Adam Larter: Professional Weirdo

It's difficult to describe Adam Larter, so how would he describe himself?

"I don't really know. Comedian. Clown. Piss-taker. Satiririst... Saterrier... no, I can't be one of those if I can't pronounce it. The Independent came to see the show once and called it 'sharp satire', which was strange."

It is strange, considering that Larter's shows tend to include things like mini-plays about Danny Zucco from Grease going on an adventure with Godzilla. Maybe that was seen as a comment on the coalition government? "Possibly. My favourite bit of that particular show was when I had the audience singing Christmas carols in August."

Larter's style of manic invention, which is a blend of clowning, storytelling, and strange props, isn't something that would fit into a normal comedy club, so how did he even get started?

"I did start off doing normal five minute open spots and I used to worry, 'oh this bit is too weird, it might not work.' Then I realised, I have my day job to pay the bills, I don't need to worry. If I'm going to do this, I might as well just have as much fun with it as possible. And yeah, some people hate it but I've been lucky to find more and more people who really get it."

His act branched out into one of the most talked-about comedy nights in London – Weirdos – and has created a space for equally absurd and difficult-to-categorise acts such as Carl Shultz and Holly Burns, culminating in a proper alternative comedy panto last year, which Larter describes as "the thing I'm most proud of."

This year, he's back as part of a double act with the equally odd Ali Brice, while Weirdos runs for five nights at the Jekyll & Hyde. "It's curated by a different person each night," he says of Weirdos, "and we'll be competing to see who runs the best night. But we're allowed to interfere and fuck it up for our rivals. I can't wait."