There's something about Mitchell

Jessica Hopper quizzes comedian David Mitchell of 'Mitchell and Webb' fame on the power of television, the stage, 'Cinderella' and why LA is so damn ugly...

It's November 16, 2006, and the genius that is David Mitchell, he of quick wit, charm and Hitler haircut, is travelling on the motorway, somewhere 'tween Southport and Hull. He's on his way to the next leg of his live show, 'The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb', with partner in crime Robert Webb, the taller, strawberry-blonde one, in tow.

A couple of years ago, it's likely that you wouldn't have heard of these two incredibly funny gentlemen, unless you were a diehard supporter of the comedy circuit. The cult success of their portrayal of hapless losers Mark and Jez and their slightly awkward, at times touching, co-dependent relationship in Channel 4's 'Peep Show' has seen them rocket to the top of the comedic charts. Their latest TV escapade, 'That Mitchell and Webb Look', introduced us to such classic characters as Sir Digby Chicken Caesar (the greatest campaigner for truth and justice this side of Nelson Mandela), The Snooker Commentators (Ted and Peter, who, after one too many cocktails, often forget their microphones are on) and, in more bizarre moments, the man with powers of biscuit telekinesis and Numberwang, a gameshow with no apparent rules... or point.

And now with a whopping five nominations under their belt for next week's British Comedy Awards, it looks like there's never been a better time to be David Mitchell.

It was during this journey 'tween Southport and Hull that I managed to grab a cheeky 15 minutes with David on the phone. With that instantly recognisable voice, almost droning but hilarious, he's scarily articulate (Cambridge educated, don't you know?), instantly loveable and a true gent if ever I met one. In these 15 minutes I manage to milk him for info on the sell-out tour, the new DVD – definitely one for my Christmas list – and what's next for him and Robert...

You had a 'sound', then a 'look', and now you've come to life, currently touring Britain's biggest venues with 'The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb' – how's that going?
It's going really well, thank you. We're getting big audiences and they're all laughing so, yeah, great!

Was it difficult to make the shift from radio to TV and now to the stage?
Radio to TV is always tricky because there's always a lot of stuff that you want to use from the radio show but basically isn't visual. You have to be strong and say, 'No, funny as that is, that's just people talking', so that was tough. But the great thing about the stage is that it's initially where we started so we were used to it, and it's a sort of crossover in some ways. You can do stuff that's wordier 'cause people do listen to the words more on the stage than they would on TV, but you can also do lots of visual stuff. So doing the live show's been great as we've been able to sort of cherry-pick the stuff we've written from both media, as well as putting some new stuff in and a few old favourites that no one saw 'cause we only did it when we were on the Edinburgh Fringe – and no one came to see us!

So you're getting the best from both worlds on stage?
Yeah, yeah... and you can really ham it up on stage [laughs]. On television you have to be a little bit restrained. Playing a big venue with 1,500 people in it – you've got a licence to shout!

So this isn't your first time in front of a live audience?
Well, we have done live stuff before, but not for a few years and then of course no one knew who the hell we were! But it's made a great change! Back when we were doing the Edinburgh Fringe, we struggled to fill a small 90-seater venue, and now we're playing big venues full of people, [puts on a comedy voice] it's the power of television!

Have you had any onstage mishaps on this tour thus far? Any nerves? Forgotten lines? Heckling from audience members?
We haven't had any heckles yet, which is lucky as there's a bit where we go into the audience for questions for the Big Talk panel, and that's the moment we're leaving ourselves wide open for someone to say something nasty, but they haven't as yet. We've had things going wrong; lots of things have gone wrong! But fortunately it's a sketch show, not like Pinter, so we can kind of use it and make something of it, and actually, the audience really likes that. It's somehow a little bit annoying that some f**k-up gets a bigger laugh than the joke you've laboured over.

Have you got a favourite medium – be it TV, radio or the stage?
Um…I like them all really! I think it's great to be able to mix them up and do a bit of each, so I'm happy. I think the buzz from the live show is probably the best moment you get, but at the same time if we hadn't done a TV show we wouldn't be getting that buzz – because we wouldn't be playing to 1,500 people, we'd be playing to 15. So that makes all the difference.

Which of your characters have made it onto the stage?
There's Sir Digby Chicken Caesar, the snooker commentators... Big Talk has made it onto the stage, and the character who hasn't really got a name but is basically horrible to people in, say, a restaurant or a church – he's in the live show.

Numberwang?!
Oh yes, of course, there is Numberwang as well.

