Comedy superstar Jack Whitehall is back on the road with a brand-new show, Settle Down, that’s stopping by Utilita Arena on Friday 23rd June. We caught up with him for an exclusive chat before the Newcastle leg of his tour.
It’s been a while since your last major tour. What’s it like being back on the road after the craziness of the pandemic?
It’s amazing. It’s so incredible to be back in theatres and arenas doing shows again and having that kind of communal experience of interacting with an audience and a crowd and being all together to have a laugh. It’s just great and I think it makes me appreciate it all the more so having had that period of time where we weren’t able to do it.
I’ve spent the interim time since my last tour doing TV shows and films and stuff and whilst I love doing that, it’s quite a slow time process sometimes – it can be quite arduous and it’s a lot of waiting around.
These things don’t come out for months or years but the immediate and reactive nature of stand-up means I can come up with something in the afternoon and be up on stage that night telling it in front of an audience which is great.
I’m not beholden to editors or writers or producers. It’s just you and the audience and you can say whatever you like. I will never lose sight of how liberating that is.
What can fans expect from your latest show? We hear it’s about your struggle to settle down gracefully?
A lot of life has happened since I toured last. I’ve met my life partner and we’ve moved into a house together. We’ve got a mortgage and a dog and now we’ve got a baby on the way.
Congratulations!
Thank you so much! Yeah, it’s like these big things are sort of happening in my life. It definitely feels like it’s high time I started growing up a little bit, so the show is a reflection of that.
I’ll be talking about some of my reluctant attempts to master adulthood compared to my peers and brothers and sisters and stuff. The pressure is now on because a lot of stuff is happening and I’m able to reflect on that on stage. It’s a great source of material as well. It’s been a really fun show to write, that’s for sure.
Are you excited or nervous about becoming a dad? Or maybe a mix of both?
I’m really excited and also looking forward to picking things up with Netflix in maybe 20 years’ time and saying “How do you feel about me travelling across the globe with my child?” and continuing the Travels With My Father brand.
Or we could do three generations, but I’d need my dad to stick around for a while longer if that were to be possible.
Three generations of the Whitehall family would be amazing!
Yeah, exactly! Maybe we can get my dad cryogenically frozen and reanimate him in 20 years’ time!
Your previous tours have brought you to Newcastle often in the past. What do you love most about the city?
I’ve definitely dove into the Newcastle nightlife in the past and really enjoyed myself but I don’t know whether it’ll be the same at this stage in my life. I don’t know if I’ll be down for a night at Tup Tup Palace and I’ll maybe have to steer clear of the Bigg Market. Maybe I’ll just have a Horlicks in the hotel while I watch a bit of Question Time instead!
I always have a fun time whenever I come to Newcastle and I always end up hanging out with a guy that I met. I did this show – must’ve been ten years ago now – called Hit the Road Jack where I went around cities in the UK and part of the gimmick was that I would stay with a local who would show me around the city the night before a stand-up gig the following day.
The guy I met in Newcastle is called Paulo and we got on really well. He was around my age and had really funny parents – his dad was a big character – and I spent the night in his house in Newcastle after a night on the tiles. We just got on really well, so whenever I go back to Newcastle he always comes to my show. It’s the most unlikely friendship.
The show only went on for one series because it was such a terrible idea, staying with a random person. I don’t think production companies would allow that these days, but it was so funny.
So you’ll be catching up with Paulo next time you’re in the Toon?
Yeah, I always look forward to seeing him when I’m up there.
Do you enjoy a Geordie crowd at your gigs?
Yeah, Geordie crowds are fantastic and they come with the right attitude for a good night out and definitely don’t need a lot of warming up – I always look forward to that.
I normally start my tours down south performing in little regional theatres in the Home Counties and all of the audiences are quite prim and proper and – dare I say – a little bit up themselves.
So, by the time I get up to Newcastle I’m always like “wow!”. It’s a raucous crowd that’s always up for a laugh and sometimes they end up giving as good as they get as well. It’s one of those dates I look forward to the most when I’m on the road and I can’t want to get to Utilita Arena to do my show.
You’ve made quite a few quips about our beloved bakery chain Greggs in the past. Will you be indulging in a steak bake or two while you’re in Newcastle?
I will definitely be partaking in a Greggs when I get up there. I plan to just have a diet of Greggs and Newcy Browns because I feel that now with a child on the way it would be rude not to get involved, so I’m hoping I can really fuel that when I come up to Newcastle. I’ve been on the Hollywood diet lately – there’s been too many green juices in my life.
You need the Geordie diet in your life.
I need some greasy steak slices!
Did you know that our Primark branch has a Greggs inside of it?
No, I don’t know about that. Please tell me about that!
So, we have a pretty massive Primark in Newcastle and they recently opened a Greggs smack bang in the middle of it. It even has a sausage roll-shaped swing.
When did this happen?
Back in March. We think it shows how passionate we are about Greggs.
And it’s a giant Primark?
It’s a very big Primark.
Oh my god, I literally 100% promise you I will be writing this down in my notes. There will 100% be a reference to that in my show. And thank you very much – that sounds like what we call in comedy the “cheat code”. It’s a great little bit of local knowledge that I will definitely reference, and it’ll be probably downhill from there!
Happy we could help!
You’ll get a writing credit!
Lastly, do you have any pre-show rituals to get yourself hyped up for gigs?
Genuinely, my pre-show ritual at the moment is a Nando’s lemon and herb pitta and dropping two Imodiums before I go on stage. That’s definitely something I’ve enjoyed moving into my 30s, even if it’s not particularly rock and roll!
Jack Whitehall’s brand-new show Settle Down comes to Utilita Arena Newcastle on Friday 23rd June. Get your tickets booked at www.utilitaarena.co.uk/events/detail/jack-whitehall and keep your ears peeled for that Primark Greggs reference.
And heads up, Paulo… get your glad rags on because your BFF is back in town for a reunion!
