I'm comedian Rhod Gilbert and I'm really looking forward to bringing my show to Blackpool

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Take a look at our exclusive chat with the comedian Rhod Gilbert who is bringing a “different” type of comedy show to Lancashire in November.

Comedian Rhod Gilbert is bringing his new show ‘Rhod Gilbert & the Giant Grapefruit’ to the Winter Gardens Opera House in Blackpool on November 14.

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Star of various TV shows, Rhod’s latest stand-up show is his first since entering remission for head and neck cancer and he says it's all about “navigating the dark bits and turning life’s giant grapefruits into something approaching lemonade”.

Celebrity reporter Aimee was able to sit down and chat to Rhod before his Blackpool arrival to find out more about his new show and how he feels about bringing it up to Lancashire.

Take a look at what Rhod had to say below.

Comedian Rhod Gilbert is brining his latest stand up show ot Blackpool in November.Comedian Rhod Gilbert is brining his latest stand up show ot Blackpool in November.
Comedian Rhod Gilbert is brining his latest stand up show ot Blackpool in November. | submit

What can we expect from your new show?

“It’s different, definitely different. It's not your typical stand up comedy show, I don't think. It's quite emotional, it's a bit of a roller coaster. I've certainly tried to make it as funny as I possibly can- I'm a stand up, that's what I do. This is a show about cancer, I don't hold back on it, I kind of go to quite dark places in it but equally, I wanted it to be as funny as anything I've ever done. So if you liked my stuff in the past,  if you like me going on about duvets and stuff like that, then it's me, I'm just going on about cancer instead of duvets!”

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How has the show gone down so far?

“I've done about 80 shows already so it's a massive tour, I'm halfway through, and it's going really well. I'm really, really happy with it. In funny terms, everything's going down really well, I'm really chuffed with it. And in emotional terms, it's kind of the most important, significant show I've done so after the show -I've got lots of cancer patients coming - I talk to cancer patients. It's got a little bit of a therapy element, I think, for everybody involved as well. So it's a bit more than just a stand up show for me.”

Did you intend to make the show therapeutic?

“Yeah I suppose. I didn't quite know how it would be received. I had an inkling from the documentary that I put out-  a Channel 4 documentary about my cancer called ‘A pain in the neck’ and there was sort of humour in that, dark humour and I tried to make it positive. I guess the response to that gave me some idea as to how a Stand Up Show on the same subject might go down, and how to do it. So I suppose I sort of did but the response has been surprising as well. I didn't expect to have cancer patients or people who've lost loved ones to cancer standing at the stage door chatting for an hour after the show about their stories, and in the show, people pipe up and tell me about their cancer and their experiences. I didn't quite know that would happen and it's wonderful, it's really powerful and lovely. Equally, there's loads of people there who havegot no experience of cancer and it's got to work as a stand up show. Ultimately,  it's a comedy show so that's what it's got to be judged as for me.”

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And why is it called Rhod Gilbert & the Giant Grapefruit?

“It’s a play on James and the Giant Peach and then the grapefruit is a nod to the tumour in my neck. The grapefruit is also a bit of a theme that runs through it but I won't give away how.”

Rhod Gilbert

How has your cancer diagnosis affected your approach to comedy?

“Oh, my God. Not just my approach to comedy - I mean, comedy is my work life and what I enjoy doing, it's a big part of me - but cancer has just changed everything. It's changed my entire approach from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.

“For years in TV, I've been getting a bit more serious ... I've been doing stuff on social anxiety and infertility and the work experience series I did. There's a lot of caring in that and sharing experiences, just human experience stuff. I've been going in that direction for a while, and with this show, that's all come together, really. My stand up and TV careers merging into a stand up show with a caring aspect that's trying to do some good in the world, trying to put something back. Without sounding too worthy, I guess it's given me a real sense of purpose, and that's coming through my stand up.”

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How are you feeling about bringing it to Blackpool?

