Jeff's baby talk (From Surrey Comet)

Jeff's baby talk

3:44pm Thursday 28th September 2006 in Comedy By Nancy Groves

When babies appear to be smiling, it's often just a case of bad wind. Surely a sign that comedy and children do not mix. Unless, that is, you're Jeff Green - award-winning stand-up and first-time father to baby son Orlo.

Ten months of nappy changing and nose wiping have provided Green with enough fresh (and not-so fresh) material for a new book, The A-Z of Having a Baby, and his solo tour, Personal, which arrives at Epsom Playhouse on Sunday.

"The great thing with being a stand-up is that you only work nights," says Green, on baby duty at home.

"During the day, I'm here to help. That's him squealing in the background now.

"My new show is called Personal because I want to talk about things that happen to me. The only problem is that most of the people who come along to it haven't got kids. That's why they're able to go out."

Jeff Green began winning comedy plaudits at the 1994 Edinburgh Fringe, where he was nominated for a Perrier Award.

Since then, the readers of TV Times have voted him into their Top 10 television comedy panellists, too, yet despite these heady heights, he is still best known for his live stand-up.

"There are two types of jokes," he explains, "the comedy of recognition - for example how women always have cold bums when you get into bed with them. Men can identify with that, so can their girlfriends.

"The other type is when people don't know what I'm talking about but I give them enough information to extrapolate. I've got a good joke about comedy critics and people don't have to be a comedian to see the pain in it."

I'd better watch out, I say, but Green assures me that he doesn't read write-ups. He adds: "You're never as good as the good reviews and never as bad as the bad ones. The nature of comedy is subjective. I try not to pass comment on other comics because I know how hard it is. Some say it's the hardest job in the world but that's not strictly true."

Roughly 5,000 people in London have done a stand-up spot, he estimates, but only 100 actually earn a living from their jokes. As, he points out, that's a big drop-out rate.

"You can help someone with the basics of joke writing, but you've either got something to say or you haven't."

So will Green mind if Orlo wants to follow in his footsteps?

"I think I'd have to mess him up to send him off into the world of stand-up," he replies.

"I don't think comedy comes from a happy place. Besides, his name means Hebrew for bringer of life'. So he'll probably end up an electrician!"

Jeff Green, Epsom Playhouse, Ashley Avenue, Epsom, Sunday, October 1, 8pm, £14.50/£11.60 members. Call 01372 742555 or visit epsomplayhouse.co.uk