In The Words Of by

Carl Marsh

production. So, if you want that, head to the Bristol Hippodrome from the 18th of May to the 1st of July.

Film Review

Bandit - Amazon Prime

Intro Rant

All I have to say this month is a follow-on from last month's rant about Welsh Labour and its infatuation with cycling lanes. As I drive past many of these lanes, both those in use and those being created, where are all the cyclists? Do Welsh Labour presume everyone will be biking to work or going to go food shopping - if they did, it would be mouse portions only! Is this the start of something untoward against all vehicle owners? And why can't they repair all the potholes, which are getting more shocking by the day? And I guarantee those serious cyclists with all the fancy lycra won't use a designated cycle lane. So, what's the point, Welsh Labour? One waits. We all are waiting for your response.

Theatre Review

The Lion King - The Lyceum Theatre, London. [Bristol Hippodrome in 18th May to 1st July]

I'm a sucker for the film of the same name, so when Disney invited me to London with my daughter to see the stage show - they even paid for the train tickets - and go backstage afterwards, how could I say no? The venue was packed, and when I got to speak to one of the staff later, this was an everyshow occurrence. As you can see from my pics, the detail in some of the props is mind-blowing, and even though it seems a vast venue, I can say that every single portion of space backstage is utilised. The Lion King is not coming to Cardiff but is in Bristol, which is not far. It is well worth the visit. Many a time, whilst watching the show, I had tears in my eyes. It's a class

Based on a true story directed by Allan Ungar, this movie is a feel-good movie we all need right now. Somewhat of a strange thing for me to say, seeing as the protagonist in this movie is a bank robber - Gilbert Galvan Jr had robbed so many Canadian banks, yet even the cops and bank tellers said he was the nicest person they had met/been robbed by - yet to this day, he is best friends with the cop that finally arrested him. Playing Gilbert is Josh Duhamel, and with support from Elisha Cuthbert and Mel Gibson, this is a quality production. This film makes you smile and ponder what you would do in Gilbert Galvan Jr's situation. He did try to go straight, albeit on the run from the US after a jailbreak, but he'd found love and had a baby on the way. So he had to survive, provide, and pay the bills. I'm not saying what he did was what most of us would do, but this movie depicts how one man did this without becoming a monster or becoming violent in his newfound bank-robbing career!

Interviews

Appearing at not one but two consecutive nights [24/25 April] at the Cardiff International Arena, Olly Murs tells me about his love of the Welsh crowd and how one of his songs is not really what the press would make you believe.

Sara Pascoe has not long given birth to her first child, and the comedian opens up about a few things that parenthood has opened her eyes to! She's appearing at St David's Hall on the 1st of April.

Have a great April, and see you all next month!

Carl Marsh

Twitter - @InTheWordsOf_CM

YouTube - InTheWordsOf

Very much a household name thanks to The X-Factor [2nd place], presenting Starstruck and being a coach on The Voice UK, Olly Murs brings his latest tour, 'Marry Me' for not one, but two nights this month. When I spoke to him, it was all a secret about that second night, but it's all good now, but at the time…

Carl Marsh

Must you be overjoyed with that extra night based on that first night having nearly sold out? And when this interview goes out (most probably), all the tickets for the second night will be near enough all gone too.

Olly Murs

Yeah, I can't wait. It's going to be brilliant. I mean, having a second show at Cardiff just shows the support I've got in Wales, and the people are so lovely over there. So, it's going to be such a great night. And yeah, it's gonna be a nice standing crowd, there's going to be a lot of fun… shouting, singing. And, yeah, it's just the best group of people. So, I look forward to it.

Carl Marsh

What are your highlights about playing in Wales, I know you've played Cardiff many times over the years. Is there any tour in particular where the audience's appreciation has given you that two-way connection of artist to audience, and vice-versa?

