Hilarious comedian Russell Howard is a household name in his native UK. Never one to rest on his laurels, he has established a solid international fan base thanks to years of touring and his work spreading like wildfire on the internet.
In October, he returns to the US with a brand new show, kicking things off in Durham, North Carolina. He’s hoping for packed houses, big laughs, and, honestly, a little more sleep between shows.
“Last time we were touring the US, we were sleeping on a bus as we traveled from place to place, and our driver was a man called Cadillac Jack,” Howard recalled. “He used to drive for Steve Martin and Paul McCartney, so we couldn’t actually sleep because he was really interesting. I could have done with a really dull driver, but he was utterly captivating. We’d do these great shows and then run back to the bus to hear some more of Cadillac’s stories (laughs). “
Even after all these years, the comedian still marvels at the stateside touring experience with almost child-like enthusiasm.
“The truth is that you do the show, get on the bus, and wake up the next day in Chicago, having been in Washington the night before. It’s a bit weird, but it’s so exciting,” he enthused. “I’m so used to touring the UK and getting into places like Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, and Manchester, and the gigs are amazing, but there is something wildly exciting about waking up in Chicago, New York, or Boston. It’s like a month-long Americana fantasy.”
Howard is also looking forward to playing large yet more intimate venues than he does at home outside of trying out material in smaller clubs in London.
“In the UK, I’m able to do arena shows or long runs in theaters, but in the US, the venues are around 1,000 people,” he said. “I was in Lisbon recently and did gigs in two 400-seat venues. It was magical, and such an instinctive, fun gig, and I ended up doing two hours. Anything 500 above is going to be amazing because the atmosphere is amazing. When 500 people are laughing, you hear it. I’ve got absolutely no problem doing smaller rooms.”
He added, “When I’m not on tour, I’m gigging three times a week and taking pieces of paper on stage. One of my favorite gigs we did on the last US tour was in a comedy club called Cobb’s in San Francisco. I think that was a 300-seat space, and it was amazing. The size doesn’t matter to me; it is just about trying to grow as a comic.”
Aside from just catching other acts performing before him in a line-up at shows he’s doing, Howard also finds it invaluable to go to shows as an audience member. It’s something he did at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
“I like being in the audience of a show because it reminds you of what it feels like, and watching the comics reminds you of what you love about stand-up,” he reflected. “It also makes you think about what you’re not into and determine your place in the ecosystem. I’m a bit of a nerd about comedy, and I get super inspired.”
“I’ve always been the young guy, so it’s kind of quite cool to be like the old man wandering around and watching shows,” the 43-year-old continued. “I love talking comics I’ve never seen before after their gigs. A guy called John Kearns did a brilliant show, so I chatted with him for a bit.”
Howard, whose TV shows in the UK include The Russell Howard Hour and previously Russell Howard’s Good News, is enjoying a brief break after touring the UK since March, doing, at his estimate, 128 shows.
“It’s been insane,” he laughed. “The plan was always that once I had a new show I’d go back to the States but I was there with my previous one last year.” That whistlestop tour included several sold-out shows at the prestigious Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles.
He continued, “I didn’t want to do the same show but I’ve been able to turn this one over in time. You want to go out with new material; otherwise, it just feels wrong.”
After his East Coast tour, Howard plans to return and do the middle part of America in the spring and then hit the West Coast again next fall. His last tour was “a lot.”
“We did something like 25 shows in 23 days, but we were zigzagging in the bus across America, which was exhausting. We thought that this time we’d do the East, go back home, take a break, and then come back,” the comedian explained.”
Howard, as always, will embrace the quirks and cultures of the locales on his tour but is aware that the news cycle will, as on previous tours, play a part, including politics and the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election.
“You just can’t help it. You get swept up in the juggernaut of madness,” he laughed. “The US media is this blizzard of stories pumped at you. I remember the last time I was there, I think Biden was announcing a bill where he was trying to get billionaires to pay more tax than nurses, and I’m pretty sure the day he came up with that Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and that story went out the window.”
