0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08I was born in Wales and my first work was there.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11Whenever I'm introduced it's always, "Welsh comedian Rob Brydon..."
0:00:11 > 0:00:14"Welsh actor, Rob..." Always the Welsh in front of it.
0:00:14 > 0:00:20But to me, Welsh seemed really pessimistic, very gloomy, very depressive,
0:00:20 > 0:00:25always on a prescription for some illness or other.
0:00:25 > 0:00:32Bizarre antagonism towards the English, sort of bordering on hatred
0:00:32 > 0:00:37and a lot of them speak a language that I just don't understand.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42But I've lived in London, you see, for almost 20 years now,
0:00:42 > 0:00:45so am I Welsh?
0:00:45 > 0:00:49Or am I English?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51It's an identity crisis.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53An identity crisis, you know?
0:00:53 > 0:00:56A crisis of identity is what it is.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58The Welsh against...
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Look at my hands.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02They have very thin skins in Wales.
0:01:02 > 0:01:07"Loquacious dissemblers, immoral liars, stunted, bigoted,
0:01:07 > 0:01:12"dark, ugly, pugnacious little trolls."
0:01:12 > 0:01:14You look like a tit.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18- Good God, Robert, yes. - What the hell are you doing?
0:01:18 > 0:01:23There's a long tradition of really good humour except we've kept it very quiet.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26Mr Rob Brydon... HE TALKS MOCK WELSH
0:01:26 > 0:01:31- That's Welsh, isn't it?- Now you look appalled, the girl at the back, you see? I'm going to have a go!
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Diane, guess who's dead...
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Oh, this is the worst feeling in the world.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42It's like a feeling like you just want be somewhere else, or...
0:01:42 > 0:01:46The country that likes to say yes. Yes, yes, yes!
0:01:51 > 0:01:57Well, I'm about to set off on a wonderful journey back to Wales.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I'm going to speak to some friends.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I've lined up some experts. I'm gonna speak to people on the street.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09The reason I'm a little worried and I might seem a little edgy,
0:02:09 > 0:02:16is that I've booked a theatre to do an evening of stand-up comedy all about Wales.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Now you may say, "Why am I nervous?"
0:02:19 > 0:02:24I've played to lots of people. Yeah but I've always done it in character as Keith Barrett. What is your name?
0:02:24 > 0:02:26- Anne-Marie?- Lowrie!
0:02:26 > 0:02:28All right, don't be aggressive!
0:02:30 > 0:02:34You're not going to jump up on the stage and happy slap me, are you?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41I'm sorry, Lowrie, I'm very sorry.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43I'm under a lot of pressure on this stage...
0:02:45 > 0:02:50And also the Keith material isn't all about Wales. I want this to be entirely about Wales.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53So I'm hoping that as I go around, as I travel around,
0:02:53 > 0:03:00that I pick up enough inspiration and enough ideas to do an hour of material on stage.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03The first stop is to go and visit a friend of mine,
0:03:03 > 0:03:10who's a stand-up comedian, who works loads in Wales, so he should know what's what.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12His name is Chris Corcoran.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14So are you going to set some new Welsh Zeitgeist?
0:03:14 > 0:03:17I'm not completely confident about it.
0:03:17 > 0:03:18I'm not like if I was doing Keith...
0:03:18 > 0:03:21I'd be, "Hey, I know this." This is a bit new.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25My worry is I've got 10 minutes of good,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29strong stuff, maybe 12 minutes, but after that I just go blank.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31I still have moments like that, where you...
0:03:31 > 0:03:34that feeling of that didn't go quite as...
0:03:34 > 0:03:37and then you know what's coming up and if they didn't go with that...
0:03:37 > 0:03:40and you play the rest of the set through your head...
0:03:40 > 0:03:43They're never going to go with the rest of this stuff. Oh no, panic!
0:03:43 > 0:03:47- Yeah.- Yeah, well, but excited nervousness, is it?
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Yeah, yeah, it is excited.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53I er... It's, you know, what's the worst thing that can happen?
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Yeah, panic and then walk off, I suppose.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- Yeah, but... - And then everyone going...
0:03:58 > 0:04:04all the Guardian writers, all the journalists, going Brydon's all right as Keith Barrett,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09however when it comes to himself, he's clearly very limited.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11That's the worst that can happen.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15Ten minutes isn't enough. I mean, ten minutes is nothing.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19It's actually billed on the poster as "An Evening with Rob Brydon",
0:04:19 > 0:04:23so ideally I'd be looking at over and above 10 minutes.
0:04:25 > 0:04:30But it's finding that material, you know, where do you...
0:04:30 > 0:04:32find the material?
0:04:32 > 0:04:38I'm going to meet some students at Pyle to talk to them,
0:04:38 > 0:04:41get their views on humour and the Welsh
0:04:41 > 0:04:45and to steal their jokes, basically.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47If somebody comes out with a good joke I'll have it.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52You could argue that we're a bit of a joke in the British Isles.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54What's more of a joke, Scotland or Wales?
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Wales would win that. Are we more of a joke than England? Definitely.
0:04:57 > 0:05:01Are we more of a joke than Ireland? Probably are, yeah, we are.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06Stephen Fry did a thing once where he said there's something inherently funny about saying "the Welsh".
0:05:06 > 0:05:10He said, "You can say, 'da dum da dum the Welsh.'"
0:05:10 > 0:05:17- I know, but you know, it's Stephen Fry, it must be right.- People think of Wales as quite common,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- like commoners.- What, people think of the Welsh people as quite common?
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Yeah, like... No! I mean like they're all mi...
0:05:25 > 0:05:29If you go somewhere else they're like, "Oh, they're all miners and things like that."
0:05:29 > 0:05:34DEEP VOICE: They think Welsh people are a bit like that, a bit stupid.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Well I do stuff like that, see, in my act.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39I do a character, who sort of talks like this...
0:05:39 > 0:05:44Where I say, you couldn't have a Welsh Spiderman, because he'd be like, all right, Peter Parker...
0:05:44 > 0:05:48My name is... Sorry I'm late, I've been down the laboratory.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Well, Superdrug it was.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I've been bitten by a spider...
0:05:55 > 0:05:58It was only radioactive.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00It's turned my life around.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I'm shooting webs, climbin' up walls...
0:06:04 > 0:06:06swinging on buildings...
0:06:06 > 0:06:11Rightly or wrongly the only downside of being imbued with the powers of a spider is...
0:06:11 > 0:06:16I am finding it very difficult getting out of the bath.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Now, that's Welsh.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28I think the Welsh have an immense capacity for self-deprecation,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31but I'm not sure about laughing at themselves very much.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36However, I think we often think the Welsh have no humour and that's not true.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39I think the number of jokes that are made about the Welsh,
0:06:39 > 0:06:44like in terms of shagging sheep, or sort of being a bit strange in some ways,
0:06:44 > 0:06:46are pretty much welcomed with open arms.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Most of the jokes about sheep have been made by Welsh people, I think.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54The Welsh particularly
0:06:54 > 0:06:57have very little sense of humour about themselves.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Very funny people, in a lot of ways.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Absolutely not about being Welsh.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05I notice you now, this demeanour of you.
