Rob Barratt
Rob Barratt - Comic poet and singer
Photo by Cosmic Xposure Penzance
ABOUT
ABOUT ME
I am a Dudley-born comic poet and singer from North Cornwall. I write all my own material.
“This is not only clever but I think it’s very funny” (Mike Harding)
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“‘Comic Poet’ it says on the card. That’s not the half of it. The man is a velvet tongued assassin, using charm and humour as a subtle lever to highlight life’s absurdities. It’s all very light and sing-along jocular – but this man is dangerously subversive and his show should be witnessed at all costs at your earliest opportunity. Bloody Funny." (Barrie Dimond of Festivals for All at Beardy Folk Festival, Shropshire, June 2022)
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“His head is well and truly located in ‘Planet Barratt,’ clearly a place of wonderfully bizarre inspiration. “ (Coventry Telegraph)
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“Absolutely outstanding" (Bewdley Book Week)
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“Rob revels in wily wordplay and rogue rhyming but his conceits & surrealist forays into the imagination take the ruddy biscuit. Hilarious!” Adrian Mealing (UK Touring and Spooky Men’s Chorale)
WHAT I'VE DONE
In recent years I have appeared at folk, literature and arts festivals all over the British Isles and in Australia. I have never won any prizes for anything because I don't enter competitions. But I did win an Airfix kit for winning the 50 yard dash at Netherton Gala, Dudley, in 1962 when I was eight. But I never liked Airfix. Oh yes, and I won £25 on the Premium Bonds last year.
The only collection I have is when the bin men come on a Tuesday morning but I have published three books of my performance material called Men From Mars In Bumping Cars (2010), Distressed (2015) and Earwhacks (2019). I have also written two children's books - The Shoebox Under The Bed (2022), which is made up of seven quite ridiculous short stories and The Animal Alphabet (2024) with Heather Finney who also illustrated the latter three books described here. Each of my books is £7 including postage.
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“What a fantastic night with Rob Barratt yesterday evening, truly an undiscovered star who had us laughing from his first piece through to his much-deserved encore.” (Exton Village Hall, Rutland)
WHAT I DO
My act combines clever word-play with satire, verse, song and audience participation. I deal with such important topics as second homes, squid, distressed furniture, data-driven education, Neanderthal politics and my relationship with potatoes but beneath the humour serious issues lurk. Recommended 16+. I am also an improv comedy actor and I can give a workshop in improv comedy for beginners.
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I am a retired school teacher, mostly in special needs education. I am also a member of Bodmin Folk Club.
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“A cracking evening with a talented wordsmith who made audience participation voluntarily enjoyable.” (Liz Williams, Butterleigh Village Hall, Devon, 2024)
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​“What a night we had on Friday with the amazing wordsmith Rob Barratt. Funny, witty, poignant, thought-provoking poems and songs, we were laughing until our ribs hurt one moment and then thinking about the curved balls that life often throws at us the next. A great performer, Rob immediately engages with his audience and takes them on the journey into his world and it is a wonderful experience” (Watford Folk Club, June 2024)
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Biography
Welcome to my website. I've been performing in some way on and off all my life but it's only since around 2010 that I've been writing and performing my own material. I've appeared at folk clubs, folk festivals, cabaret settings, theatres, arts festivals and literary festivals all over the British Isles and Australia. I love being on stage and have loads of energy. I am a member of Bodmin Folk Club where I got the chance to try out my material and develop my act, so my thanks to them. I used to teach at a special school in Plymouth but I retired from teaching in July 2011, after 34 years full-time, to concentrate on my new career as a writer and performer, which I'm really enjoying.