“It was so funny to me as an outsider to go, ‘Wow. The world is obsessed with this scuffle, and you’ve got the president who had an idea that most people would say sounds pretty reasonable was lost in the news cycle.’ Hopefully, I’m able to offer a different perspective on it.”
Although he doesn’t measure it in presidents, Howard has toured the US during the Obama, Trump, and now the Biden administrations.
“I presume that everything is ratcheting up regarding Trump and indictments and the whole ‘will he or won’t he’ of it all. It’s so interesting,” the comedian mused. “You can’t help but link it back to our politics or politics that you see in Europe to see what people are interested in the world over. It feels like America is this fascinating kind of tastemaker for the world, and everything reverberates outward. Everyone does their version of America, slightly depressingly.”
“However, stand-up was invented in the US. It’s a very American art form, and everyone else has done their version. I often think about Lenny Bruce. When people say it’s tough being a comedian these days, you’re like, ‘Lenny Bruce used to perform at burlesque clubs. Can you imagine following a naked lady? How good does your material have to be?’ You look at Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks, Dave Chappelle, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Burr, Mitch Hedberg, and Michelle Wolf is a phenomenal comic, as is Taylor Tomlinson. The list goes on.”
While the US has embraced Howard, he has his wildly successful and acclaimed UK career in his top pocket. Some British comedians have only found next-level success after leaving there and heading to the US, such as John Oliver and Gina Yashere.
“John was on Mock the Week in the UK, a huge panel show, and was doing fine but then goes to America, finds The Daily Show, finds his niche, and the rest is history,” he remembered. “I remember doing the Montreal Comedy Festival with Gina Yashere. We were backstage, and they were strict about language for the TV showcase. This comic went on and had a line where he made a sexual joke connected to assisted suicide. The joke flopped, and Gina turned to me and said, ‘They wouldn’t let me say moist.’ It was the perfect summing up of the madness that is industry gatekeepers who let some people through.”
“Why did Gina not make it as big in the UK as she deserved to have done? I don’t know, but she has certainly made it in the US. She was brilliant 20 years ago, she’s brilliant now, and she has a very successful TV show with Bob Hearts Abishola. I couldn’t be happier for her.”
With the popularity of his specials on streaming platforms such as Netflix
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“I’ve been really lucky. I love doing stand-up, and when I first started, I got loads of offers to do straight presenting, but I didn’t want to do it because it meant I wouldn’t be able to do stand-up,” the comedian explained. “What started as a hobby became an obsession, and I was starting to make a living from it, and then got to do my own TV show while still doing stand-up and being myself.”
“I’ve never done anything where I’m not doing stand-up on TV, so I don’t know if I could do it, but I’ve had a few offers here and there. Honestly, the stuff has always not been as good as my stand-up, but if a brilliant film or a part in a sitcom came along that was really funny or interesting, I would look at it. I don’t have a great interest in making it massive but if I could play in the same kind of rooms that I play in the US, that would be amazing and enough. It’s just this lovely little treat where you travel around the states, write a new show, experience life, and it adds to the tapestry of your art form.”
Relocating to Los Angeles to capitalize on his US success doesn’t hold much appeal for the acclaimed and humble comedian.
“Maybe there’s a bit of me that wishes I’d done it as a kid, but America is so daunting when you’re young,” Howard concluded. “A few years back, we had done four nights at the Albert Hall in London, and we were flying to New York to do a show. I was like, ‘Why the f**k am I here? America doesn’t need me.’ I was acutely aware of that. My relationship with the US is now that I want to hang out with America. That’s my thing.”
“I’ve got a lovely life. I’m married, my wife’s a doctor, and I love hanging out with her. It would be too much to uproot her, and she would have to be in the American medical profession, and I’m not sure that’s a particularly fun place to go to from the NHS. It’s a tough sell. Yeah, I’m good.”
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