hello my name is Jason Peck and this is

a comedy Q&A; interview with performer

Russ Erwood

also known as Erwood Le Fol or Erwood

the Conwy Jester. Russ is the official

gesture of a small town in North Wales

known as Conwy so if you liked this

interview and you like what Russ is

about and you’re in the North Wales area

please check out his website and maybe

book a show in the meantime enjoy this

interview oh I’ve got I can see you now

ah hello I’m well how are you ah I can

yes you too you too

good good I’m glad we got this I’m glad

we got this going yeah so if it’s okay

with you I’ll just dive right in yeah

sure yeah and to be clear for anyone who

decides to watch this

your Russell right I am and you the name

of your gesture is is it a wit or how do

you pronounce that yeah so for an

english-speaking audience would be a wit

with the Welsh twine yet be Edward

perfect either or yeah

and I just wanted to ask you first off

what is your background as a performer

and entertainer Wow okay so just roughly

yeah so I’m a juggler magician sideshow

performer that kind of thing mm-hmm

escapologist as well oh nice quite a bit

yeah started off in circus school as a

kid and then just kind of yeah this kind

of went from there really and didn’t

like the idea of a proper job yeah I

hear that yeah and so circus you’ve got

a background in circus and you’ve done

some escapology so how did you go from

that and to

cover being you know doing just is

gesturing I guess yeah so I as as you

know many performers do we we travel

around quite a lot and I I was lucky

enough to get booked by quite a few

festivals and things in North Wales fell

in love with the place and decided to

move there about four or five years ago

now okay and the town I live in is a

really small medieval town called Conwy

on the North Wales coast and complete

with castle and walls and all that kind

of stuff and yeah and they knew what it

was I did for a living

juggled things and and people just

referred to me as the Jester as I was

walking around you know as a bit of a

joke initially right and yeah and then I

thought well did can we ever have any

jesters and they severed that we did

yeah and the chamber of Trade decided

that maybe it could be quite fun to

bring that back and they and they they

chose me me for the honour of doing it

so Leah yeah yeah that’s how that kind

of came about and yeah right right nice

um I just want to before I get into that

more I just wanted to get a

clarification at least from from your

perspective what do you think the

difference between a jester and a clown

is well initially my I didn’t think that

there was those much difference okay I

necessarily as I as I’ve got into it

more quite quite vast really clowns

generally are very much about the comedy

that is really I think I think what they

do and they do well yeah whereas jesters

obviously we do comedy mm-hmm but I

think it’s there’s you know more

storytelling involved I think we

can be cheekier than a clown yeah yeah

and traditionally a jester would have

also been an advisor as well to camp all

them and and things like that and

would have worked very closely with

their owner which would normally be a

king or some kind of royal Iona is the

town of Conwy so I work very closely

with the town as a whole yeah and

you know I do things like organize

events in the town and things yeah yeah

nice sadly more involved I suppose

really okay yeah got it

I just wanted to quickly cycle back and

actually wanted to pay you a compliment

because I thought that was really good

we were just talking about you know how

people were saying to you you know hey

here comes a chest and you were like

hang on a minute you know yeah and I

thought I did and it just struck me as

you were saying that I thought well

that’s really good business sense of you

to be able to think we’ll hang on if

they’re calling me a jester in sort of

like a joking way you know what is the

history of that and here’s the one in

this area yeah yeah yeah yeah there’s no

problem I just something you know you’re

saying that I thought wow you know I’m

not even sure if I would have thought

that I would have had that if I was in

your shoes you know yeah is one of those

things that just seemed really obvious

and I suppose the best ideas generally

are aren’t there yes yeah you know you

know that seems obvious and then

discovered that nobody had really ran

with that idea

certainly not you know in in modern

times yes yeah and and I was lucky

enough that the town decided that they

wanted to get behind it and you know

well you know yeah right and so we were

just talking at the top and you’re

Jess’s name is earl weird or as I

attempt to destroy the Welles action

access now I was googling doing a bit of

background

search and I found that King Edward the

first had a personal gesture called

Tamla fall and your gesture has the same

last name so yeah was that that was a

deliberate yeah creation yeah yeah yeah

very much so yeah yeah yeah yeah so so

what calm yeah go ahead

yeah so tom was was the original gesture

of calm me in a way he was Edward the

first personal gesture and yeah was in

calmly for six months living at the

castle with with Edward for six months

right what the castle was under siege

well okay because the Welsh didn’t

really want Edward there at all being

