He co-wrote and directed the award-winning comedy The Office. He also co-wrote and acted in Extras. He's done a few movies too, including Cemetery Junction. And now he's about to appear at the Hammersmith Apollo in his own stand-up show.
No, it's not Ricky Gervais, although much of the above information also applies to him too. It's his partner-in-comedy, the very tall and extremely funny
Stephen Merchant.
Merchant is currently taking his one-man show, called Hello Ladies, around the country, with his final performances taking place in London at the
Hammersmith Apollo.
Before he came to the attention of the British public for his work on The Office, Merchant had been dabbling in stand-up, with mixed success. "
I first did stand-up comedy in Bristol in a room above a pub in 1997," he writes on
his website. "
I did five minutes and it went brilliantly. I came back a month later with exactly the same act and left the stage in silence."
He adds: "
For years that was my regular experience of stand-up : raising the roof off one evening, only for the next show to fizzle out like a damp firework."
A lot of time has passed since then and his comedy credentials, with the likes of The Office and Extras under his belt, are now without question.
Hello Ladies, which revolves around Merchant's supposed lack of luck with the opposite sex, has been receiving rave reviews in the press. The Guardian, for example,
comments that "
Merchant's joke-writing is of a high quality," and concludes with: "
Ladies may spurn him, but stand-up fans should make a date."
There's been much talk of this tour being about Merchant stepping out from the shadow of his somewhat louder and more ubiquitous comedy partner, Ricky Gervais. That may be so, but according to various interviews he's been giving promoting Hello Ladies, once the tour is over, he may once again return to those shadows, concentrating instead on TV and film work.
So if you want to catch the 6ft 7in funnyman live,
this is your chance. He may not do stand-up again.
Image: Carolyn Djanogly
