Robin’s making waves (From Surrey Comet)

Robin’s making waves

10:24am Friday 23rd February 2007 in

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It's useful to have friends in high places. My own attempts to get pally with Hugh Hefner have met with literally hundreds of ignored emails and a court injunction, but the friendship between Robin Ince and Ricky Gervais is of the genuine, non-fantasised variety, writes Paul Fleckney.

Following a cameo in The Office, Robin has toured extensively with Gervais on his stand-up tours.

He is currently juggling his cult comedy hit Robin Ince's Book Club, plus his Robin Ince Isn't Waving show, which comes to the Epsom Playhouse tonight, and a support slot on Gervais' Fame tour.

"Ricky and I met when he was the entertainments officer at University of London. He was about the same then as he is now he's the public's choice of comedy legend.

"I once said that touring with Ricky was like touring with a European child emporer of the 18th century, banging the piano, saying listen to me, listen to me'.

"It's an odd thing, going from playing in front of 250 to 300 people one day, then to 6,000 people in an arena. I stand there just before I'm going on and think oh I can't need another wee; there can't be any more liquid in me!'"

These oscillations between nose-to-the-grindstone touring of his solo shows and supping champaigne from the cup of A-list celebritydom have an odd effect on his tour dates.

"Crawley was a low point," he says, deadpan, "I'll get a week that goes Paris, Milan, Rome, Crawley.

"I mean, when you're walking around Rome, even when you're looking at a statue of Mussolini, you can think wow, this guy had big dreams, big thoughts'. When you arrive in Crawley you just think something's gone awry." Which I'm pretty sure wasn't intended as an endorsement of militant fascism.

It would be unfair to suggest - as I think I have - that Robin is some sort of celebrity coat-tail chaser, as he was the most recent recipient of Time Out Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. Which is every bit as distinguished as it sounds.

His other credits include writing for Dead Ringers and BBC4's The Late Edition, and performing on Mock The Week and ITV's Comedy Cuts.

"I improvise a lot," he says of his own style, "I muck around with ideas so I'll babble on about psychic mediums then do something on the African orchid beetle. That's quite similar to how I am on real life, just whatever makes me really irate and what gets me overly excited. There's quite a lot on the media as I spend a lot of time on trains so I can read five newspapers in a day."

Poor man, even when he's not touring with Ricky Gervais, he can't get away from "that fat bloke from Reading".

Robin Ince Isn't Waving; Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom, KT18 5AL; Thursday, February 22, 8pm. Call 01372 742555 / 742227, visit epsomplayhouse.co.uk.