News / Jupitus to bring comedy, music and poetry
“I CAN’T wait to head to Shetland. You have to imagine how long I’ve been looking at the little dotty bits at the top of the map of the UK and thought ‘what is it like up there?’”
It’s fair to say popular comedian and TV personality Phill Jupitus is pretty excited about heading north for his first gig in Shetland.
The comic, who is perhaps best known for being an ever-present face on now defunct BBC music quiz show Never Mind The Buzzcocks, will take to the stage at Mareel in Lerwick next Saturday (22 July).
He will bring his Juplicity show to the isles after previously performing it in Australia, New Zealand and around the UK.
Not only will he juggle stand-up and music, but Jupitus will be his own support act as performs a short set of poetry to warm things up.
He said his comedy show will revolve around the universal theme of family and how children are raised.
“It’s a show that’s a little bit about my role as a father and a son,” Jupitus told Shetland News.
“What it is like being a dad, also what it is like being a son, and how my mother shaped me and how you realise that being a parent, you kind of have this knock-on way of dealing with things.
“A lot of that has come from your own, from how you were raised yourself by your mum and dad.”
The comedian, meanwhile, was a team captain on Buzzcocks from 1996 to when the show ended in 2015.
He admits there is a “void” left in his life that he has attempted to fill with touring his stand-up more thoroughly, while he has also performed in musicals.
“It’s really interesting when something which is such a major part of your life [ends]…you get used to that kind of just being there,” Jupitus reflected.
“I think the first autumn when I didn’t have it, it felt really odd. From September to early December, for 18 years of my life, I always did that show. It kind of gets in your bones. The more I did it, the more I enjoyed it.”
The veteran comic added that he is looking forward to checking out what Shetland has to offer after hearing positive reports from his peers.
“I’ll always remember Billy Bragg, the first time he went up there, telling me how much enjoyed it – not only the beauty of the place, but the fact that it’s a different audience,” he said.
“I’ve been touring around a lot of places this year that I’ve never played before, and I quite like the effect that it has on your work. It’s like starting again.”
There are limited tickets still available for Phill Jupitus at Mareel, which can be purchased through the Shetland Arts box office.
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