Since making his comedy debut in 1999, Mark Watson has established himself as one of the best stand-ups in the country.
A regular at the Edinburgh Fringe – since 2001, he has performed fifteen different stand-up shows there – his shows combine a mix of observational comedy, storytelling and audience interaction, which means that no two shows are ever the same. This was an idea that he took to the extreme in 2018, with The Infinite Show, a show about empathy, in which audience members were encouraged to contribute with things that they believed other people don’t understand or like about them. Watson would then read these out and try to find some empathy or common ground.
As well as regular stand-up, Watson has also become known for his more unusual shows, including several 24-hour marathons that have featured Watson performing for the entire duration, with the help of various fellow comics including Daniel Kitson, Tim Key, David O’Doherty and Adam Hills. During the Covid 19 Lockdown, Watson live-streamed two 24-hour shows to raise money for charity. He also regularly hosts shows during Olympic and Commonwealth Games years that invite comedians and audience members to take part in a variety of challenges.
Also during the Lockdown, Watson began a YouTube show with Key and Alex Horne called No More Jockeys, which has become a huge hit and earned them Chortle awards as Legends of Lockdown.
Watson has appeared on several TV shows including Series 5 of Channel 4’s Taskmaster, a show on which he didn’t score very highly but still managed to produce some of the funniest moments of the series; his duet with Nish Kumar at ‘Taskonbury’ is still one of the best tasks from any of the series. Watson regularly features on a plethora of Radio 4 shows too, both as a host and a guest.
For his latest stand-up show, Search, Watson is exploring his role as both a parent and a son. His 12-year-old son now has recently got his first phone and is able to explore the online world independently, while his own father has been through the most frightening experience of his life. Search is a show about midlife in which Watson will consider the search for meaning that we’re all on, with or without Google. It visits several venues around the North East, including Sunderland’s Fire Station on Thursday 13th June and The Witham, Barnard Castle, on Saturday 15th.
For further information and tickets, head to markwatsonthecomedian.com.