the English invader the order that he

was right so yeah yeah so so the castle

was under siege the King can’t leave

nobody can get in so the jesters role

then would have would have essentially

been to have kept you know morale up and

yeah and I guess if his role would also

been some sort of distraction maybe do

you think from everything that’s going

on yeah potentially yeah yeah yeah

potentially I mean he would have Jess’s

were also trained in in you know sort of

military arts as well so he would have

yeah so he would have also been a

soldier as well Wow as any you know sort

of man back then would have really they

they would have all been capable of you

know taking up arms and things like that

but ya know Tom would have Tom would

have been very much with Edwards would

have been very much his his bodyguard in

a way you know okay yeah yeah

interesting yeah very much so

I mean just as a side note I’m just

thinking that that would could

potentially put the role of the Fallen

King Lear in a different perspective

I mean not that I

you know the play that well but you know

I’ve never seen you know of

I’m not connect you know I haven’t ever

connected the you know the role of every

man at the time being trained as a

potential soldier and then the the fool

potentially being a bodyguard to the

King less interested to me as well right

you know I I knew nothing about about

jesters and jester ring and you know

until I yeah and until I sort of became

one really right yeah yeah and so this

was just because what I what I’m trying

to do with the podcast is obviously talk

about you know the either the time

period or in your case your your

experiences as performer but also just

to sort of flesh it out a little bit so

you know anyone who’s watching this or

listening can get a sort of sense of

where we are in time so yeah so we’ve

talked at the moment all we were talking

about Tom your historical time twin if

you like yeah and Edward the first now

that’s I was looking up and that’s the

Middle Ages which and he was King Edward

was 1272 to 1307 do you yeah do you know

much about what was going on in England

Wales in the Middle Ages at that time

well more so during the twelve eighties

that’s when that’s when economy was

built

I was during need during the twelve 80s

and Tom and Edward would have been at

Conwy Castle during the mid 1290s they

were there during the winter of 1294 and

1295 right

yeah there’s six months through that

through the winter then yeah yeah so

that that’s that’s roughly what’s going

on

calmly itself was very much in English

town okay within Wales very much

an English town the Welsh weren’t

allowed in to the world town yeah only

on specific days and times and memes

like that because as far as Edward was

concerned you know the English were you

know superior right right

and the Welsh were just these you know

almost almost country bumpkin like you

know people’s that that lived in the

hills and and things like that and yeah

as as he did he he he literally invaded

Wales with a with a series of castles

right the way along the coast oh wow

yeah yeah yeah yeah so starting starting

Flint shear right the way through okay

and the burr Marius on anglesey Wow

so yeah yeah so he was invading and then

build essentially building castles and

yeah right an invasion of castles yeah

yeah yeah I mean Conwy itself was

originally home to monks oh okay

and and there was a castle in the gam we

which is the town literally opposite

calmly across the river mm-hmm and and

he he evicted the monks and then

dismantled the castle wind began we and

had the stone brought over over the

river okay who hopped me and then and

then built built the castle and walls

there yeah but a thousand men bill bill

come me in about four years Wow yeah

yeah okay yeah okay so and do you know

if my you know might might my knowledge

of some of this this time period is a

little bit scant so I know that you know

there there’s just in terms of just very

broad generalization in history now I

know that the Celts where in Scotland

Wales and Ireland dear were they still

the Welsh Wales at this time well they

still Celts or had they you know Mike I

don’t know evolved migrated become you

know still still very much still very

much Celts in the same way as the

Scottish and the Irish right mmm yeah

yeah yeah

very much still

still glad and and and still are really

right right yeah but I I was only just

thinking because you know generally we

we don’t refer to them as Celts now we

refer to them as you know Scots and

Welsh yeah obviously for the polite

English the impolite English refer

demand was whatever I just I just wanted

to move on now and just talk about your

where you perform as weird

so within within company itself I do get

to play inside the castle oh nice yeah

yeah I get I get to to do my show

actually actually inside call me Castle

I do that during the summer mostly

during the summer that school summer

holidays okay yeah so so I’m there I

have a residency at theme park Wales

which is very nice yeah I get to I get

to do that at various points throughout

the year and then medieval banquets are

huge really yeah yeah really really

popular you know some weddings and

corporate events and things like that

and not just in Wales I I get to travel

all over the UK yeah do a lot of work at