Olly Murs

It's just been like I said, that I always seem to get on really well with the Welsh people. I've had some really good times with the supporters. I remember once when I was celebrating my birthday there a few years ago. We had a right laugh. I suppose that I sit next to Sir Tom [Jones] every week on the panel on The Voice is one of the other reasons why the fans love me because I've gotten on so well with Tom.

Carl Marsh

The tour is called 'Marry Me' and is the name of your latest album. Perhaps your most personal album to date, in my opinion. One of the songs is called 'I Hate You When You're Drunk'. Is that aimed at your girlfriend and now fiancée?

Olly Murs

[Laughs] I think anyone who's got a friend, partner, or someone in their life that when they're out drinking, they just sort of get on their nerves. So it's more like a fun song. But, of course, you love them, and they're brilliant, you know… but that's definitely a song that I'm going to enjoy singing in Wales, that's for sure.

Because I know they like a good night out in Wales. So, there'll be quite a few friends singing and screaming in their friends' faces, you know, going, "I Hate You When You're Drunk" [Laughter]. It's all very tasteful. There's no malice in it. It's like when you're sober and see your friends drinking, and there's always one person saying: "For God's sake, I hate you when you're drunk. You're so annoying!" [Laughs] It's more playful, and yeah, it's just about everyone, really.

Carl Marsh

What are you like when you're drunk, if you don't mind me asking?

Olly Murs

I'm full of beans. I'm a bit of a livewire when I'm drunk. I'm 100 miles an hour and, yeah, a bit mad. But you won't see me like that anymore. I'm a different man now.

Olly Murs - Cardiff International Arena - 24th & 25th April 2023 - Tickets = £various

Having starred in her own BBC2 sitcom [Out of Her Mind] that she also wrote, Sara Pascoe brings her new comedy tour 'Success Story' to Cardiff's St David's Hall on 1st April. With various current TV works like being the host of 'The Great British Sewing Bee' on BBC2, Comedy Central's 'Guessable' and shows on the radio, podcasts and authoring books. Sara has also not long given birth to her first child, which is where I open the interview...

Carl

Marsh

I know that you've not long become a mother, and you've done comedy tours based on your life experiences before. So, will this new tour have material about your newfound motherhood and the trials and tribulations of pregnancy and beyond?

Sara

Pascoe

So, the second half is… I was weighing up how much to talk about it. Because you know, you don't want to exclude people as you always think that some people find parenthood stuff boring, but actually, what I talk about is trying for a baby, thinking we weren't going to be able to have one, IVF. There were lots of areas that weren't quite right for comedy, and that they were weird or hard, or, you know, it's kind of universal, isn't it? And then especially the craziness of having a small child. People connect with that, whether they've had kids or not. So yeah, I'm enjoying talking about it.

Carl

Marsh

It must be pretty hard to find that balance; as you said, you want to sort of write your experiences down for a comedy tour in which they are real-life issues such as IVF that you and your partner went through, but you've come out the other side with a baby, yet some people don't. And they could be in the audience.

Sara Pascoe

Yeah, you're trying to tread the line between the tragic side of things where we can laugh about it, but with a sensitivity to not just be going, "Oh, thank God it worked for me. I'd have killed myself if it hadn't!" The stuff I'm talking about is like how I think becoming a parents made me a worse person. Things like that, which actually is because I don't just want to be out there going, "Oh, my God, that stuff that people say to you like, 'Oh, it's a love that you won't understand if you haven't been through it. And until you're a parent, you won't get it'. I hated that side of being childless. So I'm not going to become that person to other people. Absolutely not. [Laughs]

Carl Marsh

I used to get that all the time from my family until I became a parent. It used to annoy the hell out of me. Then when I did…

Sara Pascoe

I went out with some of my friends last night, and one was complaining about another friend of ours, who'd come around to see her and said, "Oh, it's so great, but I'd love to see you without the kids". And everyone was slagging this person off, saying, "they just don't know how much organising it would take… I don't have any time". Like, how dare you!" And I thought, "Well, I'm in the gang now. I'm in the gang of people that get it!" [Laughter]

WEDNESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2023