We caught up with comedian, actress and writer Jo Enright ahead of her gig at Birmingham Comedy Festival and talked stand-up life, the city’s thriving creative scene and knitting. Yes, knitting!
We had no idea what a brilliant champion of the Birmingham comedy scene and of budding comics Jo Enright was until now. She’s been curating a monthly night at Glee for 11 years called Roughworks which allows comics to come and try out new material. She says: “I found more and more comedians coming out of Birmingham, so I approached Glee. The scene in the city is healthy, supportive, uncompetitive and unpretentious and there’s respect from the industry.”
Birmingham Comedy Festival kicks off in various venues across the city next month which Jo will be part of. She’s performed at the festival several times, sometimes she says accidentally! When we chatted, Jo was getting over Covid while deftly dealing with a seven-year-old in the background. She probably felt pretty rough, but you wouldn’t know it.
Charming, generous and full of love for Birmingham, Jo was a joy. Not cracking jokes like some of the comics we’ve interviewed – we like a gag as much as the next person but there was something refreshing and gentle about Jo. It could have been down to Covid and perhaps ordinarily she’s shoehorning jokes into conversation, but we doubt it.
WHO’S WHO
Jo’s CV is like a roll call of who’s who in the comedy world. As well as stand-up, Jo has worked extensively with people who recognise her ability to play a character. Stand-up was a sideline initially but after three years she went full-time. Jo became friends with Peter Kay bonding over their working-class backgrounds and Irish families. She says: “We could relate to each other’s worlds.”
The friendship led to work on That Peter Kay Thing and Phoenix Nights. “People could see that I could do character, so it caught their attention. I’ve worked with Steve Coogan, Johnny Vegas, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, so stand-up opened doors for me.”
Jo has done a lot of TV work too and I wonder if she prefers stand-up or screen? She says: “TV pays better than stand-up and as a freelancer a lump sum is welcome, but it’s somebody else’s line, somebody else’s creation. TV is always good to have on the CV and I enjoy the variety, but when I’ve done some TV I can’t wait to get back to stand-up.”
Jo credits being a bored teenager with a very funny best friend for igniting her comedy spark. They began writing sketches together. Jo went on to study A-Levels and then was unemployed. She discovered a drama group for unemployed people in Handsworth run by Malcolm Cleland. He was keen to bring his skills to people who wouldn’t normally have access to that kind of education.
Jo says: “He trained us for a year and got us into good shape to go and audition. I got a place at Middlesex Poly and as part of the drama course there was a module on stand-up.” The assessment was a five-minute set. Jo had a glass of wine and went for it. She says stand-up is more than telling jokes. It’s a craft. Jo became fascinated by the use of drama, acting and storytelling and inspired by “excellent comedians like Richard Pryor, Robin Williams and Victoria Wood”.
BRUM CENTRAL
London beckoned and Jo worked in the capital for 14 years. She says: “The big thing for stand-up comedians is stage time. Can I get enough? London offered me this at the time. Apart from Glee there were two clubs in Birmingham. As the city’s scene has developed you can stay around the Midlands successfully. I still work in London and test new material but there’s no need to live there anymore.”
Jo cites local comedians like Janice Connolly and James Cook as pushing the envelope for the Midlands. They both teach courses on being comedians. She says: “It’s affordable and people get a taste of stand-up.” She talks of Joe Lycett boosting the city’s profile trying out new material at Glee and choosing to film Late Night Lycett in Digbeth. There’s Alex Egan running three new material nights in the city as well as James nurturing fresh talent not to mention up and coming comedians like Eric Rushton who won the Sean Lock Award and Josh Pugh who has a lot of momentum. Jo says it’s not just a great time to be in comedy in Birmingham, but the creative industries generally are thriving.
COVID CRAFTING
It hasn’t all been a barrel of laughs though. Obviously, things went quiet during the pandemic although Jo managed to rally and make the best of it. She says: “I’d just done a toiletries ad campaign which sustained me financially and a Radio 4 series before lockdown.” As well as writing and putting out more stuff online, Jo began crafting to while away the hours. She says: “I stayed creative. I wrote a lot and became a crafter – a knitter.”
Jo knitted a lot, ranging from children’s shoes to Valentines Day hearts. She put the hearts on cards with the message ‘lockdown love’. One lady bought 15 to send to her friends. It sort of sums up our view of Jo – overwhelmingly kind. We’re not sure it’s a sentiment we’ve associate with comedy in the past, but she says of fellow comedians: “You rarely come across anyone who’s arrogant in the industry. It’s a vulnerable job and we’ve all had knock backs so there’s a camaraderie and respect.”
Jo’s the sort of person who restores your faith in humanity at a time when it might have been bashed a bit. A good egg and a very talented one at that.