a place called Hatfield House which is a

Tudor place was home to Elizabeth the

first before she became Queen of England

and the UK yeah yeah

so I get to get to play there as well

which is which is great because you know

I get to actually work the

banqueting-hall other that will summers

who was Henry the eighth’s

jester okay he would have he would have

played played Hatfield House Ryan at one

point so you know very much following

the footsteps yeah of of the obviou

Ridge ”’l and the most famous right yes

that was amazing yeah yeah absolutely I

mean it must for you as a performer it

might you must feel something like you

know because you’re in this place which

is for us

like a historical relic but also you

know you’re thinking wow these guys were

actually here

they’re like leaping out on the history

books right and you’re and you’re

walking amongst the almost like their

footsteps um it’s an amazing privilege

really you know yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

and doing similar things to what they

yeah we’re doing as well I mean we know

that the Tamla fall Edwards gesture we

know that he that he worked weddings we

know that he did that he was on the

payroll of of yeah having worked whereas

people weddings and things and yeah and

that fella being and and that is what

what I do yes yeah it’s funny amazing

yeah yeah because you know talking about

it I for whatever reason I don’t you

know you sort of like when I read things

sometimes it there’s a disconnect you

know I read that as that’s what they did

then but yeah they wouldn’t have done

what we’re doing you know we’re doing

you know weddings or corporate gigs or

whatever it is but yeah they were doing

that as well exactly the same yeah it

was it was a revelation to me yeah yeah

well yeah yeah that’s great that’s you

know yeah yeah that’s really you know

just this in the middle of my paradigm

shifts Cory yeah and yeah just briefly

you mentioned medieval medieval banquets

I am I emigrated to the u.s. roughly uh

I say roughly I know when 2009 and I

don’t agree I don’t really recall

medieval banquets being a thing there or

do they just completely miss that has it

been a frog quite a while now I think

it’s kind of bubbled under the surface

for a little while

right and and it just seems to be one of

those things that is that has taken off

and you know certainly for me anyway I

mean maybe it’s because I’m I’m part of

that scene you know I don’t know but the

whole reenactment scene is it seems to

have just blossomed

Ram here as well which is which is great

yeah I mean I was saying about you know

organizing events and festivals and

things and we and we we had one in

Conwy a couple of years ago that we

called the tournament and and we had 400

re-enactors turn up to Conwy which to

give it sort of a sense of of scale you

can literally walk around the entire

town the walled part anyway of Conwy in

about 30 minutes

Wow okay yeah so it’s a small town you

know so 400 people all dressed in you

know medieval gear and walking around as

Knights and we’d sort

yeah yeah so yeah that it was just just

something else really nice yes they have

here in the states they have what they

call Renaissance or Renaissance Fairs

yeah and it was a it was a it was a nod

thing for me because I was like you know

for me that’s history yeah and

everyone’s like you know well we’re

living it that’s like yeah this is like

you know confine of the history books

for me it’s almost like you know like a

documentary you know yeah and then I’d

love to go come over and see what that’d

be you know because I’ve never

experienced anything like that right and

what what they there was interesting

though is what they’ve done now is you

know pon me wonders where they should

still call them Renaissance Fairs is

they’ve expanded beyond that sort of

time period and begun to include you

know there’s lots of fairies and fairy

tales there’s a lot of mythology and

they’ve also brought in a lot of

steampunk Wow yeah yeah yeah so when you

go if there’s a whole mixture of things

and it’s sort of like almost

overwhelming to the senses and it was

disorienting for me because I’m going

okay I’m going to this Renaissance Faire

you know yeah or Renaissance Faire you

know I got it you know I know what this

is

sudden you’ve got these people alike

that the Renaissance period on the Tudor

period and then all this other things

going on as well you know all these you

know the people dresses are fairies and

there’s a whole you know team of them

and then you’ve got the the people doing

the the steampunk staff amazing yeah at

the same time at the same time it’s just

yeah cuz cuz I do

I worked those different areas mm-hmm

but not at the same time so I work a

medieval themed event I’ll work a fairy

themed festival

I work steampunk events but oh wow yeah

yeah but not everything yeah combined

yeah yes it’s almost like a cultural

melting pot you know it is and I’ve only

been to one there’s one in North

Illinois here where I am is on the

border it’s near the border of Illinois

and Wisconsin is called the Bristol

Renaissance Faire

all right and there’s a town called

Bristol Les Waites named after that what

a calm I feel so duped but I but I don’t

know I’ve only ever been to that one but

I don’t know if there are obviously a

