COMEDIAN Tom Houghton remembers his first day at an all-boys boarding school.
Aged six, he rambled around the classrooms then waited for his mother at the entrance. She had already left. But that’s not the saddest part of his schooldays.
“In my last year, when I was 17, my school went co-ed, so just as I was ready to leave, girls were ready to arrive,” he jokes.
Tom’s educational tales of woe are just part of his award-winning act which has resulted in several UK tours, numerous TV appearances and amassing over one million fans on TikTok.
One thing is certain – wherever he performs his hilarious show, he is no longer that lonely child standing on his own. Whether he talks about appearing on the hit Netflix show, The Circle, or ordering pizza to his apartment in the Tower of London, you can guarantee it is to a sell-out crowd.
“People ask when I moved into the Tower of London if it was insane and the answer’s no, because before that it was Kensington Palace.”
His upmarket address came from the fact that Tom’s father is General Sir Nicholas Houghton, Chief of the Defence staff who later became the Constable of the historic palace which also meant his son became the Honourable Tom Houghton.
“I grew up in army barracks in Northern Ireland, where we had bodyguards and armoured plated vehicles and got escorted everywhere with everyone saluting everyone,” he says.
“People were shocked when I told them I had a guy outside my door with a gun every day. They asked ‘what do you mean,’ and I replied, his name is Terry. It just felt normal, and now I realise it isn’t. There have been huge contrasts in my daily life, such as the time I once did a gig in a working man’s club in Stoke then the very next day I was chauffeured to Buckingham Palace to watch my father become a Grand Knight.
“I want my show to, well, show that I’m an ordinary bloke who’s been caught up in an extraordinary situation.”
Tom Houghton may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth but his humour is gold plated self-deprecating. How many Honourable people can leave an audience in stitches talking about the time he was so thirsty he drank from a puddle?
When asked if he tests his humour on an audience before going on stage, he replies ‘yes, with several long-suffering girlfriends over the years.”
“I also like to write down a basic sketch or idea then go for a run. I find exercise is a great way to clear my mind so that I can think better. As I run new ideas come into my head which I tend to speak out loud which earns me surprised looks for anyone I encounter.
“I learnt a lot about comedy from Milton Jones who I toured with for three years. He is a genius with a very unique style of comedy which is also very clean and family friendly. I knew I’d have to cut out all the swear words I used previously, and it really benefited me because I had to think harder to express myself.”
Tom’s comedy also varies depending in which part of the country he is performing. “Some humour is universal but there are also regional variations. In Essex, for example, they love jokes about taxidermy which don’t go down so well in places like Brighton.
“There are a number of military bases in Berkshire so stories about the armed services are popular. Reading has been one of my favourite gigs. The last time I played there was special because it was the show where I first thought ‘Oh, that really feels like it clicked.’
“When you get a good experience out of a place, you want to go back, so Reading was top of the list for venues I wanted to return to.”
While comedy is by nature a funny business, it is also an academic one. What better way to study and analyse what makes people laugh than to do a degree in stand-up which is just what Tom did at the University of Kent.
“The thing about comedy as opposed to being an actor in a play where the audience stares at you, is that with comedy you get reviewed every few seconds.
“Every time you tell a joke on stage there’s immediate validation, which is why I enjoy doing comedy, so it just means you second guess yourself in your head all the time. I don’t think anything should be taboo, but I ask myself why am I choosing this topic?”
How does he describe his own style of comedy? “I’ve been described as the embodiment of male, white privilege. As a character I’m the most overly privileged person you can imagine, so I’ve decided to own that as the cards I’ve been dealt. Hopefully there’s a deeper meaning to it too. In a Jack Whitehall-esque way I want to talk about it in a comic way.
“After such an incredible time on my first tour, I’m over the moon to be heading out on my second. With twice as many venues and bigger rooms, the reaction has been incredible so far. I am ready to bring a show that is packed with wall-to-wall laughs, but also lets the audience in even further.
“This will be a more personal, slightly darker show, but without sacrificing the belly laughs.”
Tom will be coming to Reading’s South Street on June 22, Maidenhead’s Norden Farm on July 6 and Guildford’s G Live on July 13. (limited availability for Guildford) For ticket prices, booking and more information, contact the theatres.
JAMES HASTINGS
