CityLife

Martin Mor is still as sharp as ever

Martin Mor

In his more than 20 years on the comedy circuit, Martin Mor has always been a fearless figure. At first he incorporated the circus skills he started his performing life doing into his stand up set, persuading unsuspecting members of a comedy club audience to help with his tricks.

Since leaving the circus tricks behind him, his stand up has never been afraid to tackle a knotty issue.

His latest show headed for the Edinburgh Fringe next month is no exception. Called the Call of the Golden Frog, the blurb purports: ‘Martin has journeyed out to the edge and into the abyss so you don’t have to’.

“I’m describing it as a show about looking and thinking, that’s left it quite wide open about what it can actually be about,” he laughs.

“It’s going to be a straight stand up show and hopefully a little bit close to the edge.

“Maybe tackling some things that are a little bit more interesting than you would get on a normal stand up night and still done in my usual style - a lot of dialogue from the audience, a lot of chatting. People are able to interject at any point.”

 His original circus act morphed into stand up when he broke his ankle and was unable to perform a major circus show he’d been practising for sometime.

 “While I was off work one of my pals said to me you should go to see this little place called The Frog And Bucket.

“I met Tony Burgess (veteran local act), who I didn’t know before, I met Dave Gorman who I did know before. The next week I was doing a set.

“I think no matter what level I get to I’ll always do The Frog And Bucket because I’ve got a real loyalty to them, that was where I started.

“Also that’s exactly what I like in comedy, it can be a bit gladiatorial when everyone’s pissed up, it’s not a theatre, they’re there to be entertained you’ve got to interact with them, which is the best bit for me.”

The comedy scene he inadvertently launched onto turned out to be an innovative and influential one that contributed greatly to the burgeoning nationwide stand up circuit both in the gigs it started and the comedians it has produced over the past two decades.

“I’m one of the few remaining original Manchester stand ups from when we were first making that scene. There wasn’t really a scene in those days as such.

“The Frog And Bucket was just a little room beside a pub, it wasn’t a proper comedy club. 

“Then gradually  there was the Buzz club that had comedy, there was Alexanders over in Chester.

“Manchester has been really productive. Nationally, there wasn’t so much of a scene whereas now, every single town has several comedy clubs.”

Over the years as well as touring the clubs around the world, performing at festivals and putting on solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, Mor’s worked as a writer contributing material to shows such as Radio 4’s The Now Show and writing for some of the biggest names in comedy.

Though his circus shows are in the distant past – he found post 9/11 it was impossible to take his equipment such as knives and fake guns abroad for gigs – he has resurrected a few routines for the festival circuit.

“I did Download festival the other week and I put a couple of old things like my knife throwing act in. I hadn’t practised it at all. It had been in the attic.

“As it was I thought well I’ll get there and there’ll be a chance to practise, it’ll be fine.

“As it was when I got there there was loads of stuff happening and I hadn’t had chance to practise. I thought I’ll just have to get a guy out of the audience and do it.

“He didn’t know but it was a little bit more exciting for me than it should have been.

“I’ve got £2m public liability, I thought as long as I don’t hit anything that’s going to kill him... it worked fine.”

Meanwhile, back in the latest show, it’s strictly stand up. Though nothing is off the record in his act Mor’s finding the current economic situation difficult to incorporate into the show.

“When I pitched this show to Tommy at The Stand (the Edinburgh comedy club) I said it’s going to be about lots of the stuff that I’ve been shouting at the TV about. 

“I set out to write a lot about the financial situation and the banks but to be honest with you it makes me so angry I can’t find the humour in it.

“I’ve got pages and pages of interesting stuff but it’s just not funny enough because I’m so cross about it I can’t find the joke.”

You never know, maybe he will before July’s out.

Martin Mor will be at New Stuff at the Comedy Store on Sunday to try out material for his latest show. He appears at the Frog on Friday 22 and Saturday 23. For more information go to martinmor.com.