whole bunch of other Renaissance Fairs

across you know different states and I

don’t know if they’re the same in terms

of like just being a cultural melting

pot I’m guessing that they are but yeah

that’s my that’s my experience of think

I’ve been to one yeah and they also have

medieval times here yeah so it’s similar

sort of thing you know you go along but

it’s it’s just medieval and then you sit

and you can watch douse ting and all

this sort of stuff yeah did you ever see

the movie the Jim Carrey movie the Cable

Guy yes yeah yeah yeah that so the the

scene where it’s I think it’s the same

place that they filmed that but it’s

certainly yeah it’s certainly the same

idea brilliant yeah yeah I would love to

I’d love to the turkey leg

yeah you know yes something else yeah

and I just again it just getting us back

on track from white tie correct yes

that’s right

you wait we were talking about where you

perform I want to just briefly talk

about the sort of shows that you perform

because I sort of saw on your website

that you you sometimes do like two shows

in us in a in a schedule or a booking

right yeah yeah so what sort of things

do you perform when you do that so

mostly I do stand-up shows okay

so rather than doing you know you’re

sort of from a magician this point of

view doing this or close up walking

around tables type of thing that’s not

really what I do it’s mostly yeah mostly

stand-up stuff so I will juggle I will

do larger larger magic tricks i balance

several brushes on my on my chin at the

same time

nice yeah yeah so it’s all bigger bigger

outdoor e-type type stuff is what I do

yes street shows okay you know and

classic classic magic you know so like

the cups and balls yep things things

like that yeah so that’s that’s that’s

the kind of stuff that do magic rings as

well

yeah links and rings yeah yeah yeah yeah

okay that kind of stuff when I’m yeah

and then if I’m doing something that’s

not medieval then then I’ll incorporate

things like a straitjacket and that kind

of thing but I tend not to do that when

I’m when I when I’m the Jester

okay you know in some medieval gesto

attire right so do you then you know do

so would someone just book you I saw you

you’ve done a whole bunch of like major

clients I saw on your website hope you

don’t mind I was having no no I was

having a sneaky peek was going wow you

and I’ve got just listening off he but

BBC sky and Tesco MTV okay

see a whole bunch of you know really

great clients so do you I mean obviously

you know they they they decide what they

want but typically would you with a book

you for a day or would they just booked

you for like a hour how does that

depends on on what it is they want so if

I’m working a corporate you know sort of

me on their label they would book me for

for however long that that meal is and

then I’ll I’ll do a set what it go

dependence is it’s sort of complicated

but they might want me to come out and

do you know smaller sets throughout the

evening so I might do you know sort of

five minutes here five minutes there

right and break evening that way I might

be part of a larger cabaret show okay I

might do my own you know sort of

one-hour show right the way through

right or they might if it’s a

team-building thing then they’ll book me

to run some kind of workshop so I will

teach them how to juggle and play with

their blows and do all that kind of

stuff

nice yeah so it really is a complete

complete variety of different things

depending on on what on what the client

needs and obviously things like the BBC

and that was that was actual you know

sort of telly yeah telly type stuff and

I’ve also I’ve also worked as a as a

magic consultant on on different TV

shows how nice yeah yeah so one that

American viewers might might know is

something on Discovery Channel called

breaking magic okay or it might have

been called the magic of science I think

possibly in the u.s. yeah that was with

Wayne help gin and Billy Kidd and Nate

stand forth they were they were the

magicians on it and then I I was brought

in to create stuff okay which which was

which is really fun yeah nice yeah

really fun yeah yeah so it’s buried it’s

nice yeah it’s why I like what I do yeah

a wide variety of

things yeah it’s great and do you in

your role as a wit do you have to make a

set number of appearances or certain

functions throughout the year yes

the town of probably itself yet to Royal

Charter fairs and they date back to

Edwards in and His Royal Charter and

that’s the seed fair which is which is

literally seeds you know for growing

plants and things and that’s in March

and then we have the honey fair in in

September I mean they’re more than just

selling your seeds and honey now but

yeah but traditionally that’s that’s

what they would have been is is the yeah

you know seeds to to start growing your

crops and then the honey fair would be

where you would where you would sell

them you know after I’ve done best and

stuff yeah yeah so I appear at those two

things and then there are other other

events that happen at various points

throughout the year yeah but you know

like this year company was home to the

International Shore angling competition

okay I’m so he had 20 different

countries were represented 300 something

competitors and we yeah and I was part

of the opening ceremony and things like

that

