Comedy legend, Joe Pasquale, is coming to Croydon

Joe Pasquale is out on the second leg of his extended The New Normal – 40 Years Of Cack! tour.

The comic has been showing off on stage for most of his life and now,and after four decades of nonsense he’s dragging out his favourite things for another show to prove that nothing has ever really been normal. 

As part of his latest tour, Mr Pasquale will sweep audiences up in the magic of clowning, puns, prop gags, and sketches at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, on August 30.

Speaking on the title of his latest tour, Mr Pasquale said: “It’s self-deprecating, that’s what it is! 

“I watched a documentary that Jim Carrey made, and he said that when he was younger and first went onto the stage, he thought: “What do the audience want?”.

“He had an epiphany and realised that what people wanted from him, or any live performance, was to be free of concern.

“If he could adapt himself to be the person on stage who is free of concern, the audience will see him like that, and I try to apply that to myself every time I go on stage.”

Comedian, actor and writer, Mr Pasquale, 62, first appeared on television when he was runner-up on the ITV talent show New Faces in 1987.

The New Normal – 40 Years Of Cack! will include a mixture of comedy and questions from the audience.

Mr Pasquale said: “The show is a relentless barrage of nuttiness, really. I just go out there and have fun.

“It’s important not to grow up as a comedian, you have to be childlike – but there’s a difference between being childish and childlike.

“I’m very childlike in my attitude to the world; that way you can still play, and I like to play when I’m on stage and off. I’m always playing with words and with stories.”

Despite the changing comedy scene, Mr Pasquale still takes inspiration from the late Bob Monkhouse – Beckenham’s own – and Ken Dodd, whose career started in the 1950s.

Mr Pasquale said: “The comedy scene is changing; the world is changing, and you have to be adaptable to fit into what’s acceptable and what’s not.

“But I don’t do anything that’s contentious anyway and I’ve got no political agenda. My comedy is just childlike simplicity and what makes me laugh.”

Like many of his shows, audiences can expect a lively performance from Mr Pasquale at Fairfield Halls.

To stay fit, the comic says he avoids cigarettes, alcohol and spends a lot of time in the gym.

He said: “I don’t want to be that fat old comic onstage. I know I’m getting older, but I want to remain as physically fit as long as I can.”

Mr Pascale’s one hope from his performance is that audiences leave “having laughed until they ache”.

To find out more and to book tickets visit: https://www.fairfield.co.uk/events/joe-pasquale-2024

Pictured top: Joe Pasquale 2024 poster (Picture: Mark McGee)