“That Blackpool venue is electric. It's absolutely electric. I don't just throw that out about any venue. There's lots of venues in the country that aren't electric. I ruled out venues I don't like going to years ago so I don't go back to places I don't like. But Blackpool’s one of those ones that is. It's a big, big auditorium, it's old, it's got that real Victorian vibe about it and, the atmosphere is pretty amazing there. It’s quite rowdy, it's quite raucous, which I like, lots of joining in, which I quite like, keeps it interesting, keeps you on your toes. But yeah, it’s nice to be coming back up there, It's one of the ones I really look forward to doing Blackpool.” 

Rhod is performing at the Opera House within Blackpool Winter Gardens and he says it is one of his favourite venues.Rhod is performing at the Opera House within Blackpool Winter Gardens and he says it is one of his favourite venues.
Rhod is performing at the Opera House within Blackpool Winter Gardens and he says it is one of his favourite venues.

Outside of performing, do you ever have any time to explore Blackpool?

“I tend to have a wander around. I like looking around town centres and city centres. Me and my tour manager - it's very quiet -we stay out in Airbnbs in the countryside, nice little cottages, real fire, walk the dog sort of stuff. But, yeah, I will come into Blackpool and have a look around and see how it's getting on. It just helps, I don't like going from the countryside straight to a venue, it kind of freaks me out a bit. I like to walk around, and sort of immerse yourself in a place a little bit. You just get a sense of what it's about, and the people who are at the gig, what their lives are like and what they're doing. I like to stick on a pair of sunglasses, put my hat down on my face, and sneak around and watch what's going on. Although weirdly, I think you probably stand out more when you got have sunglasses on wandering around Blackpool in November.”

You last came to Blackpool in 2019, so what do you think will be different or the same? 

“Well, I've been there so many times over the years that I'm guessing it's going to be electric. I'm guessing the atmosphere will be charged. It is one of those venues that just, because of how densely everyone's packed in, works. Those old theaters work, they knew what they were doing. You can get some new places that are a bit lacking in character, lacking in atmosphere, but that one is one of the ones that really works. So I'm imagining that'll be the same but I'm bringing a show about cancer, so the response will be different. You know, it's definitely a different show to things I've done in the past. So we'll see!”

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On that note, why should people reading this article get tickets if they haven't already?

“It depends! I mean, loads of people- loads of cancer patients and their families- are coming deliberately to hear me talk about cancer, to get it out in the open and raise awareness of stuff which I think is helpful and they find it helpful for them… talking about stuff that we don't often talk about.

“People without cancer, hopefully will just find it quite interesting. It'll give them a bit of awareness into something they maybe didn't have that much awareness of. But most importantly, it’ll just be, hopefully, a really funny, fun night out. And t's a little bit different, it's not every day you get to see a comedy show about cancer.”

We’re also chatting on the week that your latest series of ‘Growing Pains’ airs so why should Lancashire audiences also tune into that?

“Oh, god, that's very different. In this series, we’ve got some great guests from Al Murray to Mel B and I think it's just a great area for a chat show, talking to people about their teenager years, with everything that includes, from the bad decisions, the first forays into romance, the fashions, the music and the stuff they were into, their obsessions, their hobbies. I just think it's a really interesting, and fun area. It's all very relatable, at heart, we are all just nervous young teenagers trying to make sense of the world and trying to find our place in it. So if you want to hear people like Mel B and Al Murray and Dara O'Brien and Susie Dent trying to make sense of the world as teenagers, then tune in.” 

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Did your teenage years involve getting dragged to Blackpool for seaside holidays? 

“Not as a teenager. I did get dragged there on a stag night when I wasn't far off a teenager once, and we stayed in - I mean we didn't splash out, let's put it that way -we stayed in fairly budget accommodation and I can remember at one point going to have a shower, I was quite hungover and I realised I was up to my knees. There was just a hole in the floorboards, and I'd sort of fallen through, down to my knees, just on the way from the room, where there was about 30 of us staying, into the shower. That's one thing I remember. I can also remember us going out to a club at about two o'clock in the afternoon, and I honestly thought it was four o'clock in the morning when I went in there. It was absolute carnage but I'm sure that my gig will be a lot more civilised than that.”

Will you have the stamina after the gig to go do that all again in Blackpool?

“No, absolutely not.  Although it was good fun, really good fun.”

“I guess I just have a message for cancer patients and their families which is just to try to stay positive, keep smiling, find the humour.”

“I will do my very best.”

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