Chris Cantrill: Comedy Spotlight
The Delightful Sausage founder braves a grilling.
It's a preconceived notion that alternative comedians hailing from the North have to move to London to ply their trade. There, they'll thrive in a supposedly livelier scene that's more welcoming than the one found in the mainstream comedy venues back home, where ‘club comedy’ is often used as a pejorative.
Chris Cantrill has kicked this thinking right in the face. After a successful couple of years in the capital, he's set up shop in Manchester (admittedly still a little further south than his native Bradford), where he's been wowing in support slots for Nick Thune earlier this year and creating an active and friendly hub in his regular night, The Delightful Sausage, which takes place every month in The Castle Hotel.
An old soul with a very youthful mind, Cantrill blends his surreal thoughts with a likeability that’s synonymous with northern comedians, and is helping to change the perception of what it is to be a club comic north of the Watford gap.
First gig:
It was London, downstairs at the King’s Head back in the early days of Cameron’s reign. How did it go? Well, nobody makes the first jump but it did give me a heightened sense of anxiety and self-doubt that I was keen to feel again.
Best gig:
Performing at the Leicester Square New Comedian final was a highlight and the opening night of The Delightful Sausage made me feel a tight, stabbing feeling in my heart, which was probably pride.
Worst gig:
I was once the brains behind a comedy gig/dining mash-up that was so excruciating it ruined great food and my self-confidence. And once I performed on a windswept houseboat, which was so much more surreal than anything I could have written.
Favourite venue:
There are so many good shows knocking around that I’ve had the pleasure of performing on. But, for my money, you can’t get much better than doing a spot at The Stand in Newcastle. The crowd was 200 people all there for a laugh and I didn’t apologise.
Best heckle:
Once I had ‘Your fly's undone, you sick pervert’ and we all learned that it is possible for a microphone to pick up the sound of tears.
What would you be doing if you weren’t doing stand-up?
Full-time hacktivist, part-time surfer.
If you could be haunted by anyone, who would it be and why?
Nikola Tesla. His contributions to engineering and science helped to put electricity in our homes and usher in the modern age. I’d probably take him to Bella Italia for a fixed-price set menu. That’s if ghosts can eat authentic Italian cuisine. Any ideas? Send a tweet.
If you were on death row, what would your last meal be? And why are you on death row?
You’re saying I can enjoy a delicious, fresh-caught plate of salmon with seasonal green vegetables – steamed to perfection – and all I have to do is hammer my family to death? Sign me up! (Chill out, Ruth – don’t write me out of the will).
What’s the largest animal you think you could beat in a fight? No weapons.
I think I could take down a moose and I’d do it by using my charm and non-threatening facial features to lure it into a heavily populated shopping district. I’d hide in Accessorize while the authorities surround and exterminate it.
If you lived in medieval times what would you do for a living?
For but a turnip and thr’penny groat I’d clean out yer moat, m’lord.
Question from past Spotlighter Chris Kehoe: What is the best Christmas present you have ever received?
Ghostbusters fire station, circa ’90. Best and also still the biggest to date.
More from Comedy Spotlight:
Top Joe: Pretty sure none of these answers are true
Bolton comic Chris Kehoe on ironing and fighting deer
The Delightful Sausage takes place monthly at The Castle Hotel, Manchester. The next one is on 18 May