Russell Kane has opened up about how performing to a Liverpool crowd proposes a different experience compared to anywhere else in the country. The comedian has performed in the city several times in the past, including at the Empire. But he will soon make a return and put his comedic skills to the test at the Philharmonic in November as part of his comedy tour Hyperactive.
The 49-year-old has scooped up several awards for his hilarious performances including The Edinburgh Comedy Award and The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award. He also makes regular appearances on TV including The One Show, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Antiques Road Trip and Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Russell grew up in Essex and now lives in Wilmslow with his wife Lindsey. He expressed his excitement to return to Liverpool later this year as he described what is particularly special about the city.
In an exclusive interview with the ECHO, Kane spoke about how “proud” Liverpool crowds are about where they come from and how he has to be more careful not to offend the audience.
He said: “Liverpool has its own scene, it’s like a different country really. So you can be doing 10,000 seaters everywhere else in the country and you’ll do 500 seats in Liverpool until you’ve proved yourself.”
He spoke about the prestigious Hot Water Comedy Club, which is one of the most well-known comedy venues in the world. Kane said: “Living up here, I’m really lucky because I’m 40 minutes away from Hot Water Comedy Club. It’s hard to explain for people not from Liverpool how huge it is.”
He also explained the main difference between performing to Liverpool crowds compared with the rest of the UK. He said: “The only difference about performing in Liverpool to anywhere else in the country is – just don’t make jokes about Liverpool.
“That’s the only thing I would say to a new comedian because when you go anywhere else, they expect you to slag the town off and to go quite hard.
“In Manchester I lay into them for being miserable, but if you said that in Liverpool, you’d never enter the city again”, he joked. Explaining his show ritual, the comedian said: “So I start with praise, but I make fun of them for how proud they are and how much they love their city which is obviously such a great thing.”
He continued: “As long as you’re confident enough and you do it with your heart in the right place.” Born and bred in Essex, Kane was slightly intimidated when he first stepped foot on a stage in front of a northern audience.
He said: “If you’re going right back to when I was very new, I just thought ‘how will the northerners relate to me?’ and it was scary. But over time you learn so much about these places.
“When you’re growing up, so much of the TV is Coronation Street and Brookside and there was this series called Bread which was huge when I was little so you learn all the accents from the telly.”
Speaking about performing at the Philharmonic Hall, he said: “That is not like playing any old theatre it’s awesome.” He joked: “I can’t wait to make the Scousers laugh and hopefully get a part in This City is Ours.”
Russell Kane will perform at the Liverpool Philharmonic on Sunday, November 2. Tickets are on sale now and available from www.russellkane.co.uk.