Finding the laughter in honesty is the key for stand-up comedian Sam Avery

The 40-year-old father of twin boys will be sharing his act – The Learner Parent – with guest to Reading on Friday July 5.

Sam will be in the town as part of an extended nationwide tour which has all come about when he took to the internet and started blogging about his parenting journey when his twins Ben and Zac were born.

From Liverpool, Sam talked to Total Guide and said he’d always wanted to be a comedian however it took over a decade before he plucked up the courage to give it a go. His comic heroes were comedians like Richard Pryor, Ben Hicks and Ben Elton.

“I wanted to be a comedian from the age of about 14 yet I didn’t actually give it a go until I was about 25 as I was very shy and nervous. Every New Year’s Day I would make a resolution that this would be the year I would do my first stand-up gig and I never did it.”

What make you take that first step?

Alcohol. I was studying English at the University of Liverpool and had had quite a bit to drink and they were doing a ‘Stars In Their Eyes’ event based on the tv talent show. I signed up to be Mick Jagger. I was by then bladdered and staggered home and put on some leopard skin leggings from my female flatmate, put a cucumber down my trousers and put on a bad wig.

I went back to do the turn and I came second and won £20! I was terrible. The next morning nursing a very bad hangover I had a text on my phone saying ‘are you ready for tonight?’. I text’d back explaining I couldn’t remember, I was thinking ‘had I asked a girl out?”

It turned out in my drunken state, I had signed up for a comedy show the next night – goodness knows how desperate they must have been to take me on. I felt it was fate giving me a push and I’d regret it if I didn’t go for it. I wrote a ten-minute routine while hungover, it really was awful.

I was also awful at the gig however the audience was so supportive it gave me confidence to move forward. Yes I was now a comedian (I wasn’t really).

What happened next?

There was a local comedy club and I started doing stand-up and I got on the circuit where I learned the craft – and it’s a craft and a journey. It took me three or four years to stop shaking on stage – these things take time. When I’d done that I really started to engage the audience as I could really be myself.

This is your first tour – how did it come about?

I started doing stand-up in 2003, then in 2015 my life changed when Rachel and I had our twin boys. As a bit of fun I started blogging about it, talked about my experiences as a dad and I thought it might give me five minutes of material for my stand-up.

To my amazement I realised people were taking notice and a couple of things went viral and followers were coming in from around the world. It has taken off in a way I could not have imagined. I just started getting an audience.

My tone is around honesty – often on social media everyone’s lives seem perfect, everything looks perfect, everyone’s kids are perfect. It’s not true. There’s no comedy in that – as a comic I was looking for honesty as that’s where comedy lies. I used to think ‘what do I really feel about that?’ and share those thoughts.

In 2017 I wrote a book Confessions of A Learner Parent and then the offer of my first tour came in 2018 and here we are.

What is it like – your first tour with your name in lights?

It’s amazing. To have an audience turning up to see you and many are already engaged with me online – it’s been fantastic. They want to see me – it’s a very humbling thing. It’s the best thing I’ve done. I have people who come to laugh, I also have those who come because they say I’ve helped them through issues like post-natal depression which I never expected. I also have those who say that thanks to me they are never going to have kids!

What can people expect from your ‘night in Reading’?

It’s a stand-up comedy show that’s the first thing. I will pick apart some of the things around parenthood and also give permission to everyone to laugh at our failings and our perceptions and our best laid plans.

Discipline is one of those things – I’ll talk about how discipline 30 years ago was very different. I didn’t want to be a disciplinarian nor did I want to be a walk-over – I wanted to hit that sweet spot in between. I find that’s really going well with two toddlers high on sugar!

In the second half I’ll share a story about my worst and most embarrassing tantrum experience. Enough said.

Factfile:

Sam will be appearing in Reading on Friday July 5 – you can book tickets here - https://www.readingarts.com/south-street/whats-on/sam-avery-learner-parent

His book can be found here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-Learner-Parent-inexperienced-ineffectual/dp/1409175634/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+learner+parent&qid=1557412039&s=gateway&sr=8-1

His Facebook page is here https://www.facebook.com/samaverylearnerparent/

His website is here - http://www.thelearnerparent.com