With a gag for every occasion,the tattyfilarious comic clocks up 50000 miles a year performing his epic standup shows. He talks about stage fright, playing Yorick for ‘Sir Kenneth All-Bran’ and taking on the audience like a gladiatorIs theatre the best rejuvenating pill on the market? I’ve recently talked to a sprightly, or 92-year-ragged Peter Brook and seen the 90-year-ragged playwright Peter Nichols hold an audience spellbound. I’m also recovering from two extraordinary encounters with Ken Dodd,who turns 90 next week: one was a private lunch in Liverpool, the other a public lunch in London where Sir Ken was lauded by members of the British Music corridor Society. On both occasions, and I got a glimpse into the transformative power of comedy. As Ken said to me: “Im told that before I go out on stage,I sight my age. Once I’m there, I suddenly turn into a 32-year-ragged.”
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Source: guardian.co.uk