Funnyman ready to talk about his life on new tour

The 52-year-old comedian, actor and, in his own words, dog walker, parent and undercover vegan is coming to Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on March 18 as part of his “Stretch and Think” tour.

He said the show was about thinking about his life as a middle-aged man, particularly some of the things that middle-aged men do that he said seemed ridiculous.

He said: “I’m 52 and I feel like I’m getting on a bit, but I don’t feel any different to when I was 18, 21 or 30 as nothing’s really changed, just more that you have to accept that there are good things and bad things.

“One of the things I’ll talk about in the show is the ridiculousness of the middle-aged man, as we all know a man who suddenly gets to his late 40s and says something like ‘I’ve always had a keen interest in cycling’.

“You think to yourself ‘Have you Darren, because I’ve known you since you were 12 and you’ve not mentioned it’ and then suddenly you’ve got these middle-aged men in lycra suddenly going for coffee and cake in Shropshire and you shouldn’t be wearing lycra for the first time in your late 40s.”

The mid-life crisis and the idea of men going past their best-before-date are big features of Justin’s show, as well as looking at his time in Phoenix Nights and other shows and seeing what people recognise him from.

He said he was looking forward to playing Stafford, describing the audiences as really good fun.

He said: “I’ve played Stafford about four or five times and it’s always a really good audience and I think Stafford isn’t always one of those places that you go to on tour, so they’re really happy for you to be there, plus it’s not too far down the M6 for me.

“I find that the people who watched Phoenix Nights loved it and recognise me straightaway from that, while other people have heard me on Fighting Talk, Talk Sport or the News Quiz.

“The funny thing is I also get a strange group of people who are either boys aged under 10 or dads who get up early on a Sunday morning and watch a lot of Football’s Funniest Moments and know me from that.”

Justin said his comedy was a way of taking people’s minds off whatever is going on in their lives by telling people how rubbish his is and said he felt it was genuinely fun for those watching.

He said: “People laugh all the way through and there’s little bits of niceness, then little bits of sadness, mixed in with some big laughs and I’ve been doing this for 22 years, so I think I know what I’m doing and so far, so good.

“I think it works well in the Midlands as well and I used to do a lot of University gigs at Staffordshire University, but I can’t do those anymore as their dads turn up to take them home!

“I think it’s a brilliant show though and I hope people will come and have a good time.”

Justin Moorhouse will appear at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Saturday, March 18.

To find out more and to buy tickets, go to justinmoorhouse.seetickets.com/event/justin-moorhouse-stretch-think/stafford-gatehouse/2278851