no so they they kind of dust me off for

those sorts of things yeah yeah it’s

nice yeah cool yeah I just want to ask

also just briefly cycle back we were

talking about you know the sort of types

of shows that you do yeah my my

comparison II I mean I guess it a lot of

performers and stand-ups to have this I

know that commedia dell’arte do you know

much about the commedia dell’arte a

little name would not not it’s not an

area of study right you know my my I

only have a small amount of knowledge

about if my understanding is that they

would have you know whoever the the

actors work playing the certain types of

the ala Kino character or those are

knees they would have a stock material

that they often thrown

memorized and then they would they would

have an outline of the show and they

would basically go on and go okay well

I’m gonna go on to do you know X X Y & Z

and then but they had enough material

stored in their head that if something

happened if someone dropped a line they

could go in a different direction

yeah is that what you have you have like

a stock amount of material in your head

so you can if something happens or if

you go oh okay this will probably work

better if because depending on how the

audience is responding you know yeah you

can sort of switch get out with a case

full of stuff yeah and then and then

whatever comes out of the case and and

is performed it is very much dependent

on on how the audience is right is

reacting and responding to me and you

know if they’re if they’re particularly

responsive then obviously I’ll do more

audience you know stuff right if they’re

more just want to sit and watch

something then I’ll do more things like

the rings that that right that don’t

need that sort of audience participation

type type us that really yeah yeah and

also stop you know sort of like jokes

and things as well yeah that I won’t

always say but you know you you you do

enough shows and you get similar

situations appear all the time and and

then you would use use that line you

know when yes when it’s when it’s you

know needed yeah very much how a street

show works really right you know most

most street performers I think work in a

very similar way and and and you know I

did a lot of a lot of street performing

in in my sort of early days as a

performer so yeah yeah yeah it’s good

did you just briefly on that to do it as

a street performer did you ever pull all

I know is Covent Garden did you ever

perform in Covent Garden or

yeah only only the once somehow you can

say that I’ve done it was never it was

never my it’s on the CV regular pitch no

no he must have phone going off do you

need to get that yeah yeah no so yeah so

I did I did calm down once but my

regular pitch when I was living in

London yeah actually near the London Eye

on the bank on the south bank that’s

where I used to go mostly yeah yeah not

so much these days but right and when we

were trying to schedule this interview

you were talking about how you know how

busy you were I mean you will you you

were mentioned you were doing Halloween

right am i gettin yeah so you do you

essentially do it correct me if I’m

wrong basically the major holiday times

is that right you do the Halloween you

do a Christmas that’s when I’m busiest

Halloween over here hasn’t been a big

deal really until the last four or five

years yeah yeah yeah yeah so you know

sort of ten years ago right October was

traditionally quite a quiet month yeah

for four boroughs over here and then we

would get a small hit around around

emember the fifth the bonfire night yeah

all that kind of stuff yeah and where

we’d do a little bit of fire juggling or

something you know yeah the gig but now

this year I had two weeks two weeks at a

theme park oh wow big a big two-week run

doing doing doing Halloween shows yeah

yeah no not not in my jester outfit

right I was I was a vampire ringmaster

thanks yeah yeah yeah but we did a big

did a big circus e-type show you know

with people slap lining and right-wing

and jugglers and things like that and

yeah and I ring master date which was

which was great great fun it’s funny

because they it seems like the Brits

have gone we’ll hang on a minute the

Americans are making

a lot of money out of this we should be

too

it’s the same with them it’s funny

because you you now have Black Friday

yes which I don’t even really know why

it’s called that I don’t know I haven’t

I have no clothes talking to my mother

about it the other day and I said well

it’s it’s sort of traditional oh I’m

here because everyone is you know off

for Thanksgiving which is like the third

Thursday I think I’m probably gonna yeah

miss remember this now third Thursday in

November right yeah it was last week and

then and then the stores were open the

shops are open again on the Friday they

have sales on and everybody plows in a

go I’ve got to get away from the family

go and plow and plow into the shops

right and you know for me when I was

growing up in England that was boxing

day you had the boxing thing you know

Christmas everybody’s off everything’s

shut and then you got to get away from

the family in the next day boxing they

say is New Year’s sales right

yeah and new year sales yeah that’s

right but obviously you know someone’s

some smartass smartass has gone we’ll

hang on we could be making Bank here so

