Angela brings her Hot Mess of a new show to town
You will know Angela Barnes from Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and was a regular panellist on Mock The Week. She is a fabulous, flamehaired comedian, never short of a snappy quip, positively bursting with stories and jokes.
In her new show, Hot Mess, Barnes reflects on marriage, ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and the pandemic. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
‘Hot Mess was originally about ADHD,’ says Angela, ‘but, ironically, I got distracted. The title of the show was conceived before the diagnosis. I've always been ditzy and forgetful, someone that people roll their eyes at all the time. So the show started off being about trying to get things right and often failing, but then so much happened it ended up being about something quite different, about friendship and loss.’
Lots of comedians have ADHD – Aisling Bea, Shaparak Khorsandi, Simon Brodkin, you. It can't be a coincidence can it?
‘I think there's a reason we get drawn into this life. We're constantly looking for that dopamine hit. What better way than stand in front of a room of strangers? It's not normal to drive to Cardiff for no money to do 10 minutes then drive back.
‘Also, I think we're quite socially awkward. I've never been good in social situations with people I don't know. I'm more comfortable onstage in front of a crowd in the dark. I'm more surprised by stand ups that don't have ADHD. Why are they doing it?’
Mock The Week ended this year after 17 years. How was it for you?
‘I did 38 episodes, the most for any woman and seventh on the list overall. I did my first one in 2014 and thought “what am I doing here?” but by the end I felt I belonged. I owe a lot to it. If it wasn't for Mock The Week I wouldn't be doing a tour of this size. It's nice to not have to write jokes about the news for a bit though. I looked at my notes from my first episode recently and the top story then was that David Cameron had gone on holiday to Cornwall and couldn't get phone reception. It was a glorious time by comparison.’
Angela started stand-up after training as a nurse and working in social care.
‘I was in my early 30s, I think you realise that comedy doesn't really matter that much when you've come from doing a job where people's lives matter. During the pandemic we found out who was essential and comedians weren't essential. Nurses and doctors were. So we're sort of a luxury item.’
But comedy can be good for people's mental health?
‘Sometimes people write to you after shows and say: “I've just been through this terrible thing and I was able to forget about it for an hour.”
‘It does have the power to do that. But I think we can take ourselves too seriously. I think we're entertainers primarily, we're the court jesters poking fun.’
Angela Barnes: Hot Mess is at Ashcroft Arts Centre, Fareham on Friday, May 26 at 7.30pm. Tickets £16. Go to ashcroft.org. uk/event.