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Times Interview
The Times Interview - Dai Henwood, Explain Yourself to PJ Taylor
Monday, 13 November 2006
FASTER than speeding boy racers, refreshing as chilled ale on a summer’s day, the characters have been left to one side, as his natural funny side emerges week by week on the small screen. It’s an honest, straight-up approach that’s working for him, as C4’s own Insert Video grows in popularity. He’s happy to report it’s starting to rate, as more viewers tune in on Wednesday. As someone who comes into contact with the youth on a regular basis, we speak with Dai Henwood about parliament’s vote to keep the minimum drinking age at 18. It’s also only hours after Donald Rumsfeld resigns as US Defence Secretary.
How did
Insert Video
come about?
I was MC at a gig at the Classic Comedy Club, which was very last minute, Monday rookie night. I’ve been working as a fulltime comic for six years and doing it for 10. I was very hung-over and got the call someone had pulled out, and to come down. There happened to be the C4 programmer in the audience, because Joel, another presenter, was trying comedy for the first time. Afterwards, they came up and said we’ve got a show for you. I was filming a week later. There are just two of us, me and Mikey Carpenter who directs edits and shoots it and we became best mates in three days. On a tight unit like that, you’ve got to get along. We’re surprised because we’ve not had any actual publicity – no billboards, ads – yet we’ve just started to rate. We’ve got a nice cult following and the amount of emails I’m getting every week is amazing. It’s shown like when I went down to a Hamilton gig, usually there’s a 100 people. Now there are 400 fans, who have brought all sorts of things to sign. I enjoy it, because unlike other performers, I still perform live and get to see what works. It comes down to current events and that can even apply to what new fad the kids are into. Not to exploit it, but to at least take the piss out of it.
As a social observer and commentator, what are your thoughts on the drinking age debate?
I’ve always been intrigued by the drinking age, coming from a good publican family – all born in Wales, all born in pubs. And I started out managing a bar part-time when doing comedy. It’s something we should leave at 18. I don’t think the age is causing the problems. It’s society around it. Look at Italy, France, their drinking age is something like 14. A law’s a law. You can’t go 18 and three years later go 20, then put it back to 18. Even if you put the age at 20, it’s not going to stop 17 year-olds drinking.
In many ways, we as a nature need to grow up and mature. We do have problems with alcohol and binge drinking is inter-generational.
It’s engrained. I noticed especially when I was travelling, the difference between Kiwis and people. A Kiwi will never leave a beer. People will be saying, ‘right we’ve got to go’, and a Kiwi will be sculling three-quarters of a pint. Anyone else would leave a third or a half, but the Kiwi will be walking to the door sculling. ‘I bought that beer and it’s going south’.
Your father Ray is a well-known actor.
He started out as a scientist. Originally came over [from Wales] and introduced the breathalyser of all things to New Zealand. He’s been a full-time professional actor for longer than my whole life. He was in New Zealand’s first and maybe only successful sitcom
Gliding On
. Just about everyone I know who was alive and can remember watched that show. He then moved into live theatre. I grew up very firmly in the theatre, so I was always around people in the arts — I saw it as a job. I’ve seen things happen to people that should go right and have gone horribly wrong, and vice versa. You never know, it’s such a fickle industry. And unlike a lot of jobs, you can literally be there one week, out the next.
Was it good fortune to grow up in Wellington, at a time when Auckland’s live theatre and comedy scene had virtually disappeared?
As Auckland died, Wellington seemed to rise. I think that was down to a lot of structures being put in place - Wellington has always embraced the arts. But there’s never been a big comedy scene in Wellington. That’s why I moved and Auckland had the only full-time comedy club in the Classic, which is now nine years-old.
Do you wear your Welshness on your sleeve?
I’ve always had a lot of Welsh influence and Dafydd Morgan Henwood is quite a Welsh name. I guess it’s the same as being half Maori, half European, you still identify with both. When I was young, I loved rugby. I played from five and after secondary school, I realised how much getting hit by six and a half foot Samoan guys hurts. My great grandfather played for Wales in the 1905 game, the one with the [famous] disputed [Bob Deans, the ‘Originals’ All Blacks] try. His name was Dick ‘Bampy’ Jones. He was first-five and his inside half was Dick something else, cause they were called the Dancing Dicks. He claimed to have invented the dummy pass, but then again a lot of Welsh people tell you a lot of things. I enjoyed talking about their rugby history. It comes from the time when you played purely for the honour. You were actually poor if you represented Wales, cause you had no job. He was lucky enough because he ran a pub, so when he was away, his wife could run it.
There’s been a lot of talk about disorderly youth and anti-social behaviour this year, trouble on the streets. You’re coming into contact with plenty of young ones. Are the kids all right?
There are two angles. Due to the rise of the internet, a lot of these events happen but it’s only now people can actually put them on. Kids have been biffing skyrockets at each other since skyrockets have been on sale. Now it’s more visible. Plus it’s also because the media has chosen to really focus on aggressive youth. I do notice kids are a lot more angry than they used to be. I’m not sure what it comes down to. It’s quite scary when we go out sometimes to south Auckland at night. I spend a lot of time out in west Auckland – people say whether it’s the P or other drugs, I think that’s definitely impacted violent crime. It flips me out how many stabbings there are these days. It’s something we’ve got to change, but unfortunately a lot of it comes from broken families. If kids aren’t given help, love and support, then it’s pretty hard to reverse it when you’re 20.
Is the younger generation influenced by the uncertainty of older ones?
I agree, because we don’t quite know what we do. We’re not a farming country anymore. We’re not a full IT country. We have very little natural resources in terms of wealth. The idea now that my parents went to university, it was free, jobs were not an issue, you’re in that for 40 years, has gone. I’ve got mates now who’ve got amazing degrees and can’t even earn more than $25,000 a year. There’s no certainty.
But the answers aren’t necessarily anywhere else or overseas.
We were saying it’s angry over here, but I spent two months staying in south London last year and that’s a whole different level of anger. It’s not just anger it’s hatred between groups and gangs. We’re lucky we don’t have the gun phenomenon. But it still scares me when I read the cops are breaking up 20 people fighting with machetes. That’s so intense, but there’s no immediate answer. Most kids in south Auckland still haven’t been to the beach. What does it matter that we’ve got a beautiful country, if they’re on the same cul-de-sac witnessing the same stuff? You’re not taking them out and showing them there’s a whole different place.
Donald Rumsfeld has stood down. Is that a good or bad thing?
It’s a good thing. I’m not fully versed on the depths of American politics. You’ve got your right wing, but then you’ve got your Michael Moore, whose just as much propaganda as George W Bush. To sell an idea to the American public, you’ve to be alarmist. You’ve got to freak them. But now that he’s gone, it shows they’ve gone too far down that road and must tidy it up.
Dai Henwood fact file:
Born:
Wellington
Lives:
Auckland
Two mates:
Black Seeds singer Barnaby Weir, All Blacks centre Conrad Smith
Favourite place in NZ:
Piha
Plays:
Piano
Family descends from:
Swansea
A ripper roast:
Lamb with all the trimmings
Favourite rugby players:
Jerry Collins, Conrad Smith, Steve McDowell, John Gallagher, Chris Laidlaw
Played for:
Wellington College, Wellington reps
Fab footie grounds:
Athletic Park, Cardiff Arms Park
Favourite (all-time) bands:
AC/DC, Motley Crue
Handy on guitar:
Mark Knopfler