0:07:05 > 0:07:11You're famous for being incredibly funny, you're being incredibly serious now about Wales.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Well I have to because...
0:07:13 > 0:07:17I'm consorting with the enemy at the moment
0:07:17 > 0:07:22and I'm fighting any inclination to agree with anything you say.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24To play to a Welsh audience
0:07:24 > 0:07:27there's nothing wrong about laughing at who the Welsh are,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31laughing at the way they take their nationality too seriously,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34laughing at the way the language is a sacrosanct topic
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and it's only when we actually confront some of our demons
0:07:37 > 0:07:41and actually confront why we are so defensive about our nationality,
0:07:41 > 0:07:45and why are we unwilling to have external people laugh at us?
0:07:45 > 0:07:49Until we actually talk about those issues then we'll never move on.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50We shouldn't be pompous about it.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54The fact you're doing these jokes, you do comedy,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and you do Welsh comedy which is wonderfully funny
0:07:57 > 0:08:01and people shouldn't be saying "I resent that from Rob,"
0:08:01 > 0:08:04- because if you can't do it who the hell can?- Girl at the back?
0:08:04 > 0:08:08In Wales we've got the highest rate of teen pregnancy,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12the highest binge drinking and there's nothing to feel proud of.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15There's nothing to be proud of.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19You don't hear in America, you don't hear in Ireland, only in Wales.
0:08:19 > 0:08:21- Why is that? - Is that definitely fact?
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- We've definitely got the highest teenage pregnancies?- Yeah...
0:08:24 > 0:08:25All right!
0:08:25 > 0:08:29Right, some of you guys is putting it about, like it's good.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34People say we're a small country but we're leading the way in many ways.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37We have the highest teenage pregnancies of anywhere!
0:08:37 > 0:08:42You know, the country that likes to say yes! Yes...yes...yes...yes!
0:08:46 > 0:08:49I think it's because there's nothing else to do.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54man at the back there, is that why you've contributed to these figures?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56No! That's... I think there's plenty to do.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59It's just there's lots of people hanging about on streets.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03But that's everywhere, I think. It's just we're more...hands-on!
0:09:06 > 0:09:08- We're more organised! - More organised, yeah!
0:09:08 > 0:09:12They've got binge drinking and teenage pregnancy all over the UK.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14I will say in Wales we are more organised.
0:09:14 > 0:09:20Thank you very much for that, that's great and I'm going to use the material about binge drinking
0:09:20 > 0:09:25and teenage pregnancies so thank you for that and your line of er... that's going in, definitely.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28My first gig is on Friday at the Glee Club in Cardiff.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33- I've never played there. You must have.- Quite a lot.- What's it like?
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Brilliant. The best club in the world.
0:09:35 > 0:09:41Welsh audiences, very giving, very happy to play along,
0:09:41 > 0:09:45but at the same time kind of very respectful of the performers
0:09:45 > 0:09:48so you don't get any nasty heckling.
0:09:48 > 0:09:54They're all very up for it and they love seeing a Welsh bloke on stage.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Can I get a hot chocolate to take away? What are you going to have?
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Coffee please, Americano.
0:10:00 > 0:10:07- My Welsh radar has never been more active because I know I've got to find material for these shows.- Yeah.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12So I'm constantly...any thing that comes to me, I'm jotting it down.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14- And how's it going?- Slowly.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Rob, do you know what you're starting with?
0:10:33 > 0:10:35I don't know, I don't know.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39I suppose it depends on the response.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43I don't know if that's a good idea - if it should depend on the response,
0:10:43 > 0:10:49so I think I'll probably do er... I don't know, I don't know. I want to see what happens.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Take a chance.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53That's my intention!
0:10:53 > 0:10:55See, in the back of my head there's a voice going,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57"Oh, you'll just probably do Ronnie Corbett impressions!"
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- So...- Do you think you will?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02AS RONNIE CORBETT: I hope not!
0:11:02 > 0:11:05DISTANT CROWD NOISE
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Oh, this is the worst feeling in the world.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11It's like a feeling like you want to be somewhere else...
0:11:20 > 0:11:22LOUD APPLAUSE AND WHISTLING
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Well, bloody hell. Hello.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42How are you?
0:11:42 > 0:11:44- Are you all right? - CROWD SHOUT OUT
0:11:44 > 0:11:49I've been sort of doing some new material and I want to try it out...
0:11:49 > 0:11:52on you. Do you mind if I have a bit of paper? You don't mind, do you?
0:11:52 > 0:11:54No.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58No, no. No. No...
0:11:58 > 0:12:04- We've got the highest binge drinking in Europe. - CROWD CHEER
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Come on...
0:12:06 > 0:12:11I was with a group of students the other day. I said, "Bloody hell, is that true?" They said, "Yes."
0:12:11 > 0:12:15It's higher than anywhere else in the UK in Wales. I said, "Why?
0:12:15 > 0:12:21"How is it?" He said, "I don't know, we're just more hands-on."
0:12:21 > 0:12:25And more teenage pregnancies. We get stuck in.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Don't attack me! He's going.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It's OK. I've given him a psychological trick.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36He's gone the wrong way.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39What it is - I'm going to wait for him outside.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43I'm gonna call my mates and we're gonna throw...
0:12:43 > 0:12:45Oh, no - where's he going?
0:12:45 > 0:12:47He's furious. He's livid.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49He's gone to the ladies. Fair enough.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55The next morning, he'll come in there,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58he'll see the big ones on the floor,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01he won't have a clue where they're from!
0:13:01 > 0:13:05There's no end to that story but that's what happened.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10- Any questions? - GIGGLING
0:13:10 > 0:13:13What? What?
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Any loud questions?
0:13:15 > 0:13:18INDISTINCT SHOUTING
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Steve Moss.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21Who's Steve Moss?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24What? Who needed therapy?
0:13:24 > 0:13:27Oh, bloody hell.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33The main thing was...
0:13:33 > 0:13:37I think I came across as quite mean at times.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41I was aware of that. Um...
0:13:41 > 0:13:43What, the Ely bit?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Anybody from Ely?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Oh, it's a rough part, isn't it?
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Bloody hell, it's rough.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53Were you there? You're going to come out of this story really badly!
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- That's quite a cynical...- Yeah.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58..way of looking at things.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03It didn't seem to go quite so well and sometimes I felt
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- I was being very judgmental.- Yeah.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Most of the crew are English.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12They'd never been to Ely before.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- They'd been to a safari park... - LAUGHTER
0:14:20 > 0:14:24There's things to learn from it, that worked and build on those and things that didn't work.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29- You only learn by doing it. - And off to Pontardawe.- Yes, we've got that to come.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33It's going to need work. This is like being on Celebrity Fame Academy. This is dreadful.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37That's very much a Welsh audience reaction, I think.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40You know, hang on a minute, what are you doing now?
