Katherine MacAlister talks to energetic comic Lee Evans about his forthcoming tour

Lee Evans, the sweaty man in a suit, is back and ready to perspire himself into an early grave in his effort to make you laugh.

Popping into the New Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday with Work In Progress this may be a warm-up for his massive autumn arena tour, but it will ensure that we see him fresh, enthusiastic and raring to go.

Monsters will take in more than 65 arena dates and is already being tagged ‘the must-see comedy event of the autumn’. but we know that already because Lee is a one-off, a mesmerising and magnetic live performer known for his irrepressible physicality and disarming charm.

Gifted with extraordinary and infectious energy, he is a human dynamo on stage.

He gives his all – and more – every single night, because he enjoys it as much as we do.

“I love getting in front of a crowd,” beams Lee, “Have you ever been on a night out with a very good mate and found that you’re on precisely the same wavelength? The other night on stage, I had exactly that feeling.

“I was laughing and the audience were laughing too. We’d found common ground, and that was brilliant. I said to them, ‘We all rode a wave together there. That’s what this evening’s about.’ That got a round of applause. I love that connection.”

The comedian, who has also enjoyed a highly successful movie career in films such as There’s Something About Mary, Mousehunt, The Fifth Element and Funny Bones, has a marvellous rapport with his audience.

He begins by reinforcing how much is looking forward to re-acquainting himself with his fans, who over the past 30-odd years have proved some of the most loyal in the business: “When fans come to your gig, you can’t give them a half-arsed show. I can’t be doing with that. When they pay £30, which is the price of a round of drinks, I want them to have a real laugh. In fact, they keep saying I should put up the prices. But I know the audience work their backsides off all week to pay for the tickets, and I don’t want to charge too much for them.”

Lee, who has also enjoyed great success in West End hit productions such as The Producers, Endgame, The Dumb Waiter and Barking in Essex, can’t wait to get going with his latest stand-up offering: “It’s a real event. It’s a night out. It’s the whole thing. It’s not just about the comedy – it’s about the music, the lighting, and the set design. All of those things can make you feel a certain way – that’s what it’s about. It’s about doing a big, sod-off gig that touches everyone in the venue.”

So will Monsters include his usual, trademark observations? “People know what I do. They say to themselves, ‘We’ll go and see Lee live because we understand him.’ So even before you go on stage, you know you’re on the same wavelength as your audience. That’s a great feeling.”

Lee, who was been happily married to Heather for 30 years and is the devoted father of Mollie, has maintained his people’s touch despite his fame and fortune, the general public still providing the material for his new show: “I do love talking to people, and they always seem to want to chat to me because I have an innate interest in people. When someone tells me something, I want to keep asking them questions about it. For instance, the other day a neighbour was telling me he had been sleeping really well.

“He had bought a new gadget for the bedroom that makes water sounds to help you go to sleep.

"But a few days later, he told me he was fed up because he had to keep getting up in the night to have a pee. He told me, ‘Because of the constant sound of water, I can’t help thinking about the toilet all time. I haven’t slept for four days!’ These chats sink in and come out later in a routine.

“And whenever I meet my mates in the pub, they’re always hacked off about something. They say to me, ‘I’ve just had someone round to unblock my drains – it’s been a nightmare.’ And I think, ‘Tell me more – this is potential comedy gold’."

So what else has he been storing up for his stage performance? “I’ll be discussing getting older and how I feel I’m running out of time. I find I don't have enough time to do things these days. As I get older, I’m getting angrier because I think things are wasting my time. I haven't got time to wait for this bus or that plane or that delivery from Parcel Force or queue in the supermarket. The older you are, the more things get on your nerves.”

The stand-up then proceeds to explain exactly what is getting his goat at the moment. “Noise pollution, people chatting too loudly on planes, annoying people on TV shows – 'What on earth is that idiot doing on my telly? I don't know who they are, and they're appearing on celebrity TV shows!'

“Also, what’s the point of plastic surgery? It makes you look like an alien! All these things will come into play in the show.”

But more than that Lee wants to please, summing up the whole ethos of Monsters best himself: “I strive to create a show where the audience is hurting from laughing so much. I don’t particularly care for comedy where the audiences clap politely at the end and say, ‘That was all right’. So I aim to put on a show where people say, ‘I really, really enjoyed that. For three hours, I forgot about all the rubbish going on in the rest of my life.’ I want them to come out saying, ‘Wow!’”

SEE IT
Lee Evans brings Work In Progress to Oxford’s New Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday. Call the box office on 0844 8713020 or see atgtickets.com/oxford