they’ve taken their bacon on the Black

Friday without the Thanksgiving which is

right and yeah and obviously now they’re

making you know Oh Halloween Monday’s

thing was became a thing didn’t it the

errors with all the the internet sales

and then right-wingers kind of just sort

of rolled on from that really yeah well

but no I was getting emails from you

know Amazon and places like that yeah

and they’ve done the same thing with

Halloween so that’s yeah yeah it is I

mean it’s good for me it films that gap

between right the sub the season and the

Christmas season yeah which is which is

great you know yeah I can’t complain

about that at all right yeah absolutely

because I I’ve got active friends back

home for a for a for a time you know

they would be signing on claiming

benefits or you know straw

yeah yeah do pantomime and then make

yeah pretty much enough money to tide

them over you know for almost like an

entire year yeah you know yeah yeah and

then do that but it’s good that things

are I mean you know from a cultural

perspective kind of go what I’ll be

doing the same thing but from a business

perspective from a performance

perspective it’s good that I think there

are more opportunities you know yeah to

be performing as a performer but you

know attractions and things as well

right

yeah they normally close your doors

first week of September and then you

wouldn’t open again until until Easter

right so so yeah so if you’re an

attraction that’s a long time to be

without people coming through the door

yeah and yeah so – yeah to have that to

have that something take over yes it is

great it’s great for them yeah which I

it means it’s good for me as well later

and other performers as well yeah we’ve

got somewhere to to do to do shows you

know yeah absolutely yeah it’s good I’ve

got a couple of questions which I didn’t

I wasn’t able to say yeah

so think you only feel a little bit if I

if anyone listening to this wants to

think about you know hey gesturing

sounds cool you know yeah what what

advice knowing what you know now what

advice would you give to someone to try

and you know start out you know if they

want to become a gesture or or more

broadly as sort of for their the

performing that you do I would say I

would say that you you you sort of need

a skill you know and where the skill is

Tory telling a story telling or juggling

or right you know magic or something if

you’ve got more than one of those things

then even better yeah and and and that’s

what I would say to start off I started

as a street performer I did circus

school

I then then was a street performer yeah

and and the street is a great place to

learn to be a modern jester you know you

you yeah do you really need to learn to

think on your feet and things like that

yeah yeah that’s that’s what I would say

would be the you know but also stand up

stand up comedy maybe it’s not an area

that I’ve gone down you know I’ve not

looked into that much myself but but a

lot of stand-up comedians are modern

jesters in a way you know they they are

telling stories about about our times

now you know and taking the rise out of

politicians and yeah and all that kind

of stuff

yeah yeah so if that’s if that’s your

cup of tea then then then do that you

know and it was it was just just briefly

I I don’t know if you’ve seen this book

fools are everywhere yeah and I haven’t

dived into it yet but what’s interesting

to me is that the beatriz also the

author is talking about how Jess’s have

essentially been around since the dawn

of civilization yeah and what’s

fascinating to me is that you know

you’ve got this you know civilization

sort of grows up but there’s always it

seems like there’s always going to be

someone to mock it and and and and you

know go hang on a minute what’s this guy

doing you know and sort of take the piss

out of it a bit yeah very much so

right yeah yeah that’s a great book by

the way if anybody’s wanting to learn

more about the history of Jess that

Tom’s mentioned in there as well just

music okay and and if that my my jester

outfit is is based loosely on on the

image on the on the front cover as well

with donkeys and everything yeah yeah

but know that yeah I mean that’s what

that’s what jesters did I mean they were

given the freedom to yeah to just do and

say what others were too afraid to do

and

today and right and there would be no

come back on the gesture because that

that is that was their wrong

yeah was to kind of highlight in some

respects highlight the the stupidity of

of our leaders yeah you know yeah take

what they do and make make that not not

make them look foolish

but you know so highlight the

foolishness of them yeah I mean at the

moment on both sides a pond we’ve we’ve

got a lot of material raised right

whether you want it or not yeah it’s

interesting yeah and also even more

interesting right

not that I really want to delve too much

into politics so that I find it

interesting that the the White House

Correspondents Dinner that’s going to be

coming up I think soon early next year

at some point then not having a comedian

this year or not right so first time in

a long time

there I think they’re getting an author

or some sort of scholar or something

which is which our yeah

so they’re playing it safe yeah no

comedian just someone playing it safe

