Preview: Lock in at Newcastle City Hall

As he returns to his first love – stand-up comedy – Sean Lock promises to “make you laugh like a drunken horse.”  It is no idle promise. Sean is one of the most talented comedians currently at work in this country.

A very funny team captain for the last 14 series of Channel 4’s hugely popular comedy panel show, 8 out of 10 Cats, he is known as the most fertile comic mind in Britain. Over the next few weeks, Sean will be dazzling audiences across the country – including two dates at Newcastle City Hall tomorrow night – with his fantastic gags, opinions, deft observations and a selection of very silly voices indeed.

Ahead of his Newcastle date, Lock tells Giggle Beats: “I haven’t toured for three years. I like to have a break to generate a bank of new ideas that I can then turn into stand-up.

“It’s great to hear people laughing at jokes you have constructed. That’s a really good feeling. You want to hear people hooting in the audience – that’s quite a thrill. To make people feel like that is really nice thing to have done.”

The stand-up goes on to explain the significance of the title of the new show. “People are always asking the opinion of white van man. I was listening to the radio in a white van the other day, and they were talking about what white van man believes. I was thinking, ‘I don’t subscribe to those opinions. Maybe I should get a different-coloured van’.”

Sean continues: “I don’t actually have a purple van, but it indicates the different section of society that I fall into. Being a Purple Van Man means I have my own perspective on things. How would Purple Van Man be different from other people? I think it’s a way of saying that you won’t get your normal fare with this show.

“It is a slightly different style of comedy. It’s not just meat and two veg, although I hasten to add that I do provide a full menu with a happy finish!”

Sean Lock: Purple Van Man is at Newcastle City Hall on Friday 24 May and Saturday 25 May 2013. Click for Sean Lock tickets.