Russell Howard back in Portugal to make amends

Howard is described as one of the UK’s most successful stand-up comedians. He is known for his success on TV in The Russell Howard Hour and on Russell Howard’s Good News, as well as his stand-up comedy specials and has sold over two million tickets worldwide.

As part of his new Russell Howard Live tour, he is travelling across the UK, America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, including his return to Portugal with a show in Lisbon on 9 April and in Porto on 10 April.

Before returning to Portugal, Russell Howard took some time to speak with The Portugal News about his expectations for the tour, while highlighting what he loves about Portugal.

But how does a British comic end up performing gigs to a crowd in Portugal?

“I guess YouTube and my Netflix special has made the world a bit smaller, but I also kind of selfishly do these gigs for me, just so I can go to different parts of the world. It’s a great excuse and it also helps to improve you as a comedian and a human being,” explained Russell.

“You kind of get that street level knowledge of being in a place and walking around it and talking to locals, and as a comic there is a lot to be said for being well travelled”.

While gigs in the UK, USA and Gibraltar make a lot of sense for an English language comedian, the choice of Portugal may seem less likely, so how does Russell choose the locations of his gigs?

“I know that there are a lot of comedians that are super marketeers, but I don’t really know where my market its – it is more “do you want to go to Portugal?” and I say yeah,” revealed Russell, who added that he didn’t really actually know why some places are chosen for the tour and also why some places prove very popular and others less so.

And when it comes to performing in a country where English is not the first language, Russell has encountered some of his own issues.

“The last time I was performing in Portugal it was in Lisbon, it was the first time I had been, and the gig was fantastic and what was really interesting though was that I was improvising in the show and somebody mentioned a phrase which is to describe a beautiful women. This is a Portuguese phrase which is to say that “she is too much sand for my truck”, which I thought was incredible! But it turns out I had misremembered it, because I was doing my live show in London and I was speaking to a lady from Portugal and I said “Oh you have that brilliant phrase - the one where if a man sees a beautiful women he says there is too much sand in her truck” but I kind of got it wrong!”

Apologies

“I put a clip up about the phrase expecting a lovely wave of appreciation, but the anger towards me was extraordinary! So, the first things I will have to do at these gigs in Portugal is apologise. But I also find it lovely that the Portuguese are surprised that an Englishman is poor with language – when we sort of travel the world saying “do you do chips?””

Russell continued to talk about his perceptions of Portugal: “At the last Portuguese gig I spoke about Fado, which is the sort of sad sounding music which I found beautiful because I was looking around, and it didn’t really seem like there was a lot to be sad about, it seemed like such a beautiful country”.

Unique content

While the main body of the show remains largely the same during the tour, Russell does make an effort to tailor content for where he is in the world. while also constantly updating his material as he travels.

“I have a show but I add in to it. I remember when I was in Lisbon last time, I saw a seagull trying to steal chips from some English tourists and this man said “Oi, I’ve told you” and started to try to reason with this bird, and then his wife said “Tony he won’t understand you, he’s Portuguese!” so that ended up in the show on that day and then finally landed up in my special.”

He explained that during his last gig in Portugal there was a mixture of Portuguese and expats in the crowd and thanked people for being open minded: “if they are willing to listen to me in their second language and tell jokes then that’s great, because there isn’t a Portuguese comedian in London doing the same, so I am incredibly thankful for it”.

Russell said that he takes each gig as it comes and never can tell how well his material will be received, however he always makes an effort to make things topical for where he is: “Unlike in the UK or perhaps the US, I won’t be combative about Portuguese politics because I don’t know much about it! But what I like to do is find out stuff before I get there, so about a month before I will zone in on Portuguese politics or phrases or bits of trivia”, and then add it in to the show on the night.

Memories of Portugal

While Russell has already been to Portugal for work, he has also been once before to visit a friend in Cascais where he and his friends from university took on a team from Portugal for a friendly football match. Russell describes how he and his friends were “destroyed” by the team, which “might be bad being beaten as a 40 year old, but it was just sad because we were wearing full Portuguese football kits which I had paid to have our names printed on the back”.

Away from the football pitch, Russell had been able to do some brief exploring around Lisbon area including a visit to the sardine shop and taking in the trams that run up and down the city. “We also took a rickshaw to the Time Out food hall, which didn’t sound like it was going to be great, but it was fantastic.

“A food hall in the UK is just lots of depressed angry families, lots of plastic chairs and a general air of sadness – but in Lisbon you go in and its incredible, I was kind of blown away! It has to be the best food hall in the world!”

After the performances in Portugal, Russell plans to spend some time with his wife and baby son in the country before continuing with the tour ,and he already has plans for a rematch in Cascais – whether the full kits will be making a return is however another question…

Russell Howard will be performing in Lisbon on 9 April and in Porto on 10 April. For further information and tickets, please visit www.russell-howard.co.uk

Originally from the UK, Daisy has been living and working in Portugal for more than 20 years. She has worked in PR, marketing and journalism, and has been the editor of The Portugal News since 2019. Jornalista 7920

Daisy Sampson