Rob Beckett opens up about writing his new stand-up tour without ‘fear and worry’

Virgin Radio

28 Feb 2024, 14:14

Stand-up Rob Beckett has spoken about not overthinking things as he prepares for his huge new tour.

The comedy star joined the Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch ahead of hitting the road in November for his new tour, Giraffe, which will continue until 2026! 

Speaking to Chris about how his preparation for the massive run of dates has been the best ever, Rob said: “When you start in comedy on the open mic circuit, and then you get offered this, you get offered that, sort of like a runaway train. And you're just clinging on trying to get some experience, get the right gigs, get a bit of money in… then you have kids, now you're holding on to your wife and your kids on the train. And so it's madness. 

“When lockdown came, my biggest fear was all my work would go. And it did go but then, actually, it all worked out at the end. And with this tour, it’s the first tour that I've written without fear and worry that I'm going to be found out through imposter syndrome, or with a poverty mindset that it’s all gonna get turned off, everyone’s going to go, ‘Right, now come back to the market,’ I used to work at the flower market, ‘You've had your little time away’, but now I’m in a place where my self-worth isn't wrapped up in me as a comedian.”

He added: “It's just a part of me, but not all of me.” 

Continuing, the comedy star said: “Before, everything was wrapped up in my performance. So if it went well, I was king of the world. If it went bad, I was a complete loser. That's gone now. Now, I work hard, I write jokes, I go out and tell them and I look forward to it. And I love it. And the way it'll go is the way it will go. And at the moment it’s going well. So I'm just going to keep doing that and not overthink it. 

Regarding the fact that the Giraffe tour goes beyond next year, Rob told Chris: “I've got the school holidays off with the kids, booked holidays with the family and I said to the promoters, ‘You can have the rest of the dates’. And that is why we're stretched to 2026! It's a big old tour!” 

Speaking about “going all over the gaff,” and playing “all the best theatres in the country”, Rob said: “Stand-up is my one true love when it comes to anything in entertainment. I love doing podcasts and telly and all that, but stand-up’s the thing I fell in love with, that's the thing I love the most, and all I've ever wanted to do was do it in theatres. So why rush it, and try and get it all in and out of the way?

“This is what I want to do. If comedy was a theatre at the end of my road at 11am, I'd gig every day. It's only the travel, but because I've spread it out, I'll be going to all these venues refreshed and ready and excited. Not like, ‘Oh god, I've got another one.’”

On taking his time with the tour, he said: “When you are refreshed, and you're excited about it, you're more in the moment during the show, so I can chat to…  the audience. That's why I’m doing theatres rather than arenas. You can connect with them, you can talk to them, and then the show becomes about them and there'll be jokes that happen that will never happen ever again. And that's the magic of comedy, where if you get too busy, you just write a script and churn it out every night, you're basically doing a one-man play. And that's not what I think comedy is. It’s about connecting with people in a room.”

And the tour keeps getting bigger. “I'm announcing some more dates as well,” he said. “So don't buy [tickets] off touts or that terrible place that overcharges.”

The comedian hosts his brand new panel show, Rob Beckett’s Smart TV, tomorrow (29th February). The series features his Parenting Hell co-host Josh Widdicombe as co-host, along with Bake Off’s Alison Hammond. Read all about it here.

Rob Beckett’s Smart TV begins tomorrow (29th February) at 9pm on Sky Max and NOW. Giraffe tickets are available now at robbeckettcomedy.com.

For more great interviews listen to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with cinch weekdays from 6:30am on Virgin Radio, or catch up on-demand here.