Pat Condell: interview
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By Malcolm Hay
Posted: Fri Nov 3 2006 He attended half a dozen different schools as the family moved from one south London rented flat to another. ‘We never had any money. My father was a compulsive gambler who worked in a betting shop – not the ideal combination. He ended up in prison for stealing money to gamble with. Shortly afterwards he died of leukaemia.’
Condell ‘fell into comedy’ in the 1980s, after a series of jobs, including six years logging in Canada. ‘In those days some of the nights were wild, particularly at the old Tunnel Club, next to the Blackwall Tunnel, where the audience was a nightmare. I had bottles and glasses thrown at me, and one guy even jumped on stage with a pair of shears and tried to cut the mic lead.’ He performed in the trailblazing Cutting Edge team at the Comedy Store. He regularly notched up 200 to 300 gigs a year around Britain. By the mid-’90s he’d had enough of the travelling and late nights. So he started writing for other people. He turned out a couple of plays. He still did occasional live gigs. ‘But this is the first time I’ve set out to write a show in order to say something, rather than just as a vehicle for stand-up.’ Feature continuesAdvertisementCondell’s not aiming to cause offence. After he’d tried out an early version of the show back in Febrary, a woman came up to tell him she’d enjoyed it. ‘But she thought I’d been unnecessarily coarse. There is a certain amount of bad language. There’s also group sex with a donkey – I might as well own up to this now. But I assured her the show was a lot less coarse than I’d have liked it to be, given the subject matter. So in that sense you could say I’m making an effort not to offend.’
That’s not all. ‘Everyone who comes to “Faith Hope and Sanity” should know in advance exactly what to expect,’ he argues. ‘Especially if they check my website first. So, if anyone’s offended, it’s because they want to be offended, and people like that don’t deserve the time of day.’It needs saying that Condell respects some forms of belief. ‘I admire anyone who’s genuinely trying to achieve spiritual enlightenment and live a peaceful life. But religious dogma is a barrier to that. The last thing a dogmatist wants is for anyone to be enlightened, any more than a pharmaceutical company wants anybody cured.’ Or, as Condell puts it on his website: ‘Religion disapproves of original thought the way Dracula does sunlight.’
Is he fearful that fundamentalists of one kind or another could take action against the show? ‘The fact that you need to ask the question demonstrates what a sick society we live in. There’s always a risk, I suppose. But I’m not as afraid of fundamentalists as they are of free thought.’ He’s hoping for a positive reaction. ‘I want people to feel that things are being said that are long overdue, and to leave at the end with a smile on their face and a light heart.’
‘Faith Hope and Sanity’ is at the Etcetera Theatre until Sunday.- Add your comment to this feature
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60 comments
Thanks, Mike. Fact is...the idol-worshippers need to attribute our existence to something. Rather than accept that we just don't know and take on the mantle of (at least) 'agnostic' they allow themselves to be manipulated by powerful people who have long-understood the gullibility of the masses: it was ever thus. How coincidental that the queen is also head of the church of England! I read somewhere not long ago that as recently as 1947 a small majority of the British public believed her maj' to be related somehow to god!
How can it be that in 2009 the world still prostrates itself before statues and humbly concurs with the premise that we are born 'sinful'? Were we bo***cks! I was born clean as the driven snow, as were my kids. Children only begin to doubt their self-worth when weirdos of all 'denominations' and proven 'kiddie-fiddlers' from the catholic church start telling them how vile they are. To all church people I say 'Piss off' and get a life.
Cliff, good! I must say I raised my eyebrows when i read ayatollah khomeini, but i thought maybe he DID do SOMETHING sensible, at some point. Couldnt be bothered to look it up at the time. I hope you succeed in rounding up these stupid religious ppl, let me know if you want a hand. Cheers.
Mike! Mike.............I was taking the p**s. I'm amazed you didn't see that..........I can assure you, Mike, I could willingly round-up every stupid, superstitious, fawning god-botherer on Earth and ship them off to the planet Tharg, there to spend eternity bowing, scraping, chanting, nodding, crawling, self-flagellating, worrying and generally demeaning themselves before their own particular effigy (you sure you're not taking the p**s out of me? Prince Edward? Great? Ayatollah Khomeni? Great?) I am astonished beyond description how - world-wide - there are billions of people who willingly don silly hats and robes in order to ridicule themselves at their own, voluntary alter of humiliation. That grown men and women see fit to avoid eating mangoes...or chicken...or baked beans....or fish on a certain day of the week is utterly ridiculous. That seemingly sane, rational people specifically reserve a day in the week / month / year to mill around an effing statue, poke notes in a brick wall, wail to the skies, eat a funny biscuit, spin a wheel, wear a cross, suffocate under a funereal black tent, swing a canful of ashes, slice their son's head with a machete, crawl to a church on hands and knees....ugh....give me strength.
