Comedian Scott Bennett to present his ‘greatest hits’ tour in Cambridge
Having witnessed Scott Bennett’s comedy at this year’s Shelford Feast, I can attest to the brilliance of this performer, of whom Rob Brydon said: “Great material, great delivery, a very funny man”.
One of the things that makes him naturally funny, I think, is his ‘northernness’ (Scott hails from Yorkshire but now lives in Nottingham – and there are definitely echoes of Peter Kay and Jason Manford, both in his material and in his down-to-earth delivery).
“It’s interesting you say that because I think there’s something about the cadence of a northern comedian; I think a lot of it is to do with the gigs we’ve played,” he says.
“It might be a massive sweeping generalisation, but I think some of the clubs that you come up through have still got the DNA of the working man’s club, or the social club, where you have to earn the confidence of the audience very quickly.
“So I think it makes you quite punchline-heavy and quite joke-heavy and quite energetic. I’m always conscious that you can do anything you want on stage as a comedian, but you’ve got to be funny first.
“When the audience feels comfortable, and feels comfortable in your confidence, then you can do what you like – but you have to be funny first, and I think that’s where this northern cadence comes from actually.”
He adds: “A lot of people have said that I remind them of the older circuit, if you like, not through the content of my material, but through the way I sound, which is interesting because I was not brought up on that comedy.
“My comedy influences were right on the alternative movement, so I’m the Rik Mayall era and Ben Elton and Alexei Sayle era – and Blackadder and things like that – so it was a weird one for me because I knew of that but when I got into watching stand-up, it was in the era when it had taken off and become a bit more alternative. So I was watching people like Ardal O’Hanlon and Tommy Tiernan, even early Harry Hill...”
The man described as “without doubt live comedy’s best kept secret” by the Evening Standard notes that things have been going well for him, gig-wise.
“It’s been a really good year this year,” says the friendly comic, a fan of fellow stand-ups Jeff Innocent, Justin Moorhouse, Matt Bragg, and Sarah Keyworth.
“I mean, the tour I’m doing has been extended and extended, because obviously we had Covid – and it feels like it’s a long time ago now that… But it seems to have had a knock-on effect so we’ve put more dates on, and they’ve been selling.
“It’s my ‘greatest hits’ tour from the last sort of 10 years, it’s all my favourite bits of stand-up, so yeah I’ve been really enjoying doing it and just meeting new people and getting around the country.
“We’re in a little bit of a break at the moment, I start again in September – and then we run till the end of the year. Then I’ve got February next year and then I’ll be working on a new tour show, so it’s all very exciting.”
After starting out in late 2009, Scott has been on the stand-up comedy circuit for the best part of a decade.
He has also written for many high-profile acts such as Chris Ramsey and Jason Manford and has also made numerous television and radio appearances, including Live at the Apollo and BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz and The Now Show.
His last two stand-up shows, Leap Year and Relax, were nominated for ‘best show’ at the Leicester Comedy Festival and he was also named by Chortle as One to Watch for 2018 and 2019.
His debut stand-up show About a Roy was nominated for the Amused Moose Comedy Award and was selected as one of the top 10 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015.
During the lockdown of 2020, Scott pioneered the viral hit, Stand up from the Shed, a weekly topical live streamed stand-up show from his actual garden shed. The show has had more than 150,000 views.
Despite his TV and radio work, stand-up appears to be Scott’s first love. “I love the way you see these different forms of it,” he observes.
“Last night I did a gig in a cave in Nottingham, bizarrely, tonight I’m doing a gig in a theatre, and then when I came to the Shelford Feast, we did it in a marquee with a stage – and what’s wonderful about it is it works wherever.
“As long as the audience are invested, it’s a great art form, so that’s why I love doing it and that’s why I love doing different areas, because you’re meeting different people and you’re sort of tapping into the different senses of humour, and it’s great.
“The thing when comics say ‘They aren’t my audience’, I don’t agree with that because it’s down to you to make them an audience. You work, you write the things, and if it’s universal it won’t matter where you play – I think that’s the key.”
Scott Bennett will be bringing his Great Scott! tour to the Cambridge Junction (J3) on Sunday, October 15. Tickets, priced £18, are available at junction.co.uk. For more on Scott, go to scottbennettcomedy.co.uk.