0:14:40 > 0:14:45Are you having a go at us? That was like when I went on Jeremy Clarkson's chat-show years ago,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49doing Welsh material and my best friend switched it off,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52which I couldn't believe! This is David.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54- Hello, everyone...- Hi, David.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57- Right, let's meet a taff, shall we? - At the time
0:14:57 > 0:15:02it was like seeing your best mate sell his Welsh soul
0:15:02 > 0:15:06to the arrogant middle-class English Jeremy Clarkson.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Yeah, we don't have to carry on!
0:15:08 > 0:15:14If you've ever stayed in Wales you should watch the Welsh version of Countdown!
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Cntydn...
0:15:19 > 0:15:22It would be a great show. I mean, you'd have contestants on there...
0:15:23 > 0:15:26I'll have...a consonant...
0:15:27 > 0:15:29and a consonant...
0:15:29 > 0:15:34- Consonant please, Carol and a consonant.- All Ls.- Oh yes.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I don't like it, I must be honest.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I really don't like gags about the language, to a point.
0:15:41 > 0:15:46Some of it's funny, to a point. It's something that I don't enjoy.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49Switched me off midway through my set. I can't...
0:15:49 > 0:15:52I found that at the time unbelievable.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54Your brother... your brother and all the family?!
0:15:54 > 0:16:00I can understand why he switched it off, but on the other hand he's a bit of a pompous bastard, isn't he?
0:16:03 > 0:16:06They have very thin skins in Wales about the idea that you could,
0:16:06 > 0:16:08even if you're Welsh, the opposite...
0:16:08 > 0:16:12when we talk about it being similar to Jewish humour...
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Jewish people mock themselves continually
0:16:15 > 0:16:20but the Welsh do not like to be mocked. They want to be reassured.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23I'm very fond of the story that the first Welsh man said to God,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27"How very kind of you to have given us this beautiful land,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31"those wonderful mountains, full of coal and iron and steel and a golden slate."
0:16:31 > 0:16:35He said, "Why have you singled us out to be so fortunate?"
0:16:35 > 0:16:39And God says, "I haven't singled you out. You haven't seen your neighbours yet."
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I've always called it the Braveheart syndrome. Forever England,
0:16:48 > 0:16:54Wales, that sort of Braveheart syndrome kicks in and it brings out the...
0:16:54 > 0:16:58I'd understand if it's when they're playing Wales you want them to lose,
0:16:58 > 0:17:02but you want England to lose with a violent passion.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05They could be playing the Third Reich...
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and you'd want Hitler's boys to win, wouldn't you?
0:17:08 > 0:17:10I'm ashamed to say it, yes.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15I find the Welsh hatred of the English depressing.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20It's not just a sort of a mild intolerance, it's an actual hatred.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24Maybe we should feel that way about them. Wales was oppressed.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Yes, but when, Rob?! When was it oppressed? Centuries ago.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30You see I feel...
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I'm wholly Welsh but I was brought up in England
0:17:34 > 0:17:38so I can't share any conscious
0:17:38 > 0:17:44aspirations to base it on disliking or hating another group of people.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48I mean, I associate there's a sort of Welsh way of getting angry,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51which is thumbs in waistcoat pockets
0:17:51 > 0:17:57- and it's drawing yourself up your full 5 ft 7...- That's how tall I am!
0:18:00 > 0:18:03And going, and then using every long word you know.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08It's very How Green Is My Valley...
0:18:08 > 0:18:12and it's very intellectually chippy.
0:18:12 > 0:18:17AA Gill, the celebrated critic... he doesn't like us.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19I'm almost sure he said that...
0:18:19 > 0:18:25and forgive me, Mr Gill if I quote you wrong, but I think you said,
0:18:25 > 0:18:27"in their glove-shaped valleys
0:18:27 > 0:18:33"the Welsh have spawned a life grimmer than that of any rock pool."
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- It's pretty damning, isn't it? - Yes, but it's great...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- I love glove-shaped valleys. - You see, he's a good writer.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43- That's the problem. It's just WHAT he writes.- But he writes for effect.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47So you don't think he means it?
0:18:47 > 0:18:49No. No.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Erm...
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Yeah, I did mean it.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56No.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58- I meant it!- In his heart, he doesn't.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02He'd say anything. Words are easily spoken. What's in his heart counts.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06Max, I meant it.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11I kind of agree with him, you see, on this glove-shaped valley thing,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14because when I think of my friends
0:19:14 > 0:19:18and I think which ones are the gloomy ones and which ones are not,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22the gloomy ones will be the Welsh ones.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24You know.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Well I think we're a bit of a contradiction because
0:19:28 > 0:19:32we're also intrinsically optimistic as well as being...
0:19:32 > 0:19:34I think our benchmark is bleakness...
0:19:34 > 0:19:39- Yeah, a default setting...- Default setting is a bit bleak, yeah.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48The comedy, I've sort of dwelt on the gloom aspect but I do see it
0:19:48 > 0:19:53seriously as a characteristic of the Welsh. Why?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Living next to England, I suppose.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59And some inherent racism as well, then?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03- Why is it...- It's a romantic gloom. It's a drama queen gloom.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05It's not misery...
0:20:05 > 0:20:07I think it's dramatic.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09Yeah, we revel in it, we enjoy it...
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- Yes.- We relish the pain.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13My mother always wants to talk about death.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17The first thing she says is, "You'll never guess who's died. "
0:20:17 > 0:20:19And she likes looking in the newspaper.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21- "Oh, so an so's died." - Your mum?- Yeah!
0:20:21 > 0:20:24The idea that people relish suffering...
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I remember the story of a great aunt of mine
0:20:28 > 0:20:33complaining about when she opened the coffin to show her dead husband to neighbours,
0:20:33 > 0:20:38the coffin hinges squeaked, and she went to put oil on then, and then she realised, "I'm not going to
0:20:38 > 0:20:44do this for more than another day, so why bother?" and took the oil back and demanded her money.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46That's a very Welsh story, too.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51And what about the one about the husband who's gonna die and says,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55"Not long now, Gwyn." He says, "No." "Is there anything you'd like?"
0:20:55 > 0:20:57"I'd love some salmon."
0:20:57 > 0:20:59"You'd like some salmon?" "I'd love some fresh salmon."
0:20:59 > 0:21:03She says, "All right," and she goes away and comes back and spoons it,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07"But that's not salmon, is it?"
0:21:07 > 0:21:08He goes, "That's tuna."
0:21:08 > 0:21:12And she says, "Yes, we're keeping the salmon for the funeral."
0:21:12 > 0:21:18My dad goes to funerals of people I think he doesn't actually know very well.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20That's quite a Welsh thing, isn't it?
