A harrowing tale of confinement rests at the heart of Josh Pugh’s latest show. What’s On finds out more from the award-winning Warwickshire comedian…

Josh Pugh was just 10 years old when he experienced the traumatic incident that lies at the heart of his latest stand-up show, The Changing Man.

"I got stuck in a puffer jacket," he confesses, "for 48 hours!"

Hailing from Atherstone, Warwickshire, Josh made his stand-up debut in the spring of 2014. Within 18 months, he'd won the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award, and in 2016 he picked up the English Comedian of the Year title - the prize for which included a string of Australian gigs.

"The weirdest thing was the ex-pats who came to the show because I was billed as English Comedian of the Year. I’d have people coming up to me saying, ‘I used to live in Coventry’, or ‘I’ve been to The Roadhouse’ (a now-closed venue in Birmingham). I found that dead odd - being so far away, on the other side of the world, and having people coming up to me who knew where I lived!"

It seems that bumping into local folk in far-flung places is more common than you might think.

"I did a gig in Switzerland, which is this real melting pot of a place, and there was one guy there from Worcester!"

The Changing Man is Josh’s second one-hour Edinburgh Fringe show.

"The Changing Man was my nickname. That’s what my dad used to call me because I was always into different fads and different stuff every time I went round to see him. So it’s a bit more personal this year. Last year's show, A Boy Named Pugh, was just jokes and me being daft - which this is as well - but there’s also a story this time. I’ve enjoyed doing a story, actually; when people are quiet, they’re listening, but if you’re doing jokes and they’re quiet, they’re not enjoying themselves."

At the centre of the story is that agonising puffer jacket incident.

"I went to my dad’s one weekend and he was just angry all the time. The next weekend he bought me this puffer jacket I wanted, as a present, and I zipped it up and realised the zip was stuck, and I was too scared to tell him. I was worried that he’d shout at me, so I kept it on for the whole weekend.”

As those two horrendous days progressed, the young Josh's stress levels sky-rocketed. Would his father be furious that he'd just ruined his expensive new present? Would someone have to tear him out of the snug jacket? Or would he be forced to live in it for the rest of his life?

"Then something happens where I realise I don’t have to be scared of my dad, so the show is about how you think people are one way, but they can be another way.”

The show is one of two he’ll be bringing to the Birmingham Comedy Festival next month. The second is the live premiere of his podcast, Josh And Phil's Knowledge Club, with fellow West Midlands comedian Phil Pagett.

"The premise of Knowledge Club is that we’re working for a fictional university and we’re pitching the university to potential students. I’m a freelance lecturer who hasn’t really got a clue and Phil’s the straight man. We’re still working it out, but it’ll be good live. Phil’s got a good ear and eye for stuff like that."

The first series of podcasts saw the duo explore subjects including money, crime, dating and technology.

"Doing different subjects is a good way to generate stuff; it’s a good exercise. I’ve enjoyed doing it." 

Although the podcast’s University of East Coventry setting is entirely fictional, it's certainly plausible.

"You can see these universities online, and they’re so embarrassing. You see these students wandering around campus saying, ‘Wow! There are so many shops and facilities here! I can really see myself getting a great education here!’ So it started off as a parody of that.”

With the first six episodes available online for free, listeners will be pleased to know that there are more shows on the way.

"We’ve started working on another series now. People who’ve listened to it have enjoyed it, and we’ve enjoyed doing it - it’s nice to do something other than stand-up. You have all these ideas sometimes that don’t work as stand-up, so it’s nice to have a different vehicle for it. If you listen to a lot of podcasts, they’re often just two people chatting, but we wanted to produce it more like a radio show. It’s scripted a bit more and edited a bit more - there aren’t that many podcasts like it. I don’t think anyone else is doing anything like it. We might do it at the Fringe next year if it goes down well in Birmingham."

Josh Pugh performs The Changing Man at 1000 Trades in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter on Saturday 13 October. 

Josh And Phil’s Knowledge Club is at The Victoria, Birmingham, on Sunday 14 October, as part of the second Free Half-Dayer.

For more information about Birmingham Comedy Festival (5 - 14 October), visit bhamcomfest.co.uk