MARCUS Brigstocke has been enjoying comedy for years.

When he was growing up he first became aware of the power and love of comedy when he watched The Muppet Show on television.

He said: “I remember seeing the Muppet Show and it really made me laugh. “It was very anarchic and very funny. It was a beautiful show full of goodness.

“Then I became aware of Blackadder, The Two Ronnies and Monty Python. “I think it was when I saw the Secret Policeman’s Ball which caught my attention in my early teens.

“The first proper stand up show was not live but a recording of Robin Williams at the Met.

“I could not believe what I was watching. It was incredible. I watched it hundreds of times-I was obsessed.

“I then saw Bill Hicks, Steve Martin and Eddie Izzard before the only live comedy I saw was at the Comedy Store. Comedy has always been a passion for me.”

His passion turned into his job and his career. He has written a number of shows on different topics such as theology, his struggle with addiction and now one about Lucifer called Devil May Care.

The blurb for this new show states: “As we divide each other up into more and more unpleasant categories of evil, it is time to establish, once and for all, what is good and what is bad. Who better to arbitrate in these challenging divisive times than Lucifer himself?

This show will arrive at the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton on Tuesday, October 16. This will be his first stand up show as a character.

He has made thousands of people laugh but what amuses him about his comedy?

He said: “Interesting!. I just love doing it. I just absolutely love doing it and it is a very pleasing thing to stand on stage with something you have created and hear them laugh. Bringing big joy and laughter into people’s lives.

“It is fantastic. You know there is a lot of ego involved in being a stand up comedian. You are willing to fail and sometimes you do. But there is also an interesting mix of humility and vulnerability plus massive confidence and ego.

“The one thing about doing stand up is you know how you are doing.

“ If you are not getting the laughs then you have to change and adapt and push harder and aim to create a show which is funny. I like to talk about things which really matter.

“What is interesting about stand up is if the audience are not laughing it might be as they do not like you or the environment of the room is wrong.

“This is your opportunity to go and get them and be like a kind of a pied piper and take them somewhere they never thought about going.

“I know I am very grateful for the opportunity to do what I do and I think one thing I believe about it all is you have to love what you do.

“Being a comedian gives me absolute freedom. There is no limit, I can say what I want the only rule is it has to be funny.”

For comedians, funny is where the laughs are, where the buzz and instant feedback comes from the audience.

Laughter is a spontaneous act, you cannot make someone laugh if they do not want to or do not find something funny.

Laughter will come out and does even when you know the punchline. An example of this is from the Life of Brian when Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate is talking about his friend Biggus Dickus.

At the end of the sketch he says: He has a wife, you know. You know what she’s called? She’s called... ‘Incontinentia’... Incontinentia Buttocks

Pontius Pilate: [Guards are laughing] Stop! What is all this?

You laugh as it is funny and a knee jerk reaction.

Speaking about this type of laugh, Marcus said: “When you hold an audience as they are laughing at a joke and they are waiting for the big laugh and you have not even finished the joke then you know you have got them. A lot of British comedy now is about the comedy of feeling awkward but I prefer good jokes, big silliness and fun.”

Tickets for Marcus Brigstocke:Devil may Care at the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton cost £17.

Buy online at thebrewhouse.net or call the box office on 01823 283244.