0:21:20 > 0:21:24- Yeah.- I do think there's that, "Well, I could've seen that coming.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27"We were foolish to get our hopes up."
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- "I don't know what to say about that."- "What's the point?"- "You've put me in a gloomy mood now."
0:21:31 > 0:21:35"There's a lot to be gloomy about if you look around the world."
0:21:38 > 0:21:40What's the point?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- Do you ever think that? - Yeah, quite often.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Quite often, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50Do you glimpse the futility of life?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- Yeah, sometimes.- Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- Do you feel, "What's the bloody point?"- Yeah.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59Yeah? Or young - you'd probably say, "What's the fucking point?"
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- Yeah.- Yeah. "You cock!"
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Something like that?
0:22:04 > 0:22:07I remember when If You Tolerate This went to number one
0:22:07 > 0:22:11and we beat Steps to get to number one, and it was just a joy!
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- Fair play.- A joyous occasion.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Within 20 minutes we were all on the bus, and you could just feel it coming over us.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21- Seriously?- The three of us... "What do we do next?
0:22:21 > 0:22:24"It sold 20,000 less than we thought it would." You know?
0:22:24 > 0:22:27It's just inbuilt in us.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Is there a word for "enjoy" in the language?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32We don't allow a word for "enjoy".
0:22:32 > 0:22:36We thought of having a word for "enjoy",
0:22:36 > 0:22:42- Adrian, but in the end we thought, "How often are we going to use it?" - Exactly.
0:22:42 > 0:22:46There is a certain pessimism that came from Puritanism,
0:22:46 > 0:22:51which was a great backbone to people under serious difficulties in poverty,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55but on the other hand does make for a certain dourness.
0:22:55 > 0:23:01You do see some of the gloomy Welsh, but I've only seen them on television.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05- By TV companies. I suppose this... - Which is what I'm doing! OK, right!
0:23:05 > 0:23:06OK.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08You see the... "Hey, man..."
0:23:08 > 0:23:13You see that sort of character being portrayed, over and over again.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17- I don't know why. - But it has no root in reality?
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Absolutely no root in any reality I know.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24But there was no part of you then, during your incarceration,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28that gave into that Welsh gloominess, which I still insist exists.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34I'm not being deliberately perverse here, but I'm really not sure what you mean, Welsh gloominess!
0:23:34 > 0:23:37Not in you, but you must be aware
0:23:37 > 0:23:41of a...an impression of Wales as being a rather gloomy nation.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44- Are you not even aware of that?- No.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47- Seriously?- Seriously, yeah.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49I'm not being deliberately perverse.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52I'm surprised this is the result of your research.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56This is interesting cos I would have characterised us as just gloomy, right,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01but lots of people saying what you're saying, "We're gloomy but we love it."
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Rather than just being miserable,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07secretly inside you have a good time being miserable.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Happy to be sad.
0:24:08 > 0:24:13Chapel communities have lost their grip on Wales,
0:24:13 > 0:24:17so as a consequence it's almost created a gap where other
0:24:17 > 0:24:23things can move in, like television, possibly like humour.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26Politics, to some extent, has moved into that gap as well,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29and all those components make for a greater confidence.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33How would you describe the Welsh people?
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Friendly, open, easy to get along with.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37- Very good.- Yeah?
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Quiet. Nice.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43- Fun people.- Yeah?- Happy people.
0:24:43 > 0:24:49- Outgoing people.- You're on a roll now. I don't want to stop you!
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Your character in Gavin And Stacey, though, is a good...
0:24:51 > 0:24:54Nicky, you are a lovely-looking boy.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- He's a genuinely nice man, isn't he? - Yes, he is.- Trying to do the best in the world.- Yes, he is.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01I'm having a whale of a time.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04The kind of decent man, he's a bit lost,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06but is trying to do his best.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08That's me, basically.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13That us all. But I think that's more positive.
0:25:13 > 0:25:20It seems like I've been very, very wrong, doesn't it?
0:25:20 > 0:25:24Because all I'm getting now is, "No, no, we're not miserable, we're not gloomy."
0:25:24 > 0:25:27All the things I thought,
0:25:27 > 0:25:33I was taking for granted, this is how it is, it seems are not the case.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38It seems like the country's changed, which is lovely, that's great, well done.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42On the down side, I've got to play to about 200 people in Pontardawe.
0:25:42 > 0:25:47From my point of view, it's actually bad news.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So, what are we doing here, Rob?
0:26:07 > 0:26:12We've come here because I think that...
0:26:12 > 0:26:17- I think I'm being quite negative about Wales.- OK.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22So I wanted to come to somewhere positive because...
0:26:22 > 0:26:25I'm starting to think...
0:26:25 > 0:26:27that I've got it wrong.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32- In what sense?- In the sense I've come to this with my very sort of...
0:26:32 > 0:26:35You know a lot of my comedy is quite dark,
0:26:35 > 0:26:39I think I've come to it with that sort of attitude,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43and the people I'm meeting and interviewing, so many of them are going,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47- "What are you talking about?" - So not recognising your own first perception?
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- Yeah.- Which was a bit dour. - It wasn't dour.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52Pessimistic and depressive.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57And the more time I'm spending here, I have to say, the less I'm feeling that.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02So are you coming round to thinking you might do more positive stuff, then, with this gig coming up?
0:27:02 > 0:27:07I want to, yeah. So I'm gonna smile a bit more, be a bit friendlier,
0:27:07 > 0:27:13and I'm going to be wary of making the Welsh character in my jokes the victim.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15- Yeah.- Or the butt of the joke.
0:27:15 > 0:27:16Every time.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22I should change, "We couldn't have a Welsh rapper,"
0:27:22 > 0:27:25to, "We've got everything.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27"We've got Welsh rappers," to make it positive.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31- I'd be interested in doing that, almost like an experiment. - Definitely.
0:27:31 > 0:27:35"What a great country, we've got this, we've got that.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38"We've even got serial killers."
0:27:38 > 0:27:41I don't know if there have been, doesn't really matter.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- There must have been a Welsh serial killer by now.- Yeah.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Surely we're not lagging that far behind the rest of Britain.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54There you go, the mavericks are in.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56I'd like to present someone.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Mr Rob Brydon!
0:27:59 > 0:28:01LOUD APPLAUSE
0:28:03 > 0:28:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:28:06 > 0:28:09Hello!
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Hello, Pontardawe!
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Hello, Pontardawe Arts Centre!
0:28:16 > 0:28:20It's lovely, lovely, lovely to be here this evening. How are you?
0:28:20 > 0:28:23You're lovely.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25I'm feeling lovely.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28It's a lovely building.
0:28:28 > 0:28:34If you had to find a word to sum up the evening, it would be..."fantastic".
0:28:34 > 0:28:38What a fantastic country we are.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41What wonderful people we are, we are world leaders.
0:28:41 > 0:28:47We have everything that the rest of Britain has.
0:28:47 > 0:28:51There's nothing they've got that we don't have.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Serial killers? We've got serial killers. Oh, yeah.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59"All right?
