In Bristol, where he’s something of a minor-celebrity, Jody Kamali is better known as comic alter ego and Internet hit Terry the Odd Job Man. Now he’s back at the Brighton Fringe with a preview of a new working-class character: the bumbling, Bristolian ex-darts champion Mike Daly.
Directed by character comedian Colin Hoult (Anna Mann, Murder in Successville, Derek), the show offers "a whirlwind journey into the soul of an idiot". The beer swigging, pie-munching former champ may have fallen from grace, but he’s back. And now he wants to set the record straight.
No stranger to the stage, Kamali regularly performs a gallery of characters at the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as at some of Bristol’s best-known venues. Now in his sixth year at Brighton Fringe, Kamali told us, "there's a severe lack of working-class actors out there on TV and stage. It’s no wonder terrestrial TV figures are dwindling. Everyday people tune into my videos by the thousands as I feel they are not getting this output on TV."
Kamali has worked with veteran actor Bernard Hill in the film Golden Years and Harry Hill on Harry Hill’s Tea Time (Harry Hill describes his act as "brilliant… original visual comedy"). He currently lives in Beckenham, Kent where he promotes and compères the Beckenham Comedy Cabaret.
Kamali’s working-class roots inspire many of his character creations, which have in recent years amassed a cult following on Facebook, where his videos have chalked up to quarter of a million views each. These days he even gets mobbed on Bristol’s streets.
Mike Daly’s calamitous Q&A adventures continue at the Edinburgh Fringe later this year.
Mike Daly: Darts and All will be at The Warren: The Nest from 2 to 5 May. To book tickets, visit brightonfringe.org or call 01273 917272.