National tour means comic Angela is on her way home
She became a regular on Mock The Week, Live at the Apollo and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown but when comedian Angela Barnes started thinking about her new tour, there was one place on her must list. Cara Simmonds reports
Acomedian who has featured on Mock The Week, Live at the Apollo and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is returning to her home town as part of her upcoming tour. Angela Barnes grew up in Maidstone, and has fond memories of school, fireworks at Leeds Castle, and frequenting numerous pubs in the town.
Angela was born in Sidcup, but moved to the county town when she was six.
“Maidstone is all I remember growing up,” she said. “I always say that your home town is a bit like your sibling – I can slag it off, but if anyone else does I’ll defend it.
“There was literally nothing to do, especially in the 80s and 90s.
“You had Mote Park, but it didn’t even have a leisure centre in it then.
“But if anyone else has a moan about Maidstone, I will step in and defend it like it’s my big brother.”
The 46-year-old attended East Borough Primary School in Vinters Road, then Invicta Grammar School along Huntsman Lane.
Angela says she used to love going to the fireworks at Leeds Castle, and remembers it being a “big family event” for her. She also reflected on the places she would visit as a teenager, and how much of Maidstone itself has changed. “I have happy memories of going out with my friends,” she said.
“There was a pub on Gabriel’s Hill, which is now – it breaks my heart to say – a Paddy Power, but it used to be called the Tutt and Shive.
“That is where we used to hang out on a Friday night, when I was probably too young to be hanging out in a pub really.
“It’s a funny place with comedians,” Angela added. “There used to be a comedy club called Up The Creek, in Union Street. “It was there before I started doing stand-up, but it was a notoriously rough, horrible comedy club.
“Any other comedians, when you tell them you are from
Maidstone, you can see them physically recoil and start sweating with post-traumatic stress.
“But I’ve got a really soft spot in my heart for the town.” In 1995, Angela left Maidstone to study at the University of Sussex in Brighton, where she now lives with her husband Matt.
“I’ve always loved comedy and used to watch it all the time,” she said.
“I started running a comedy night in a room above a pub, just as a way to watch it – I never really had any intention in doing it.
“My dad used to come to it and was a big comedy fan.
“In 2008, he died very suddenly and was only 60 years old. “At the time I worked in jobs I liked but didn’t really feel like I was going anywhere, sort of drifting a bit through my twenties.
“It just makes you think ‘life’s really short...what are the things you really want to do?’”
Two years on, Angela swapped a career in health and social care for stand-up and hasn’t looked back.
In 2011 she won BBC Radio 2’s New Comedy Award.
She also starred as a regular on Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo, as well as Hypothetical on Dave.
Angela is a firm favourite on BBC Radio 4, having featured on The Now Show and The News Quiz – including a recent stint as the host.
Besides this, she co-hosts the podcast “We Are History” with British author and scriptwriter, John O’Farrell.
Angela added: “I was 33 when I did my first gig.
“People think that because of my age I have been doing this for decades, but it has only been 13 years!”
Starting on Saturday, February 11, Angela will be travelling to venues across the county for her new show, “Hot Mess”. It will cover her reflection on marriage, ADHD and the pandemic.
She will be heading to the Hazlitt Theatre in Earl Street, Maidstone, on Saturday, February 18.
“It’s a beautiful old theatre and really special place,” she added. “Going to the panto growing up was a big thing. “When asked what venues I definitely wanted for the tour it was first on my list.
“It’s been part of my life for so long, and half of the audience will be my family and people I know.
“I just hope not too many exes turn up – that’s the fear!”
To find out more about Angela’s tour and to book tickets, log onto either www.angelabarnescomedy.co.uk for all the venues, or parkwoodtheatres. co.uk/hazlitt-theatre for the Maidstone gig