0:28:59 > 0:29:04"I'll be honest with you, the first time was an accident."
0:29:07 > 0:29:09"I fell on her."
0:29:11 > 0:29:15"After that, I just got a taste for it, to be honest with you."
0:29:16 > 0:29:19The best pilots are Welsh pilots.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23Air Wales.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Ding dong.
0:29:26 > 0:29:28Oh, bloody hell.
0:29:31 > 0:29:33I'm not being funny,
0:29:33 > 0:29:36I haven't got a clue what I'm doing.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41It's just buttons and lights and switches. But you know what?
0:29:41 > 0:29:43I'm going to have a go!
0:29:43 > 0:29:44I'm going to try!
0:29:44 > 0:29:48Come on!
0:29:48 > 0:29:53I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen?!
0:29:53 > 0:29:55I recently...had to be driven.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00I did a show in Birmingham, and I got driven back to London, which is where I live.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02I'm sorry.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05- What can I do?- Move.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07Move, yeah.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:30:17 > 0:30:20You are going to have to stop this.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Because it's hard for me to remember my act with an erection.
0:30:32 > 0:30:36Like, what you is saying to me, man, it is like turning me on, you know.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42What was I saying? What were we talking about?
0:30:42 > 0:30:44What was I saying?
0:30:44 > 0:30:49What? London. I was being driven back from Birmingham to London.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53It was late, I was tired, I wanted to go home.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55And we get in and he tries to find...
0:30:55 > 0:30:57He's got satnav on, OK.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01The satnav said, "Bear left.
0:31:01 > 0:31:02"Bear left."
0:31:02 > 0:31:08He looked at the satnav and he said, "Aye, then what?"
0:31:14 > 0:31:17I think he should have a Welsh satnav.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21I think a Welsh satnav would be fantastic.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23"Take the next left.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26"Coming up now, pretty soon, get ready for it."
0:31:29 > 0:31:32"Watch out for that joker there.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35"Jesus Christ, he's almost up your arse. Look out."
0:31:35 > 0:31:40You've been a lovely audience, Pontardawe, thank you very much indeed. Good night.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50That was much better from my point of view.
0:31:50 > 0:31:55I felt a big difference in terms of the kind of atmosphere
0:31:55 > 0:32:00with being positive and putting an upbeat thing on it.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03Because it's essentially the same material.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07It was the same material but with a different attitude, coming from a different place.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09And I thought...
0:32:09 > 0:32:11I didn't feel bad about doing it.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Whereas on stage at the Glee Club, I felt...
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Especially when I watched it, when I saw it, I really felt that.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Howard Marks is good.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23Howard Marks is funny.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27I have a gag about you being in jail which is so removed from the truth.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31"I'm Howard Marks. I'm in jail. Things couldn't get any worse."
0:32:31 > 0:32:34You go to the bars and go, "Bloody hell, it's raining.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37"Bloody typical, it would have to be raining, wouldn't it?"
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Which, of course, probably was not how you were at all.
0:32:41 > 0:32:42It's true, I wasn't.
0:32:42 > 0:32:47No, there we are. I'm still going to try the gag, and see how it goes.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49I met Howard Marks the other day.
0:32:49 > 0:32:52How did he cope with seven years of jail, hey?
0:32:52 > 0:32:54I don't think we Welsh would cope with jail.
0:32:54 > 0:32:59I think there should be a law that we can never go to jail, we should just pay fines.
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- As I was doing it, I was going, "This is going to get nothing." - Yeah.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04I was thinking that as I was doing it.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06Howard has got a very deep voice.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09You can imagine going to the cell and going,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13"Oh, good God, seven years for smuggling dope, I don't believe it."
0:33:13 > 0:33:15I got to the end and I got this laugh
0:33:15 > 0:33:19- and I thought, "Oh, great!" - That was good.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Oh, it's raining and all. Bloody typical!
0:33:22 > 0:33:24LAUGHTER
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- You're not going to sue me for misrepresentation.- Definitely not.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31Standing at the back of the club, "I did not say that. I said how well made the cell was.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35"The bars were very uniform and straight. It was bloody wonderful."
0:33:35 > 0:33:39It makes such sense now that if I am stood there,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41constantly berating the Welsh things,
0:33:41 > 0:33:46- then naturally people are going to go at some point, "Hang on a minute."- Yeah.
0:33:46 > 0:33:52It foolishly hadn't occurred to me that that might be the reaction.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55You can still do the gag, just come at it from a different angle.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Inclusively and happily and positively.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04I expected it to be different because I went into it with a very different attitude.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08I was really determined to... um, be more positive.
0:34:08 > 0:34:13To not do what I did at the Glee, which was to be quite...
0:34:13 > 0:34:18hard on the Welsh. So I wanted to put a positive spin on things.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24And it felt really good, being on stage with a different attitude, with a more positive approach.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26And it shows
0:34:26 > 0:34:31what you can do if you just change the attitude to it.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33You can sort of say anything, really.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Roll on Aberdare, eh?
0:34:36 > 0:34:41So now we've got like the final show, Aberdare.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44And after that one,
0:34:44 > 0:34:50after how Pontardawe went, I feel with Aberdare that I can...
0:34:50 > 0:34:54have a go at the language, which is the big thing.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57"You mustn't make jokes about the language.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59"You cannot make jokes about the language."
0:34:59 > 0:35:03I feel like I want to go along and do something to give David a heart attack.
0:35:08 > 0:35:11I grew up when there was no S4C.
0:35:11 > 0:35:17There were Welsh programmes on what was English-language Welsh television.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22And that turned me against it on the very simple level
0:35:22 > 0:35:26that as a young boy I was missing out on Star Trek,
0:35:26 > 0:35:30because you'd get to Star Trek and we wouldn't get it in Wales.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33We'd get the Welsh News.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36So I would associate it with a feeling of resentment.
0:35:36 > 0:35:40I'd be wanting to see Captain Kirk and I'd be hearing...
0:35:40 > 0:35:41SPEAKS WELSH
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Yeah, that's true.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47Now when I hear the Welsh language it sounds lyrical.
0:35:47 > 0:35:51I went to this concert last night, the Super Furry Animals were there.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53They were around the tea-making machine.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59And all of a sudden they started talking in Welsh about how many sugars they wanted in their tea.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03You think they're having a secret conversation about you. They're not.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06I feel ripped off that we weren't involved in the Welsh language.
0:36:06 > 0:36:11It's an odd thing, isn't it? This is your country and yet you can't understand what they're saying.
0:36:11 > 0:36:17When I was arriving a while back, just coming over the Severn Bridge,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21and we all know that you pay to get in and you don't have to pay to leave.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25And we're coming to the Severn Bridge and I said to my wife
0:36:25 > 0:36:28in all seriousness, "I wonder what that means?"
