Micky Flanagan | Olympia Theatre

Words: Robin Murray

Micky Flanagan is a very likeable chap. He has that working-class English charm down to a tee: he can be cheeky, he can be crude, but really he's just being honest and there's something refreshing and even edifying about that. Flanagan might sometimes use toilet humour (quite literally, he joked about getting the shits on his last tour) but he doesn't merely delight in disgusting his audience - his priority is to make the audience laugh genuinely, not shock them into nervous laughter like other comics.

Born in East London in 1963, Flanagan is now in his late forties. Prior to becoming a professional comedian in 1997, he lived an eventful life, leaving school at 15 with no qualifications, then moving to New York and working as a dish washer and chef before returning to London and getting a job as a furniture maker. At 25, the Eastender returned to education going on to start an undergraduate degree at 29. Planning to become a teacher, Flanagan began a Postgraduate Certificate in Education but dropped out of the course when he realised "everything that was wrong with the school system when [he] was young was still the same".

In '96, shortly after dropping out of his Postgrad, he attended a comedy course in Jacksons Lane which led to him performing his first paid gig in '97. He went on to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time in 2001, going on to do his first solo show in 2006 and winning the award for Best Newcomer at the 2007 Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Flanagan is so popular because he's interesting and accessible at the same time. Beginning his stand-up career in his mid-thirties, he worked many 'normal' jobs and this gives him an everyman appeal. However, on top of being an everyman, Flanagan is also somewhat outrageous - he's like the black sheep we all have in our family, a mad uncle, brother or son that we can all relate with to some degree, but not too much.

Generally speaking, you can usually divide comedians into two camps: the everymen (and everywomen) and the eccentrics. For example, it's hard to imagine comedians such as Jimmy Carr doing anything other than performing on stage, whereas other comedians like Jason Manfield remind you of people you went to school with or worked alongside. However, Flanagan manages to straddle the two; his personality doesn't seem like it was made exclusively for the stage but at the same time he's definitely not your average bloke.

For this reason, Flanagan stands out from the comedy crowd; he may not be the weirdest comedian out there but his weirdness is uncontrived and it's this naturalness that makes him so appealing. Oh, not to mention he's really, really funny.

Micky Flanagan Live: 'The Out Out Tour' DVD is currently available to purchase via www.Amazon.co.uk

Micky Flanagan - 'Back In The Game' tour | The Olympia Theatre 12th April 2013

Story by EI Team | 09:00 | Friday 25th May 2012 | Comedy

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