Wide-eyed Canadian comic, Craig Campbell, is a charismatic comedian with an original stage presence and energetic style of comedy. With a comedy career spanning an impressive 22 years, Campbell has bubbled under the surface of mainstream recognition for years. With two dates in South Wales this month, Campbell’s stand-up is sure to be as fresh and energetic as ever.
In between snowboarding, performing and driving the length and breadth of Canada as part of his latest tour, Craig told me a little more about how it all started: “Stand-up was the first thing I became interested in and I haven’t done anything else since” states Campbell concisely. Even today, after 22 years on stage, Campbell hopes that he’s got plenty of touring left in him. And with live stand-up enjoying a boom on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world, there’s certainly been no shortage of work in recent years – although Campbell admits that he wouldn’t like to be starting out as a comic now: “There are a few rocket ships to fame, but when it comes down to trying to get your face known, I think things are a bit more difficult than when I started” says Campbell.
With such a long career stretching out behind him, Campbell is certainly no stranger to the relentless comedy circuit, or indeed the cut and thrust of a sell-out live audience. Campbell recently took part in a mammoth 120-date tour with the controversial comic Frankie Boyle. Although an extremely popular and memorable tour, which saw him performing to large audiences night after night, Campbell’s most memorable performance came in 1992 when he opened for Jim Carey on New Year’s Eve: “That was a pretty crazy gig. We had a sword fight at the end of the night” laughs Campbell. “Even though he wasn’t massively famous, he was phenomenally funny. He was on an absolute rocket-ship of fame and so in that way, that was really, really memorable for a young comic; and pretty damn exciting”.
But despite performing alongside such renowned comics, fame and fortune hasn’t really been on the top of Campbell’s priority list. Instead, a spot of snowboarding in between gigs and a random adventure or two is all that Campbell desires: “I’ve never craved fame. Making a living is great for me” says Campbell. “Being close to Frankie and seeing the amount of stress in Frankie’s career; the amount of attacks he has to suffer, the stuff he has to do: the output! Being able to act like a teenager is a million bucks in the pocket for me.”
This relaxed and easy-going attitude spills into Campbell’s performance. His original stage presence is often led by an unusual choice of attire and Campbell can often be found on stage in a fetching pair of shorts and a battered pair of hiking boots – a look he ensures me is for practicality rather than style: “I’ve always tried to not get into any sense of regularity so I quite enjoy wearing shorts. It generally became a matter of whether or not I wanted to change because of stage more so than for stage.” Having completed another afternoon on the slopes, Campbell recently performed on stage in salopettes: “There has always been just a little tiny bit of me that likes to express that we [comedians] don’t have a boss or a manger telling us what the hell we should do. And if you do have one, you don’t always have to listen. You don’t have to put on a suit and you don’t have to polish your shoes” explains Campbell.
Craig Campbell’s energetic style of humour touches on the idiosyncrasies of British life, tapping into the British self-deprecating sense of humour. Much of his own comedy is born out of the many bizarre and humorous situations he has found himself in throughout his life and it is these stories of misfortune and misadventure that form the backbone of his comedy. In terms of writing, Campbell just enjoys seeing what life throws at him: “I just hope that something bizarre happens to me at every turn. I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years and I just realised that I wasn’t experiencing life anymore and I became quite stagnant because of that. All my stories are about doing something; snowboarding, driving somewhere, flying to Holland. Just sitting in one place drinking coffee, trying to create funny; I found it quite difficult. For me, the best thing is life experience and I can relay that to the audience. It’s the best way for me to relate to them as well.”
Infectious and fun, you can certainly expect an exciting show full of stories about chasing grizzly bears in Canada or the many idiosyncracies of the British.
Craig Campbell appears at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff on Tue 22 Feb, tickets: £11-£13. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk. And Pontardawe Arts Centre on Wed 23 Feb. Tickets: £8. Info: 01792 863722 / www.pontardaweartscentre.com