Having a lark: Why comedian Bill Bailey can’t wait to return to S’pore

SINGAPORE — One of the key tenets of being good a stand-up comedian is to stay on top of the news and hence be aware of what is happening all the time.

It is what provides good show content.

“You can’t avoid it. We live in a 24-hour, news media, Insta-Twitter-sphere,” said British comedian Bill Bailey, who will be making a return visit to Singapore on Sunday (Dec 11). Bailey last performed here two years ago to a sold-out show titled Limboland.

Bailey, who has been performing his new show, Larks In Transit, in Australia and New Zealand, said his gig would be quite different by the time it hits our shores. “This is the show that evolved from Limboland,” he said on the phone.

“The show is changing all the time. I’ve been on tour in New Zealand and Australia and it’s changed quite a bit, so by the time I get to Singapore, there’ll be new songs and new stuff,” the 52-year-old comedian said.

“People have become so attuned to what’s going on in the world ... Just over 100 years ago, people weren’t really aware of what went on outside of their own town, let alone the world.

“Now, something happens anywhere in the world, you can know about it in a minute.”

Social media has helped Bailey craft his shows. “With Twitter, you have 140 characters, and it makes you more succinct in what you have to say. That has a positive effect on what I do — writing a joke, my own thoughts, you know, ‘Can I say this quicker’ or ‘Can I make this more punchy’,” he said.

“We have a thing in comedy called the GPM — gags per minute — and there’s a very high GPM in this show.”

Bailey, who is a classically trained musician (he has an Associateship Diploma from the London College of Music), has been involved in comedy since the 1980s, touring the United Kingdom with other comedians. He formed a double-act in 1984 and soon started developing his own comedic style, mixing in musical parodies with deconstructions of or variations on traditional jokes (“How many amoebas does it take to change a lightbulb? One, no, two! No, four! No, eight ...”).

He was soon seen on television, in sitcoms such as Black Books or panel shows, including regular appearances on Never Mind The Buzzcocks and QI, and, following his love of natural history, presented natural history series Bill Bailey’s Jungle Hero and Baboons With Bill Bailey. He also revealed that he is currently in the process of writing a new sitcom.

“I’ve never done that before. It’s a new experience for me. I mean, I get a lot of offers for work with sitcoms or comedy films and I read the script and usually go, ‘Nah, it’s not quite me’. And I was (telling my wife) how all these scripts were never quite right, and she said to me, ‘Stop complaining. Why don’t you write one?’ And I was like, “Oh yeah’,” he said.

“So I wrote this script and sent it to the BBC, and they said they wanted to make it. I’m apprehensive, but it’s good.”

It is this juggling of the different hats he wears that keeps him busy, he said, but he does not mind the challenge.

“Stand-up comedians don’t just turn up at the show and start rattling off for an hour,” he said, adding that the writing of the jokes, testing them out in clubs, and planning comedy tours take up a huge chunk of time in a year.

“I try to organise my time. Like now, I’m in touring mode. Once you’re on the road, it’s like a juggernaut, because you have to hire all the gear and venues, and all that — you can’t stop. But in January, when I finish the tour, I make a conscious decision to get back to writing and doing work for TV, and that’s the time I get to do any other project. You have to choose the things that you care about and want to do. I’m fortunate that I can choose the projects I believe in.”

And while some comedians, musicians or artistes may lament the fact that their work is shared online for free, for Bailey, there is a silver lining. “If people put something up online, what can you do? But I’ll be honest, since YouTube, so much comedy has appeared online such that people around the world, who weren’t able to see it before, can get to see your stuff. That can only be a good thing,” he said. “I now have fans from Peru, Chad, Zimbabwe and Kurdistan — anywhere you have a decent Internet connection.”

However, he said that nothing quite beats the live show. “The real comedy experience is not watching it on YouTube. It’s watching it live. You go there with your friends, family or partner. There’s interaction, banter with the audience, and that is different every single night. That’s a one-off unique experience that will never be repeated or previewed. That’s why I have confidence that people will still come to comedy shows. It’s such a different, extraordinary art.”

Bailey also said he was looking forward to coming back to Singapore to perform live. “(Limboland) was the first time I did a proper show, although the very first time I came to Singapore was in about 1991 or 1992, when I performed at the Singapore Arts Festival. I had a fantastic time and it was a real eye-opener for me — the culture, the people, the food. Which is why when I get the opportunity, I always try to head back.”

“I had such a great time, last time, the audience was really responsive, and in many ways, it’s always great fun to go there.”

Bill Bailey’s Larks In Transit is on Dec 11 at the University Cultural Centre (UCC) Hall, NUS. Tickets are available at Sistic.