Berry's Treasure

Over the past few years, Matt Berry has quietly built up one of the most impressive CVs in British comedy. First coming to prominence as tyrannical zoo owner Dixon Bainbridge in Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding’s superb The Mighty Boosh, he has since featured in such top-notch series as ’80s horror spoof Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, Steve Coogan’s Saxondale, Graham Linehan’s The IT Crowd and The Peter Serafinowicz Show.

In addition to his prowess as a comic actor, Berry is also a fine musician, and at his show in Dublin later this month will be performing songs he wrote for the aforementioned shows, in addition to material from the sketch series Snuffbox,/i>, the musical AD/BC (a rock opera based on the nativity) and his solo album Opium.
Was Matt planning on a career as a musician before he got into comedy?
“Comedy was never the plan, to be honest,” he admits. “I did some stand-up to try and be a better actor, and I haven’t stopped doing comedy since. What happened was that myself, Richard Ayoade, Matt Holness and the Boosh fellas were doing these gigs above a pub called The Hen And Chicken, back in ’98 or ’99. Not many people came to those, but we all enjoyed doing the same sort of thing. I just really got on with Richard, and then we did Darkplace with Matt.
“I also performed with the Boosh at those early gigs. Their show was a kind of work-in-progress at the time, so they’d do something, then I’d maybe come on and do some material, then they’d finish it. We’d all collaborate with each other and be in one another’s things.”
Berry recently starred in the second series of The IT Crowd as Douglas Reynholm, who took control of Reynholm Industries after his father, Denholm (played by Chris Morris), committed suicide over a scandal involving the company’s pension accounts. Although initially tentative about replacing Morris (“he can do little wrong in most people’s eyes”), Matt says that the show ultimately proved to be one of his most satisfying ever working experiences.
“It was one of the best jobs I’ve ever done, it was great fun. I love Graham, he’d actually been in both AD/BC and Darkplace. In fact, he was a big supporter right from the start. After Darkplace originally went out on TV, and about four people watched it, he got in touch with myself and Richard and said that he liked it. And subsequently, very, very kindly told everyone about it.”
Although Darkplace may not have been a big hit upon its initial broadcast, the series deservedly found its audience on DVD.
“That’s right,” says Matt, “and now everyone sort of says they liked it right from the beginning, but we know the truth!”
There have been rumours about a possible Darkplace movie, but Matt says it’s unlikely to happen in the immediate future.
“If everyone can spare the time, that would be great, but we’re all kind of busy doing different things. So it’s a bit difficult at the moment.”
Matt also recently composed the music for the second series of Steve Coogan’s sitcom Saxondale, which revolves around the trials and tribulations of the superbly realised titular character, an irascible ex-roadie who now runs a pest control business. Coogan is another figure whom Berry credits with being an important champion of his work.
“His company, Baby Cow, also made AD/BC, and he really liked that, so he asked me to write some music for Saxondale. And I’m in the second series a little bit; I think I’m the only person who’s argued with him in it. I was in a couple of the anger management scenes at the beginning. But Steve’s been great, he’s just written to the American embassy on my behalf.
“It’s very difficult to go over there and work at the moment. You need help with names, so Steve wrote to them on my behalf, which was pretty cool. I’m doing The Sarah Silverman Show next year, and I’m doing a thing about an English war correspondent for Adult Swim in December. It’s quite a big deal in the US, Adult Swim, which I wasn’t aware of until fairly recently.
“So I’ve got jobs lined up out there, it’s just a matter of negotiating the hassle of getting over. People in American TV are very receptive to this whole new wave of British comedy, they’re watching it very closely. I think Sarah Silverman was a big fan of Darkplace, and they’re very good at that kind of thing, in terms of keeping the finger on the pulse.”
In addition to launching his assault on US TV, Matt is also planning to record another album. Notably, the record is set to feature a collaboration with Motown legend Geno Washington, about whom Dexy's Midnight Runners wrote their 1980 No.1 hit ‘Geno’.
“It’s called Witch Hazel,” says Matt. “It’s about the horrors of the countryside, whereas Opium was about the horrors of the city. The frightening aspects of rural life are things in the dark, and the fact that there’s no sound and natural light. I’m hoping Geno Washington will sing on it. I don’t know what track he’ll perform yet, but I’m going to try and get him to do something. He can’t stand still for very long, so it’s really difficult.
“He’s actually recorded a version of the Snuffbox theme for his own album, which is a huge honour for me. He performs it live now as well, which is also great.”
This month also sees the long-awaited DVD release of AD/BC, the rock opera Matt wrote in collaboration with Richard Ayoade. The one-off musical boasts a hugely impressive cast, including The Mighty Boosh, Julia Davis from Nighty Night and Little Britain’s Matt Lucas. Most of the big names in contemporary British comedy, it seems, are genuinely enthusiastic about each other’s work.
“Only for that certain stuff,” contends Matt. “There’s a handful of us, I guess. All with very low viewing figures. Unless you’re in The IT Crowd – then you get massive viewing figures!”

Matt Berry plays Crawdaddy, Dublin on November 22