0:36:28 > 0:36:30She said, "What?" I said, "That bit of Welsh up there.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33"How do you pronounce that? M-A-N-N-E-D...
0:36:33 > 0:36:36"Man-eth, Man-eth."
0:36:36 > 0:36:39- Manned.- Manned.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41It was a manned toll booth.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45But the reason you're like that is because you allowed the English
0:36:45 > 0:36:48to come in and stop you, or stop your ancestors,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51from learning Welsh as a first language.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55And so therefore, English took over and you lost your language.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Exactly. And that's why I'm not as clear-cut as I used to be.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03And now I'm questioning a lot of my beliefs.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07I do like the language, particularly all the little towns or villages
0:37:07 > 0:37:09across Wales, the Welsh place names.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13It's very important, of course, for me to pronounce them correctly
0:37:13 > 0:37:16when I'm doing the weather. Otherwise people complain.
0:37:16 > 0:37:21One of the first things I ever did was present a panel show on BBC Wales.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Welcome to Invasion, another edition
0:37:23 > 0:37:27in which two teams trek through Wales, conquering counties as they go.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30I used to have terrible trouble with all the place names.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37It wasn't part of my upbringing.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41I had to be able to pronounce Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45And there's a floor manager, who I'm sure didn't like me.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50You can see him in these outtakes, he comes up to me, saying, "Rob, it's...
0:37:50 > 0:37:53- Is that how you pronounce it?- Yeah, exactly.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57- I'm going, "OK, tell us... " - I think you're saying it wrong. HE SAYS WELSH NAME
0:37:57 > 0:38:04- How do you pronounce it?- You can do it in two sections.... - HE SAYS WELSH NAME
0:38:04 > 0:38:09So there we are. So I still haven't improved.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14Which famous Welshman was born at Glen-de-vudoy. No. Wrong.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17HE SAYS WELSH NAME
0:38:17 > 0:38:18I think the R is silent.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20HE SAYS WELSH NAME
0:38:20 > 0:38:24- So it's... - I said it wrong on radio once and somebody rang to complain.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- Which famous Welshman was born in...? - MISPRONOUNCES NAME
0:38:28 > 0:38:32The point is, in terms of how you feel about your country,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35at that time I was getting cheesed off with this floor manager.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Which...famous...Welshman...
0:38:39 > 0:38:43- Faster than that? - Yeah. As fast as you can.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46- Which famous Welshman was born in...? - MISPRONOUNCES NAME
0:38:46 > 0:38:49'I thought, why's this such a big deal?'
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I'm trying to do it right. Now, as I get older, I think he was right.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55Of course you should say these things properly.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57FLOOR MANAGER SAYS WELSH NAME
0:38:59 > 0:39:02HE MISPRONOUNCES NAME
0:39:02 > 0:39:07- OK. Right, we're ready now. - OK, once again.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09And you should be able to pronounce them.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13- Which famous Welshman was born in...? - SPEAKS WELSH
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- That's it!- I did it! - CHEERING
0:39:16 > 0:39:22I think that Welsh people are often overly dramatic in their use of language.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27Yeah, but it's a dramatic tone of speaking as well.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29This is what comes, I imagine,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32from having part your own language,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36and then part having to accept its failure to have caught on.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38- Which is the only way... - Failure to have caught on?!
0:39:38 > 0:39:40It's the only way I can describe it.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43The language has failed to catch on.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Hasn't it? Well it has, hasn't it? There's no other way of putting it.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51Where do you want it to go? We don't speak Danish in England, but we don't say...
0:39:51 > 0:39:56Yeah, but you don't go to Denmark and the signs are printed in Danish and English.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01They're not that polite, are they? In this country we go to the trouble of putting them in English as well.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04Are you fluent Welsh?
0:40:04 > 0:40:08- No.- Is Ruth fluent Welsh?- She says no, but I think she's pretty good.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10Well she's not, and she never uses it.
0:40:10 > 0:40:15I've yet to meet a Frenchman who isn't fluent in French, right?
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Just face it, it's a fact.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19The language hasn't caught on.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22My father and mother were both Welsh speaking,
0:40:22 > 0:40:24but my mother wouldn't speak Welsh to me
0:40:24 > 0:40:28because she perceived it to be the language of the poor.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31My mother had to have cardboard round her neck
0:40:31 > 0:40:34when the kids spoke Welsh,
0:40:34 > 0:40:38because the English owned... They were the bosses.
0:40:38 > 0:40:44They had to put a notice up saying, "You will come to work..."
0:40:44 > 0:40:49So they had to have English in order to work with these people.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53But at the same time, I'm not fervent about it.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56I love it deeply. I mean, I could fuck it, it's so beautiful.
0:40:56 > 0:40:58And I applaud it.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00I stroke it, I caress it, I love it.
0:41:00 > 0:41:02But I'm not gonna do this for it.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05The position regarding the Welsh language has come full circle.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07It used to be that Welsh held you back,
0:41:07 > 0:41:09today Welsh opens doors for you.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13It's taught in schools and people are very strongly behind that.
0:41:13 > 0:41:19They feel that speaking Welsh opens doors in the public sector, in the media, in education.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23So it's seen as having some real social status attached to it.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25And people associate it in particular
0:41:25 > 0:41:28with a mobile middle class trying to get their kids to go on.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32Just over a hundred years ago there's an awful lot of evidence, wearing
0:41:32 > 0:41:36- that Welsh knot that the kids had to in school.- I don't know about this.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40It was something called a Welsh knot, which was a lump of wood. OK?
0:41:40 > 0:41:42And, you know...
0:41:42 > 0:41:46if anyone spoke in Welsh, they were given one of these
0:41:46 > 0:41:50and ended up with a Welsh knot. At the end of the day you were punished in some way.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52The Welsh knot is shrouded in myth.
0:41:52 > 0:41:57It's taken on a status where people assume it was responsible for crushing the Welsh language.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01It's far more complicated than that. It was never very widely used.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06It was only based in certain parts of Wales. And Welsh teachers implemented it.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Certainly once education becomes compulsory
0:42:08 > 0:42:12at the end of the 19th century, it was never official policy.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15People think it's one of the reasons why the Welsh language declined.
0:42:15 > 0:42:20But it wasn't the policy of some evil English government trying to stamp out the Welsh language.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22In many schools, if they spoke English
0:42:22 > 0:42:24they got a mark on the board,
0:42:24 > 0:42:29and they get a smiling face if they haven't spoken English all day.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32What? That's true. It's absolutely true.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36- You get a smiling face... - It's like a star when we were in school in our days.
0:42:36 > 0:42:38You'd get a star for doing something good.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43The concept of the school is it's a Welsh-speaking school.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47People say that because of having the road signs in two languages,
0:42:47 > 0:42:50it has helped a resurgence of the language,
0:42:50 > 0:42:55which, you would dare say, has helped to keep the Welsh culture distinct.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Has it helped with traffic accidents?
