• Comic and actor Gareth Hale tells KATHERINE MACALISTER about his latest

foray into the world of theatre

It takes a while for Gareth Hale to warm up when we speak. Whether that’s because it’s such an early start, he’s fed up with doing interviews, or because his lifetime comedy partner Norman Pace had just left the cast for another job, who knows.

But it wasn’t long before the flesh started refilling the bones of one of Britain’s best known comedians, who has recently taken to strutting the boards rather than entertaining you from the safety of your sofa. And what could be more fitting than Dry Rot, a comedy about a crooked bookie with a get-rich-quick scheme?

Hale laughs: “Yes, I play a spiv, a slippery character, and that was an attraction initially and because this is set in the 1950s it’s almost a period piece.”

But then as far as he sees it, moving between the worlds of acting and comedy is an easy transition. “The murder mystery play we did earlier this year was the first straight play we have done together,” he concedes, but as long as you supply the “skill and hard work” the rest, apparently, is plain sailing.

And then Hale relents: “We have always played characters of varying comedic value so we were always more actors than stand-up. I suppose we’d already done the ground work,” he shrugs.

Ah yes, the royal ‘we’. It’s hard to talk to Hale without mentioning Pace, and similarly hard for him it would seem. Because not only have they been working together for 30 years, but they live just down the road from each other in real life and see each other several times a week, even when not working.

This year for example saw them star in Murder by Misadventure in Eastbourne, followed by writing new material, an extensive tour of Australia and then appearing in Dry Rot and it’s only September.

But having known each other since they were 18, it’s second nature now. Hale and Pace are virtually family, their familiarity hailing back to teacher training college when they shared a room.

Three years of college and four years as semi professionals followed.

And does Hale still view everything as a possible character or sketch? “Yes,” he grins ruefully. “If that’s your mind-set, that’s how you see the world and how you filter people’s reactions and their behaviour, so the sketches are still in me.

“So I’m first and foremost a comic and still do bits and pieces.”

Bits and pieces like the three month tour of Australia where Hale and Pace still have a huge following. “I know it’s strange but we have a unique relationship with the Australians since first going out there 21 years ago and we have had that from day one.”

Why the fanaticism? “I don’t know why. There’s something about us they like – they like fun and easy humour because they are such an ‘outdoorsy living’ sort of nation that the first 15 minutes of the show writes itself. And this was our 10th tour, so although we always have new material they love the characters, so it’s an exciting place to go.”

Not for their wives though. “No, they came too and then realised it wasn’t really a holiday just a succession of airports, because the gigs are so far away from each other: Sydney to Perth is like flying from London to Moscow.”

Hale met his wife 27 years ago and knows Oxford well – their children are at Brookes. So what advice would he give them? “It’s all about skill and hard work,” he says returning to rehearsals, and after 30 years in the business, he should know.

  • Dry Rot comes to Oxford Playhouse from Monday 10 to Saturday 15 September. Box Office on 01865 305305 or book online at oxfordplayhouse.com