Standup star Josh Pugh is living the mild life as he brings Existin' La Vida Loca to The Wedgewood Rooms
Do you ever feel like you're not enjoying yourself as much as you should? Ever been at a party and thought "what's this all about?" Ever sat on a rollercoaster and felt nothing? Well, Josh has (a lot).
He's also conscious about marketing a show to people who don't outwardly enjoy things, but here we are.
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Hide Ad"I like to do big relatable bits of standup that everyone can enjoy, but this is really about finding a way to enjoy life and have fun,” says Josh. “I don't live life to the max, I live life to the medium – so it explores what that looks like and maybe why that is.
“I used to go to parties and think why is everybody loving this and I'm not?”
Did he spend a lot of time in the kitchen at parties? “Yeah, but now I think the kitchen is the best place to be – that's where the naughty, interesting things happen. But I was just making cups of tea and waiting to get picked up...”
Pugh leads something of a double-life – not only is he a standup comic, he is also vice-captain of the national England partially-sighted football team. He has a condition called nystagmus – uncontrolled, rapid eye motion, which makes it difficult for his eyes to focus.
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Hide AdAnd as you’re reading this he’ll be in Tenerife for a training camp with the squad.
"I'm out there for warm-weather training, which then leads me into the tour, which is amazing. You can't beat some sun on you at this time of year! It will be quite a physical week, but it kickstarts you for the season – everything comes back, feeling good.
“We'll actually be staying in the same hotel me my wife and our baby went on our first holiday together - that's just coincidental. It will be a bit different to last time I was there.
“And then it's back to service station food...” he laughs.
Josh’s eye condition is exacerbated by stress and tiredness. But with his son now two, he adds: “Not that my little boy takes that into consideration.
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Hide AdHe can see better than me – your two-year-old shouldn't be better than you at anything, but he can see better than me and it's a mad thing, but it's magic.
"He doesn't know yet that I can't see, but when he's drawing he gets really close to the page because he's imitating me – he's seen his dad do it like that, so he must be thinking this is how I do it.”
Being partially-sighted, how does he find touring?
“There's a lot of trains,” he laughs. “I'm pretty good at getting around, but I don't get to really enjoy a city. When I've got my wife with me we can do more, because she can tell us when there’s a nice restaurant or somethin, but when I'm by myself it's just about getting to where you need to, and if you go past a sandwich shop you go in and get whatever sandwich you can make out. I'm just getting by, but I'm lucky as there are some people who can't even do that.
“And that's what the show's about, really. Maybe that's the reason I'm holding back from getting stuck into stuff is that I'm being a bit cautious, but still finding a way of enjoying it!”
Josh is at The Wedgewood Rooms on Sunday, February 11. Tickets £15. Go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.