0:42:57 > 0:43:01You mean people go, "What the hell?! Oh shit, look out!" It's probably happened,
0:43:01 > 0:43:03much to the delight of comedians everywhere.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07But there's no difference between the Welsh and the English.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10And it's by having these road signs, for example...
0:43:10 > 0:43:13I'm sorry, if you've got to go and have a sign painter
0:43:13 > 0:43:19go round the country saying, "This is just to remind you that you're actually Welsh,"
0:43:19 > 0:43:22you've probably already lost the fight.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28I think the struggle to maintain and develop
0:43:28 > 0:43:31the Welsh language and keep that distinctiveness,
0:43:31 > 0:43:33has sometimes made people over protective.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37And I think that sensitivity is something we do have to address.
0:43:37 > 0:43:43At the end of the day, a country that can show it can stand up to any kind of joke, any kind of criticism,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47is a very mature country. And I'm confident Wales can do that.
0:43:47 > 0:43:51The Welsh language, with me, it's almost like a no-go area.
0:43:51 > 0:43:57I'm so passionate about the Welsh language and its existence and its development.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01- So any laughter about it is just not on?- Any laughter is not on.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Not that far, but I mean, I don't enjoy it.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10But you are saying that. It is that far for you, isn't it?
0:44:10 > 0:44:12Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14So don't do it again.
0:44:14 > 0:44:21See, I didn't grow up immersed in Welsh culture, Welsh language culture. It was always there.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25But I...I never really looked at it.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30It's like being reminded of something that's in your peripheral vision
0:44:30 > 0:44:32that you never really looked at.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37Now I'm wishing I had.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Do you know when I started this?
0:44:55 > 0:45:01Well, both of us, our take was that we are this dramatic, sort of gloomy nation. Do you go with that?
0:45:01 > 0:45:03Yeah, I think so, yeah, yeah.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Well, 9 out of 10 of the interviews I've been doing, nobody agrees.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13And I have been made to look like a gloom-monger.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Seriously, I speak to loads of people and they go,
0:45:15 > 0:45:20"I know, I don't recognise it, I think we're very self deprecating.
0:45:20 > 0:45:22"We look on the positive side of things.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24- "We're passionate."- Really?- Yeah.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26All right, Rob?
0:45:26 > 0:45:28Good man.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36I've not found what I thought I was going to find on this.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40- No! Has that ruined the programme? - No, hopefully, it's made it more interesting.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44But it's been strange for me. I've also found myself
0:45:44 > 0:45:48becoming far more patriotic... I've spent much more time in Wales.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52I've been going to different parts of Wales, playing different crowds
0:45:52 > 0:45:56and I'm actually feeling quite, you know...
0:45:56 > 0:45:58- A Cymro.- Yeah, I am, yeah.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08It might surprise you, but I love Wales as well.
0:46:08 > 0:46:13And I'm very proud of being Welsh, but just in a different way to you.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15I believe you.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Thousands wouldn't.
0:46:17 > 0:46:19I'm looking forward to it, yeah.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Yeah, it's always that feeling...
0:46:21 > 0:46:26Don't you get it before you go on, where you think, is this going to be the disastrous one?
0:46:26 > 0:46:28Yeah, of course. Yeah.
0:46:29 > 0:46:32It sounds like this has been life changing for you.
0:46:32 > 0:46:37It's been... It's been much bigger than I thought it would be, yeah.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39It's put me back in touch.
0:46:39 > 0:46:43- It's made me feel much more Welsh and proud of being Welsh.- Has it?
0:46:43 > 0:46:48- Yes.- So it's really made you look at your identity then?
0:46:48 > 0:46:52Yeah. It makes you examine what you take for granted.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:47:03 > 0:47:07What a lovely welcome. Thank you so much. Thank you.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09And it is, if I may say,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12a beautiful audience.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16It is a very aesthetically pleasing audience for me.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21I get to look and see some real, real stunners.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27Well, I suppose shocking more than stunning.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32All right, upsetting.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37We're making a documentary and it's all about being Welsh.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39< COUGHING
0:47:39 > 0:47:41LAUGHTER
0:47:41 > 0:47:44We're not a healthy nation, are we?
0:47:46 > 0:47:49"It's all across my shoulders.
0:47:49 > 0:47:50"It's down my arm.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53"My left hand is a permanent claw.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57"Oh, this damp, you see. It's very damp.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00"I shouldn't have come out tonight really."
0:48:00 > 0:48:02COUGHS
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Thank you for that. Just on cue.
0:48:10 > 0:48:16So I'm making this documentary called Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis.
0:48:16 > 0:48:21All about Wales and Welshness and what it is to be Welsh.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23- It's not easy, is it?- No!
0:48:23 > 0:48:26No! Thank you.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29Think of tonight as a sort of pantomime for grown ups.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33I think we have it very hard.
0:48:33 > 0:48:36We're not... How can I put it?
0:48:36 > 0:48:40We're not as suave as the English.
0:48:41 > 0:48:43< Oh, yes we are!
0:48:43 > 0:48:46LAUGHTER
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Oh no, you're not! >
0:49:02 > 0:49:06When I said, "Think of it as a pantomime..."
0:49:08 > 0:49:15No, I would say generally we're not as suave as the English.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Think of the way the English say hello to each other. It's very posh.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22"Hello." "Oh, I say, hello."
0:49:22 > 0:49:25We don't say hello like that, do we?
0:49:25 > 0:49:27We say hello like this.
0:49:30 > 0:49:31"All right?"
0:49:33 > 0:49:36Generally we're not as suave as the English.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40And we're not as fierce as the Scots. Very fierce people.
0:49:40 > 0:49:44"You can take our land but you'll never take our freedom."
0:49:48 > 0:49:50We're not like that!
0:49:50 > 0:49:53"You can take our land!"
0:49:53 > 0:49:55LAUGHTER
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Don't forget our freedom now before you go!
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Thanks for coming!
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Oh, they were a lovely invading country, weren't they?
0:50:16 > 0:50:24There's a side of us, of being Welsh, that is relaxed, it's chilled out.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27We don't get too worked up about things, do we?
0:50:27 > 0:50:32You know, look at Jonathan Davies, the great Jonathan Davies, the great rugby player.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36I love it when you see him giving the half-time analysis.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Now, say England-Wales are playing, it's at Twickenham.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43We go for the analysis at half-time.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47We'll start off with some English player, probably called Rory something.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Rory Undergraduate, something like that.
0:50:51 > 0:50:57So, Rory, it's been quite a good first half for England there.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01They've got a 300-point lead, um... how do you think they're playing?
0:51:01 > 0:51:04"Yes, our chaps have been playing rather well, a lot of good play,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06"forwards gathering the ball..."
0:51:06 > 0:51:10- SNORTS - "..giving a lot of support to the backs.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14"I think if we keep this up... I played with a lot of them at university,
0:51:14 > 0:51:16"some of those buggers are bloody great fun.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19"I think we're on course for victory."