Please explain the rules of Numberwang to me.
Well, there are no rules...it's nonsense [laughs]. Unless I don't know and there is some logic behind it that's escaped me? I'd be very happy if any mathematicians wanted to spend a few years trying to work it out then tell me.

So, are you and Robert [Webb] anything like any of your characters?
Hopefully not. The great thing about the sketch show is we get to play characters that are really very different from us.

So Robert doesn't have the telekinetic ability to move biscuits then...?
No, he doesn't. He wouldn't be a comedian if he did. I'd have him doing some sort of freak show.

  David Mitchell and Robert Webb And that sort of talent would always go wrong, as we saw...
[Laughs] Ah, but with 'Peep Show' [Mitchell and Webb's cult sit-com] - there's undoubtedly a bit of a similarity, but we're just like starting points for the characters. There's a little drop of us in what are hopefully much nastier and unhappier people.

Love that show! I've actually been gorging on the DVDs all week in preparation for this moment...
Oh, excellent!

Are you planning to do a fourth series?
Yes, we are. We should be shooting it early next year and it should be on your screen by maybe spring/early summer...

Will Mark marry Sophie!?
Ah, well, that I can't say, I'm afraid!

You are strict. Now, going right back to the beginning, how did you and Robert meet?
We were at university together, and we met in auditions for a student pantomime.

Which one?
'Cinderella'.

Lovely!
Yes, then later that year, Rob came to a sketch show I'd put on with two friends of mine and asked me if I wanted to do a two-man show with him, and the rest is history, as they say.

I hear you both have your first starring roles coming up in a British flick?
That's right, it's the film 'Magicians' which was written by the guys behind 'Peep Show'. Rob and I play a former magician double-act who fell out when Rob's character had an affair with my character's wife, and then on that same day, I cut her head off by accident during a guillotine trick on stage...

And the story of the film is basically us trying to get back together to win a magic competition. It's a really funny script and we had a lot of fun filming it. It's coming out next April [2007].

And I hear you've done a film with Michelle Pfeiffer?
I had a very small part in it! I did it about a year ago so it should be coming out very soon.

And what's that called?
I think... I think they're gonna change the title, but as far as I know it's called 'I Could Never Be Your Woman – that's what it's called still on [film information website] www.IMDB.com! I got to go to LA and do a few days filming there, which was exciting.

So are you planning to make the move into film now – does Hollywood beckon?
[laughs] I don't know. I have to say, nice though it was to do a few days work in LA, I wouldn't want to live there. It's an incredibly ugly city. Anyone who thinks London's ugly doesn't really know what they're talking about compared to that monstrosity.

Is it all green-tea infusions and bleached teeth?
There's a lot of that, but then there's the other side of it – all horrible car-park-like buildings and nasty big cars spewing out fumes. The weather is gorgeous, but you know how everything looks great in the sunshine?

Yes...?
LA is the exception! But, saying that, I'd happily do some more work there! I'd just like to live here. Plus I really enjoy TV. While it's great to do some film as well, I'd like to keep doing TV. I got into comedy watching TV, so that's always been my main aim.

And on that note, you're up for a whopping five British Comedy Awards next month...
That's right, yes. It's fantastic, 'though we probably won't win any of them!

Well, I've seen your competition on the TV front and I personally think you're going to walk it.
Thank you very much!

But you're up against 'Little Britain' and 'League of Gentlemen' in the live show category
Yes…hmmm

Are you fans of either of those shows?
Oh, very much so, yes. They're terrific. It's an honour to be up there with them. In terms of the live award, 'Little Britain' have been touring solidly for a year so I think they thoroughly deserve that.

  David Mitchell and Robert Webb Good luck with that! And moving back to the tour, you have the DVD coming out at the end of the month – so what can we expect from that?
I think it's our 'best of' sketches so we've got stuff from the TV show, stuff from the radio show, stuff you won't have seen, new stuff that's been put together for the stage – there's no bit in it that's not funny. In my view, obviously very subjective, there is no dud sketch in there.

There's some added unseen extras on there, now what might these be? Dressing-room footage perhaps?
Well there's some back-stage, frenetic changing and then going back on stage, and there's also an exclusive trailer for 'Magicians'!

So you're on tour till next month?
Yep, till December 14, finishing with three nights at the Brixton Academy. It's been great. The worst it's gone, they've laughed a lot, and the best it's gone, they've laughed a hell of a lot!

'The Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb released on Universal DVD is available now, RRP £19.99

To see Mitchell and Webb in action, visit www.mitchellandwebblive.com for tickets and tour info

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