Little Lark of London

During my time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, one of my favourite shows was Alexander Bennett’s I Can’t Stand the Man Myself, a comedy show about facing your critical inner voice. Recently, I had the chance to chat with Alexander about I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself. We discussed how he started in the world of stand-up, the creative process for the show, and more!

How did you first start in the world of stand-up comedy?

It was just an accessible way of writing and performing. I didn’t have middle class parents that could put me into a drama school or an art school or anything like that, stand up was this glorious thing where you could just ring a guy and you might get on a stage and in front of an audience. I always wanted to be creative, I used to draw a lot, I made lots of home movies, I wanted to be a puppeteer when I was very young – stand up was just the thing I could access where you could put work in front of an audience. So I emailed Spiky Mike, legendary Midland promoter, and got 5 minutes, and it went ok, and shortly after I was inducted into the illuminati. They got me a lot of 10 minute spots in Birmingham.

How did you come up with the idea for I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself?

During lockdown, which I spent mostly alone, I developed such intense self hatred it nearly killed me. Obviously, that’s rib-ticklin’ stuff, so I wanted the masses to guffaw at my near destruction.

What was the creative process like for I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself?

Because of the subject matter of the show, I knew it couldn’t be self-pitying and needed to have a high joke rate. A show where a comedian is wallowing in self-hatred in a ‘pity me’ kind of way I think would be a bit gross, and I thought the way to avoid that tone would be to be sincere and direct rather than sentimental, and just ram it full of good jokes. It was a tricky balance, as a lot of my jokes and my persona kind of hinge on me being sentimental/emotional.

What is it like telling such a personal story for comedic purposes?

There’s a misnomer that comedy is therapy, it isn’t (though the creative process can help you order your thoughts to articulate your feelings). I find comedy to be tremendous catharsis, and sometimes catharsis is as valuable as therapy to me.

What do you hope audiences take away from I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself?

That’s for them to work out, but I do hope they try and work it out.

How would you describe I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself in one word?

Unsubtle.
Alexander Bennett: I Can’t Stand the Man, Myself will be filmed at Pleasance London on 9 November 2023. Tickets can be purchased here.