Comedian James Dowdeswell
James Dowdeswell won the Jongleurs Best New Act prize for stand-up in 2000. He’s toured as a supporting act for Peter Kay, had his own show at Edinburgh, and is partly responsible for the popular “Whack My Bush” podcast (www.whackmybush.com). Ahead of his show at the Punchline Comedy Club, he speaks to Adam White about being a comedian who doesn’t tell jokes.
HK Magazine: Tell us a joke.
James Dowdeswell: I’m not really a joke teller. I know it sounds odd for a stand-up comedian to say this, but it’s true, really. I know it sounds bizarre, but I tell stories and do impressions, not tell jokes.
HK: What does your family think of your profession?
JD: Well, my great-granddad was a comic actor. He used to work at a traveling circus; he used to fall over barrels with Charlie Chaplin. Since there’s a precedent, they’re quite accepting.
HK: And they come to your gigs?
JD: At the Edinburgh Festival this year, we had some quiet nights when there was hardly anybody in. And of course, my parents chose one of those nights to come to the show; it was an empty room and they sat right in the front row. So there were twenty people in the room and half of them were my parents and family, sitting in the front row. I couldn’t keep a straight face. Very embarrassing.
HK: I read that your school nickname was Screech, after the character from “Saved by the Bell.” Have you had many interesting nicknames?
JD: Unfortunately, I do look a little like Screech. But most of my nicknames are abbreviations of my name, so there’s been Dowders, Dowding, and so on.
HK: Yes, interesting last name, Dowdeswell: Not very catchy for showbiz is it?
JD: No, not at all. I was going to change it at one point, but while I was considering it, I did a show and the old head boy from my school turned up, because he saw the name and it’s such an unusual one. I decided to keep it because it’s a good way of catching up with old friends.
HK: Has anyone ever told you that your publicity photograph makes you look like Sideshow Bob?
JD: Ha, yes, I do get that from a lot of people. There’s definitely a Sideshow Bob quality to it. At least it gets people in to see me; I think a lot of people quite like Sideshow Bob.