and it’s Drake yeah yeah that’s why they

they don’t want yeah they don’t want

certain things being highlighted I’m

yeah yes cuz it reminds me that no I did

briefly see something in the fools

they’re everywhere book there was a

company that had a corporate jester

right and and then and then I think a

new owner took over and they went we’re

not gonna have a corporate chest in

anymore do you kind of think well okay

it’s a similar sort of thing you don’t

want someone go in you look at this guy

you know we don’t learn anymore get no

criticism know what it is what it is

here it’s good and I do I do have a

final question okay and and I’m sorry

for if this is throwing you for six

lemon thinking about what you know as

your time working as a Chester and

looking at

modern comedy where it is right now

movies

stand-up whatever else you want to look

at is there anything that you see or

have experienced as an audience member

we think oh I wish they would just learn

X if they if this is this something from

your experience that suggests all your

knowledge of gestures we think if they

had had just known that it might take it

into a different interesting area are

there any lessons you think that modern

comedy could or should learn or do you

think is I don’t think there’s anything

that modern comedies can learn I think I

think I think I think modern comedy does

tap into that you know sort of what a

gesture is they might you know they they

they do certainly certainly uk-based

comedy I’m not I’m not up on on American

comedy I don’t quite know how far they

go with with things but certainly over

here you know your your modern comedians

are brave and they will yeah stay what

what the public and a lot of instances

are are thinking anyway right and they

and they bring it bring it to the fore

what I think would be nice is if is if

people listened to them and not just not

just took it as a joke you know

obviously find it funny then but then

you know take a step back and and really

listen to the message that the comedians

are trying to give and yeah and and

focus on on the the bits that that

they’re highlighting yeah I mean

obviously we’ve got we’ve got Bridget

you you guys over there I’ve got Trump

and and things like that and yes yes – I

mean just the fact that that they

haven’t got a comedian at the White

House dinner is mean to me that

that speaks volumes of right of what’s

going on currently over over over on

your side of the pond really yeah yeah

it just needs to be yeah just sort of

listen to that and focus in on that and

and then as a obviously a comedian can’t

change the world on their own right but

you know once you’ve once you get a

group of people that go hang on a minute

maybe maybe this guy’s got a point and

then and then they can you know people

with with the power to make those

whatever changes need to be made then

then maybe they can do it but yeah yeah

this is that friend of how I see it you

just reminded me that there was a time I

don’t know if it’s still the same now a

case now but there was a time when a lot

of young people over here were learning

news and information about what was

going on from The Daily Show with Jon

Stewart right ok so they were watching

the The Sitter his satirical take on

everything and that’s how what they were

learning the news they weren’t watching

the regular news stations and they were

listening to him right obviously we’ve

got things like Mock the Week yeah yeah

and there’s a new show which I forget

what it’s called but it’s presented by a

chap called nish Kumar the the mass

report is a mass report yeah that’s it

and and that’s very you know very much

in that vein they they take the news and

then they they literally take take the

mick out of it and and really kind of

you know but then you know you listen to

the the underlying seriousness of what

they’re talking about

yeah and then you go ah you know and it

becomes that that revelation of okay

maybe we should actually be doing

something about this it’s kind of you

know yeah yeah that’s how I yeah yeah

well anyway thank you

and so for anybody well with any luck

people are gonna be listen to this in

your neck of the woods anybody who’s

interested in hiring you where can we go

to do that online copy jester calm

Thanks

Oh nwy yep Jess they’re jst are calm

yeah we don’t we don’t like too many

vowels in Wales so ha yeah

can we gesture okay yeah you can find me

on on social media again at comma

gesture on you know twitter facebook

Instagram that kind of stuff

yeah I mean just say hello would be nice

yeah fantastic

I mean well that that’s all I have Ross

is there anything else you wanted to add

any additional anything you wanted a

plug no I think I think I plugged

everything okay I mean as I say you can

you can find me in company you can fire

me Greenwood family Park in North Wales

you can find me in comedy castle and

yeah and and events all over the place

if you’re into ferrites the ferry

festival in in Wales in August that’s

that’s a big one and I love doing that

yeah so come and see me there that’d be

good nice brilliant perfect I’m glad we

were able to do this Russ yes and thank

you so much for your time I really

really appreciate it

oh you’re welcome you’re welcome nice

one Jason thanks very much Cheers right

Cheers me

[Music]

you

[Music]

English (auto-generated)