0:51:19 > 0:51:21Right, Jonathan Davies, what do you think?
0:51:27 > 0:51:29"Oh!
0:51:29 > 0:51:31"We're just happy to be here, really!"
0:51:38 > 0:51:43It's the way we are, we look for the best in everything.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47I don't speak Welsh, I wish I could. Who can speak Welsh here?
0:51:47 > 0:51:48HANDFUL OF CHEERS
0:51:48 > 0:51:50Just going, "Wahey", is not Welsh.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55I would love to speak it, because I'd love to be one of those men
0:51:55 > 0:52:01who says something in English and then says it again in Welsh.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
0:52:04 > 0:52:08and welcome to the Coliseum at Aberdare for an evening of comedy.
0:52:08 > 0:52:13- SPEAKS WELSH - Coliseum... evening of laughter.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17- APPLAUSE - Thank you, thank you.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22You know, as I came here this evening, a thought occurred to me.
0:52:22 > 0:52:28HE PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:52:28 > 0:52:32Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in the world could live as one?
0:52:32 > 0:52:37PARODIES WELSH, AUDIENCE LAUGHS
0:52:39 > 0:52:40..happy.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43But then I thought to myself, no...
0:52:43 > 0:52:46PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:52:46 > 0:52:50- It could never be. - PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:52:55 > 0:53:01If I could speak Welsh, I'd use my powers for bad things.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05I'd go to nightclubs, I'd find non-Welsh speaking girls and chat them up in Welsh.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:53:12 > 0:53:16Shaggy-ire incessant.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Ho-ho-ho-ho!
0:53:19 > 0:53:22- PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE - ..precautions dim!
0:53:25 > 0:53:27PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Do any of you...? A lot of people do now, they don't speak Welsh,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36but their kids are learning it in school.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40Any of you send your kids to Welsh-language schools? One.
0:53:40 > 0:53:45And her husband then put his hand up in support at the last minute.
0:53:46 > 0:53:47Don't hit her about it.
0:53:47 > 0:53:53"You bloody fool, why have you drawn attention to us?!
0:53:53 > 0:53:59"I told you about this at home, I've hit you many times about it! Don't make me slap you again!"
0:53:59 > 0:54:02Domestic abuse is a terrible thing, ladies and gentlemen,
0:54:02 > 0:54:07and we've stumbled upon it here in Aberdare tonight.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10A man wearing a Billabong sweatshirt...
0:54:10 > 0:54:12You're too old for it!
0:54:12 > 0:54:15- How old are you?- I'm 38.- 38?!
0:54:15 > 0:54:19You can't wear surfing sweatshirts, you idiot! Those days are gone!
0:54:22 > 0:54:25- Are you a surfer?- No. - Then you shouldn't be wearing it!
0:54:27 > 0:54:32So your kids are going to Welsh-language schools, but you don't speak Welsh.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Oh, wow! Are they fluent now?
0:54:35 > 0:54:39Brilliant, fantastic. Cos it means that you're more able
0:54:39 > 0:54:43to learn other languages as well, cos it gets that part of the brain going.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47They're probably at home now on Welsh chat lines.
0:54:47 > 0:54:48PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:54:48 > 0:54:50LAUGHTER
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Sexy... Whoar!
0:54:55 > 0:54:57APPLAUSE
0:54:57 > 0:55:02But how do you know... what they're saying to you?
0:55:02 > 0:55:07You can say, "Go to your room cos I'm about to hit your mother!
0:55:07 > 0:55:10- "So go to your room..." - LAUGHTER
0:55:10 > 0:55:14"I'm going to give her a right bloody belting,
0:55:14 > 0:55:16"go to your room!" And they can go off going,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19PARODIES WELSH LANGUAGE
0:55:19 > 0:55:22And you've no idea whether they're saying,
0:55:22 > 0:55:27"Fair enough, Dad, you're a figure of authority that we respect," or...
0:55:27 > 0:55:30"Bugger off, you're too old to be a surfer, you look an idiot!"
0:55:32 > 0:55:34There's no way of knowing, is there?
0:55:36 > 0:55:37Thank you, good night!
0:55:37 > 0:55:40CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:01 > 0:56:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- Nice to see you. - Here he is, Mr Williams...
0:56:13 > 0:56:17Yes, I know, I know. Well, I've never done so much Welsh language.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21- It was just for me, I think. - Yeah, it was.- I thought so.
0:56:21 > 0:56:26I was doing them with more of a warmth, I felt, than usual. Did you think that?
0:56:26 > 0:56:29- No, not really.- Did you really not? You still find that...?
0:56:29 > 0:56:32It was excellent, did laugh, did smile,
0:56:32 > 0:56:35but I can't say I was rolling with laughter.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38The rest of it, fantastic, but not that bit.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41- Still sensitive about that? - Still found it difficult to smile.
0:56:41 > 0:56:46But on the whole, though, given that you didn't have to pay for your ticket...
0:56:46 > 0:56:48What more can I say? Fantastic.
0:56:51 > 0:56:55- Well done.- Thank you.- It went very well.- It was fantastic, brilliant,
0:56:55 > 0:56:58And doing new stuff, like all the Welsh language stuff...
0:56:58 > 0:57:04I'd had a little notion that it would be quite funny to do stuff about being able to speak Welsh.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08This whole thing of putting a positive slant on stuff, so I came up with the idea of saying...
0:57:08 > 0:57:11cos I would, I'd love to be able to speak Welsh. I genuinely would.
0:57:11 > 0:57:17So saying that gives me the opportunity to do the Welsh-language stuff, which went down a storm.
0:57:17 > 0:57:22Whether you support it or don't, or take issue with it, like David, with the Welsh-language thing.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26You'll never please everybody, but I looked out there and saw great laughs.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30So the show's called Rob Brydon's Identity Crisis.
0:57:30 > 0:57:31Have you still got one?
0:57:31 > 0:57:34No, I don't think I have, really, um...
0:57:35 > 0:57:42I was saying onstage to the audience that I am undoubtedly feeling much more Welsh, much more proud of it
0:57:42 > 0:57:46and feeling, "Yeah, that's my identity, that's kind of
0:57:46 > 0:57:50who I am," and I think, moving, I'm getting...
0:57:50 > 0:57:54But moving away for so long, you lose sight of it, you don't realise,
0:57:54 > 0:58:00and I'd sort of forgotten that was in me, you know, it's reminded me that's me, it's been...
0:58:00 > 0:58:06It really has been...surprisingly revelatory for me, it really has.
0:58:06 > 0:58:11It's brought a smile to your face, hasn't it? It's brought you a smile from your soul.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15It's who I am, this is my country, so it's been...
0:58:15 > 0:58:20I didn't expect that, I really didn't expect that at all, and that's been lovely.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23On behalf of the Welsh nation, welcome home.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25Thank you very much.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28- Do I still have to pay at the bridge?- Yeah.
0:58:40 > 0:58:43Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:43 > 0:58:46E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk