Will Mars
Published: Friday 28th January 2022
We don't want to tempt fate here, given the last couple of years, but it looks like the mighty Leicester Comedy Festival will go full steam ahead this February. Europe's biggest comedy fest had just completed its 2000 edition when the first lockdowns began, and now this 18-day affair feels like normality kicking back in, after all the pre-Christmas uncertainty. Fingers crossed.
Bringing a huge bag of gags to week one is Will Mars, who won the Malcolm Hardee Award for Cunning Stunt at last year's scaled-down Edinburgh Fringe, for starting his own joke competition (more on that below). Meanwhile, he was marinating this new show, My Life in One-Liners.
"It's a life story told in one-liners," says Mars. "I used to think my life was a joke but I was wrong, it's more like 300! I previewed this show twice a day (under different names) at the mini-Edinburgh Fringe in 2021 and more recently I've been using Instagram - @jokesfrommars - to fine-tune and rehearse it.
"It has taken decades to live through the subject matter and a further three years to write the words. I'm looking forward to debuting the show in Leicester. I was born only ten miles away from the venue so it seems like the best place to debut the show too."
It's on Thursday night at the Exchange Bar. Now let's see what he remembers about the onstage life of Mars.
First gig?
Remember? I still have the video. The fantastic sketch group The Beta Males were in the front row, and they were laughing. Did I mention I have the video (proof of their laughter)?
Favourite show, ever?
My US television debut on Showtime At The Apollo (the one in Harlem, New York - what a place!).
Who was on the bill, Will? Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Mike Epps, Gabriel Iglesias and me, with the fantastic Steve Harvey hosting. No pressure.
Worst gig?
The rehearsal gig for my appearance on Showtime At The Apollo. It was just me and the production staff. I've played gigs to fewer people but never to that many empty seats.
Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?
My mother. She always told me that when I grew up I could be anything that I wanted to be. I'm paraphrasing, she said, "I don't care what you do!"
Is there one gag you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?
One gag? I wish there was only one gag. I've binned hundreds of jokes I love because they got nothing. Nothing!
Here's a couple of recent failures:
My optician thinks I'm ugly. She said, "I'm not good looking."
I never had a father figure but apparently I've got a dad bod.
Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?
On Instagram recently I had two comments on the same reel, posted within seconds of each other.
The first one said, 'How is this guy not famous already?' and the second said, 'This is the worst thing I ever saw.'
After last year's Malcom Hardee win, do you have any brilliant/stupid plans for this year's festivals?
Winning the Malcolm Hardee Award was a great honour. I won it by setting up the (some guy called) Dave Joke of the Fringe award and I only did that once I realised Dave - the broadcaster - wouldn't be at the Fringe to judge their annual competition.
This year I've got this crazy plan to win the official Dave Joke Of The Fringe Award and to help me do that I've written a show containing over 300 possible entries!
Will Mars: My Life in One-Liners is at Leicester's Exchange Bar on Thursday 3rd March. Info & tickets
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