hair waxing, wrestling comedians and the perils of MC-ing a heavy metal festival.

What have you been up to since you last came to Spoonfed Towers for that lovely Christmas photo shoot?

I did a tour of New Zealand for seven weeks and I danced as Madonna for Comic Relief's ‘Let’s Dance’. I waxed my legs for that. I don't regret much in my life, but getting every hair ripped from its roots on my very hairy legs was a new kind of pain. Then every hair took out its own individual revenge as it grew back.

I also performed at loads of festivals : Glastonbury, Cornbury, Sonisphere, Laughs in The Park, Homelanz. It’s been an amazing summer of comedy.

Since winning the Chortle Award for Best Compere last year, you seem to have become pretty much the go-to man for MC slots. Are you still enjoying being a compere as much as ever?

I love compereing. I tend to improvise, banter and go off script a lot, which are both good things for an MC. Not so good if you are a doctor... "So Mrs Williams, you've got cystitis. Instead of cranberry juice, eat Monster Munch and join an indoor cricket team."

I read about a particular gig of yours at Leicester Comedy Festival that began with rather an interesting dance, as did your show at Udderbelly last year as I recall. Is a crazy dance your method of choice for winning over a tough crowd?

I love dance. It diffuses the tension. Maybe if everyone danced in Afghanistan, there would be chorus lines and less landmines.

You hosted a show for BBC at Edinburgh Fringe earlier this week. Did you manage to catch many shows while you were up there? Anything you particularly enjoyed?

I saw The Wrestling. Comedians and professional wrestlers, in a ring with almost 800 people watching. It was pure chaos. So funny and it seemed as though anything could go wrong at any moment. Which it almost did. Pat Monahan got pile-drived. Colin Hoult executing a double clothesline on two muscle-bound freaks was spectacular. Tom Rosenthal was really creepy. The crowd really got into the vibe of comedy and violence. Such a good combo. Next year it’s Grand Theft Auto with comedians.

You’ve participated in a couple of big London festivals now – you did Udderbelly last year, and this year you’re doing Greenwich Festival. Do you feel like the capital’s getting better in terms of arts festival offerings for people that can’t get to Edinburgh?

Yes I do. Edinburgh is fantastic, but more and more comedy festivals are popping up around the country. Edinburgh has no longer got a monopoly on full-length comedy shows, which I think is a good thing.

What about British summer in general – have you been over here for long enough that you’re used to it now, or do you still miss living somewhere where people can actually attend an outdoor festival without fear of torrential downpour or frostbite?

Weirdly, every festival I have done this year apart from Glastonbury has been great weather. The British summer is like waking up every morning and rolling a dice - whichever number comes up is the type of weather you are going to get. It keeps you on your toes.

Is there any particularly good show or memory that stands out for you out of the many festivals you’ve gigged at of late?

Sonisphere was interesting. 6,000 heavy metal fans watched the comedy section. Steve O headlined. I managed to spin on a stool and get 6,000 heavy metallers saying, "Ooohhh", when I put my legs out and slowed the spin and then ,"Weeeeeeeee", when I tucked in and sped up. I then fell off which they loved.

I also went to get a burger from a burger van. The guy in front of me ordered a burger and the guy serving him made him a cheese burger. The guy said, "I ordered a plain burger," so the guy serving him took the bun off the burger, peeled the cheese out, threw it over his head, put the bun back on and said "There’s your fuckin’ burger." That’s when I knew I was not at Latitude. No souvlaki with hummus and falafel here. I just ordered chips.

Jarred Christmas will be performing on Night 2 of the Greenwich Comedy Festival. Spoonfed readers can take advantage of an exclusive buy one, get one free offer on festival tickets - just enter the unique code GCF2011 when purchasing your tickets online via Ticketweb. This offer is limited to two tickets per customer and expires at 9am on August 28.

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