Cliff, first off I'd encourage you not to go down the cheap road of misquoting people. "...pretty much all..." and "All of..." are two quite distinct claims. Of course not ALL of history's greats have been atheists or agnostics (which is what you tried to make it look like I was claiming), just like not ALL atheists or agnostics are good clever people. I do have brains enough to realise that...
I still stand by my claim that when analysing great thinkers and people who've contributed a lot to our understanding of the world around us, you'll find that the vast majority of them strongly question(ed) the existence of any god. Whilst believers have been able to prove absolutely nothing in favor of their belief in the existence of god(s), and simply hide behind the all so convenient "oh, but god is mysterious and above all logic and reasoning" excuse, science, logic, reason and rational thinking has taken us from a world where the earth was flat and everything rotated around it, to a world with microchips, computers, cars etc etc. Now, of course no side can prove that any god(s) does or doesn't exist, but why would you chose to join in on bronze age superstitious myths when you can use your brain and go with the wonderful world of science that can actually give you a proper testable explanation for ALL its claims? Oh yes, I forgot, people WANT there to be a god, people WANT there to be a life in heaven after this one, people WANT there to be a meaning with life... And what some of us WANT really makes a difference to what's actually true, doesn't it [insert face of irony here]?
Any of you are of course free to believe in whatever god you like (Zeus and Thor are pretty cool, so you might want to give one of them a go for a while), but I think it's great that people like Pat strongly critisise religion and all it's special treatment. I totally agree with him that religion has not earned any respect (look up the history of religion!), and it doesnt deserve any either. We need to get rid of it as far as possible, and embrace open-mindness, thinking for yourself, using your inbuilt moral and progress human kind beyond what religion still insists on today: Don't question anything, just believe, and you will reach heaven (from where you can look down at all those who didn't do what we told them to, and that therefore are now burning forever in hell!!). Religion is clearly for the weak, ignorant and stupid minded. Sadly, that's the majority of of people...
Cheers!
Mike, he is right you have got to give him Thora Hurd.she was a great lady for sure but she was PAID to preach the words that were written for her. But when all is said and done she was a great performer. As for all the others they were and are nothing but "FUCKWITS".Cheers again for that one Barry.Onwards and upwards.
Mike: Whaddya mean "All of history's greats have been atheist or agnostic'????
What about 'greats' like pope john paul, cardinal Cormack o'murphy, prince edward, ayatollah khomeini, that bird off songs of praise, Aled Jones and Thora Hurd? Forgot about them, didn't you!!!
Thanks for that Mike I will look him up, deffo. And please award yourself a GOLD star for using your brain.Well done, its very comforting to know that there are still some human beings that have not been brain washed by religion and thank God for that. Just incase RHIANA is peeking in that last bit was a JOKE. Woulden't want her to get her nickers in a twist.
Yes, Bill Maher is great :) And Pat's not lame, he's great too I think. He certainly expresses himself very well. We need more people who think for themselves and stop behaving like (religious) sheep. It's not a coincidence that pretty much all great thinkers and contributors to human progress throughout history have been if not atheist, at least agnostics leaning towards atheism... Cheers!
"Fuckwit" thats a good one Barry.Well I'd rather be a fuckwit than a Dimwit. Next time try and construct comments with some substance, preferable something that you believe in or understand that would be good start.Oh and it would also help all concerned if they made sense.Thanks again for the tip on Bill Maher lets hope he make more sense than you. Tat- ta for now.
Thaks for the tip Barry I will check him out at the soonest.
p.s. all you fcukwits are making a dogs dinner here, both athiest and thiest.
Patty is lame, i think bill maher is way better, his jokes are fresher.
lol i think we should see pat condell on grumpy old men hahaha
You silly soppy git, i didnt say i believed in god, i just made a comparison about your comment.
dont you feel stupid now?!?
Rhiana. Who died and made you sheriff? Didn't your God give man free will? Well I'm exescising mine. But I'm sure you will forgive me after all thats how you God botherers get through the day isen't it. You know by forgiving people who think for themselves and ask the questions that you the selected ones can't answer.But In your weak minded I'm sure it make you feel superior in a strange,sad sort of way.
Hmm, it looks like athiests are converging here how evangelicals swarm street corners.
Oh the irony, well you not welcome on time out, so please go away, and stick to your athiest forums.