Rik greets us in a small room at the New Theatre in Cardiff, the venue of his new show The New Statesman.
Yet ‘new’ is probably the wrong word, Rik having already played the previously conservative politician in the television sitcom of the 80s.
Now the writers believe that Labour has sunk so low the time is right for B’Stard’s return, having switched sides to become Mr Blair’s money-grubbing henchman with responsibilities including prices for peerages.
“When my people need me I’m there. We brought down Thatcher in the 80s, and now we’re doing the same with Blair,” Rik claims confidently.
Rik Mayall has had a prolific television career, including the sitcom The Young Ones, written by Mayall with long-standing friend Ben Elton and then-girlfriend Lise Mayer.
Mayall subsequently starred in Bottom with Adrian Edmondson, playing similar roles to those in The Young Ones. Other programmes include The Comic strip Presents, Blackadder and All About George, plus various Westend productions such as Waiting for Godot, The Common Pursuit and The Government Inspector.
He shakes our hands warmly, full of energy and enthusiasm. In person he seems just as you would expect from watching the kind of off-the-wall, slightly manic characters he tends to play.
“Fuck! I don’t like that question!” he starts as I ask how long ago it has been since he was last in Cardiff. “Um…2003. I’m normally in St. David’s Hall when I perform but now we’re in New Theatre in the first week of May.”
Having played B’stard back in the 80s Rik is keen to justify why he’s doing the same thing again 20 years on, this time as a theatre production.
“I mean, people might say – hello Rik you’ve got a big penis…” he says, laughing.
“But anyway, me and Ben Elton back in the 80s met Little Richard. It was amazing. He was always saying, ‘you gotta get the audience hiiigh…when you can’t get no higher, get off the stage.’ He says, in a laid back American accent.
“He also said ‘don’t repeat gags.’ So, you may ask, ‘why am I doing the new statesman again?’ Basically the script is absolutely brilliant. It is what’s happening to British politics at the moment.”
But for those who didn’t see the show back in the 80s, who exactly is Alan B’stard?
Alan [B’stard] lives at number nine and Blair lives at number ten. Alan invented New Labour. He is very evil and very bad.
“I think with the characters you do best there’s something of you in them, or maybe something you feel you ought not to be. And Alan is the most amoral character I’ve created ever I think – I know! He was bad in the TV series but now he’s a complete c**t!
“I had the opportunity to assemble a group of comic actors who I’m very pleased with. I’m the one who cast them so you wanna get dooowwwn to the New Theatre in Cardiff,” he says jokingly coolly, leaning into the mic.
At this point in the interview the lights suddenly go out.
“God?” he shouts questioningly.
He turns to us, whispering, “You know I can talk to God, don’t you. I was dead for five days.” he says, matter-of-factly.
“God!” he yells, “put the motherfucking lights back on! (in Welsh).”
He resumes. “Only 60 percent of the audiences are people who have been to the theatre before. And we’ve got such a mix of audiences now, Bottom fans, Rick Mayall fans…The experience [of this play] is very similar to the sitcom experience but the BBC won’t allow you to say certain things. You’d have to have lots of meetings before you get it approved. But it’s different with the theatre.”
With The New Statesman touring around many venues in Britain over a period of months, does the show have to keep up-to-date with things that happen in the press?
“Good question actually. Yes. We were on the road last summer and we played Bristol. The people who came to that show may recognise about a fifth of it. There’s such a rolling turnover of gags.
When the business about Gordon Brown smoking pot at Eton came out Laurence [Marks] was on the bloody phone all the time pouring jokes in.”
“But you know, I’m more famous than Tony…” he begins again, grinning.
“There was a very flattering programme about me actually called comedy connections. Apparently an actual MP asked Blair in the House of Commons, ‘How do you feel about B’stard joining the Labour party?’ and Blair was flummuxed. I mean yes Blair’s famous, yes Jesus is famous but I’m Rik Mayall,” he grins, acknowledging this outrageous conceitedness.
So why did he chose to do The New Statesman as a theatre production as opposed to another television show?
“Well, I’m a patriot. I’m Welsh. I’m fond of England too” he says in his prominently English accent. “Alan, though, he has a problem with the Scottish. I’ve gotta play in Aberdeen…I’m gonna die!”
The show aims to be quite controversial, heavily challenging Blair and New Labour. But is he ever scared to do any of the jokes?
“I wish I could say I was. A lesser performer would be. But did Jesus worry if the nails were going to hurt when he was put on the cross?
Does Rik Mayall worry if the people will be cross with him? No.”
His reference to Jesus prompts him to talk about his quad bike accident in which he was, he says, “technically dead for five days.”
“I had my accident the day before Good Friday – my kids call it Crap Thurdsay. There was blood spilling everywhere. The doctors were barely keeping me alive all of Easter. Then on the bank holiday Monday the Dr. said, ‘I think Rik’s going to pull through.’
So basically I beat Jesus 5 – 3. I think that gives me a certain significance when God told me to bring down Tony Blair.”
