We’re starting our new year of comedy on a high, with Edinburgh Award nominee, and viral sensation, Josh Pugh! Josh is coming to ARC this February with his brand-new show Existin’ La Vida Loca, a show about enjoying yourself and doing your best.
We caught up with Josh to ask a few questions about his experience as a stand-up, and what to expect from his latest show…
1. How long have you been doing stand-up, and how did you get started?
I’ve been doing stand-up for almost 10 years, it’s something I always wanted to do but never really admitted it to myself. I was having a bad day at work and signed myself up for a gong show, which is a show where an audience can vote you off by holding red cards up. I got 5 minutes of material together which I’d be too embarrassed to recite any of now and did well enough at the gig to get the bug.
2. What is your most memorable gig?
A few really, you never forget your first one, my big Birmingham Town Hall one last year was special as I was recording my show and I had a lot of friends and family in. The day was me mainly fielding questions from them about parking. I was also getting texts minutes before I was going on asking if I could do anything about the queue at the bar which was a bit stressful. But I’ve done gigs in some mad places – vineyards, an outdoor adventure centre, the foyer of an indoor football centre in Luton (not making that up).
3. What advice would you give to any aspiring comics?
Dead simple really, just do it loads, be brave and try things you think are funny and make friends.
4. You also play for England’s partially sighted football team. How did that start, and what’s that experience been like?
Yeah incredible, to represent your country and to compete with people from around the world is amazing, we are very aware of how special it is. I can remember playing in Sardinia and thinking, “this is a Wednesday afternoon, I should be at work.” I’ve met people with similar conditions and life experiences to me, and it can be a nice break from the comedy world. Sports people are different. I think and I’m lucky that I get to know people from sports and a creative industry like comedy.
5. How do you balance football and comedy?
It can be really hard, racing between training, matches and shows, obviously being partially sighted I can’t drive, so I’ll often turn up at gigs with a sweaty football bag, and it’s a bit of a juggling act. I have a really supportive family who let me dedicate the time to both sport and comedy. Balancing football and comedy is kind of ok, but the bit that often gets missed out is time with friends and family, but that’s something I’m working on.
6. Finally, what can people expect from Existin’ La Vida Loca?
I like my shows to be full of really big relatable bits of stand-up done with, dare I say, “flare”. It’s a show all about trying to enjoy life, I think it will be the best tour show I’ve ever done. (I’ve done two).
See Josh Pugh live on Sat 3 Feb with his show Existin’ La Vida Loca. Tickets are on sale now here.