British comedian London Hughes is trying to end the year with laughs.
London Hughes is getting comfy atNetflix.
The Afterparty is just the beginning for Hughes.
Credit: Greg Gayne/NETFLIX
Getting to look back at this unprecedented year through Netflix’s programming was fun for Hughes.
It provided her an opportunity to laugh during a very stressful year.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why wasTo Catch a D*ckthe right name for the special?
Then linguistically, it sounds like to catch a predator.
I love the title.
At the start, you talk about the pandemic a bit.
How did you decide how much you’d mention it?
Did you consider leaving it out?
I didn’t want to mention it.
These are just not normal circumstances.
I’ve never performed to an audience where they laugh, and I can’t see their mouths.
There’s a real physical component to your comedy.
How did you develop your style as a stand-up comedian?
I’ve always been a physical person.
I love acting and performing.
I was a bit of a show-off as a kid, so it comes naturally to me.
I developed [my style] from watching Black American stand-up comics.
They’re maybe dry, sarcastic, and they stand still.
By the time I started doing stand-up, all my references were those guys.
Richard Pryor is the most physical comic I know.
If you watch any of the specials, God rest his soul, he is sweating.
Ten minutes in, he is sweating.
I believe in putting your everything into the joke.
I’m glad it shows in my special.
I died at the end of it.
I pass out on the floor because I was physically dead.
It’s a real workout.
What’s your favorite curse word?
The one I use the most is the B-word, but my favorite is actually d—.
I love it as a word.
I love it in reality.
How much did you enjoy talking about why and how you curse onHistory of Swear Words?
It was so much fun, and it’s also really cathartic.
They’re just words, we put so much onus on what they mean so much to different people.
I studied English language and literature at college, so I’m a bit of a nerd.
I loved learning the history of the words and how they changed over the years.
It was honestly one of the best shows I’ve worked on.
A Netflix comedy special puts your work in front of lots of people across the world.
How does the special work as an introduction of you?
It’s a perfect introduction to me.
It sums me up completely.
I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction for the world to see me.
What is a memory you look back on fondly from the special?
They decorate it so well.
I was obsessed with American TV and film and how it all works.
If 11-year-old me would know that this would happen, and she wouldn’t even believe it.
Just stepping out on that stage and getting my first laughs was a career-defining moment for me.
You’ve come to America and now you have a comedy special.
What’s next for you?
Oh, total world domination.
I have a movie coming out calledHot Mess.It’s from the makers ofGirls Trip.
I star in it, and it’s loosely based on my life.
I also have a TV project I can’t discuss yet and my comedy tour.
So yeah, the answer to that question is total world domination.
London Hughes: To Catch a D*ckis out now on Netflix.
