Do not just adjust your lenses: Everything will become clear in Rob Auton’s The Eyes Open And Shut Show at The Crescent, York
ROB Auton, York comedian, author, podcaster, actor, poet, graphic designer and illustrator, returns north from London on March 5 to present his 11th themed solo at The Crescent, York.
After exploring the colour yellow, the sky, faces, water, sleep, hair, talking, time, crowds and Rob Auton himself, he turns his surrealist focus on to his eyes in the Eyes Open And Shut Show, on tour from January 27 to May 4.
“This is a show about eyes when they are open and eyes when they are shut,” says Barmby Moor-born Rob. “With this show I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut. After writing ten shows on specific themes, I wanted to think about what makes me open my eyes and what makes me shut them.”
Here, Rob only has eyes for Charles Hutchinson’s questions.
What colour are your eyes?
“Brown.”
What colour might you have liked your eyes to be?
“Owl eye orange.”
How good is your eyesight at the age of 42?
“7/10. Good enough for me to not wear glasses but bad enough for me to have gone for an eye test and got some glasses that I never wear.”
What makes you open your eyes widest?
“Putting my hand to my coat pocket and my phone not being in that specific pocket. Where is it? Ah, it’s in my trouser pocket. Return eyes to normal wideness.”
What makes you shut your eyes tightest?
“Chocolate bars getting smaller.”
How lightly do you sleep (when eyes are shut)?
“Very lightly, unfortunately.”
If ‘the eyes have it’, what do they have?
“Whiteness?”
What is your favourite saying about eyes?
“Imagine if you could have trainers that were as comfortable for your feet as your eye sockets are for your eyes.” Rob Auton.
To get an eyeful of Rob Auton, head to The Crescent, York, on Wednesday
Who do you see eye to eye with?
“Myself.”
Who don’t you see eye to eye with?
“Politicians who think it’s acceptable to kill innocent people.”
If you could have eyes in the back of your head, what would you want to see?
“A more peaceful world.”
Do you believe in the third eye?
“I think I do actually. Well, I’m not sure what it is but, if I’m guessing, it’s feeling certain energies? Getting a sense of something without seeing it or hearing it. I definitely believe in that.”
As you said in the show blurb, “I wanted to explore what I could do to myself and others with language when eyes are open and shut”. What have those explorations revealed?
“They’ve revealed that getting people to shut their eyes in shows and getting them into a meditative state, then speaking to them straight after they’ve opened them, can result in an audience member saying, “sorry I completely zoned out there, what did you ask me?”.
How has the show changed since last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe trial run?
“It’s actually changed a fair bit to be honest. Last year was a particularly chaotic year for me as we had quite a big house move. We were staying in a fair few different people’s houses, which I’m very grateful for, but it was an unsettled year.
“Edinburgh came around really quickly and I felt like I just about got away with it. From September until the tour starting I was working on the show pretty much every day. The main thing that has changed is I’ve now put my notebook down and am performing the show more. It was a leap I needed to make and am pleased I made the leap.”
Do you remember your dreams (eyes shut) and do you ever write material prompted by dreams (eyes open)?
“I remember my dreams for about ten seconds, then they are gone. Bye bye. I’d like to keep a dream diary but never got around to it. I had a dream that I got a birthday present from Father Christmas once. It was mad, just a random person who I didn’t know giving me a birthday present.
“I haven’t really written any dream-based material. I’ve had some good ideas in my dreams though, I think. I once had a dream that you could get photographs taken in your dreams and print them off when you wake up. Hmm, maybe I need to flesh that out a bit.”
Have you seen Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, his last film, released in 1999 with married couple Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman leading the cast? If so, did it make your eyes open wider or shut?
“I saw it a long time ago, I remember it being a very well-lit film. It makes a difference, doesn’t it? A film being well lit. The most eye-based film I’ve seen recently was Blink Twice [Zoë Kravitz’s 2024 directorial debut]. That made me open my eyes wide and also shut my eyes.”
Last June, French company Iris Galerie opened its first Yorkshire location at Low Petergate, York, that will turn your eyes into photographic pieces of wall art. Would you want that on your wall?
“Ah wow, yeah, I think I would. Maybe I’ll go and check it art! I’d like to have a massive picture of my eye on the wall.”
If you were to lose a sense, in what order would you put them in terms of importance to keep: sight; hearing; smell; taste; touch?
“I think I agree with the order you’ve put them in there.”
Burning Duck Comedy Club presents Rob Auton: The Eyes Open And Shut Show at The Crescent, York, on March 5, 7.30pm. Box office: thecrescentyork.com. Also playing Leeds City Varieties Music Hall on May 3, 7.30pm; 0113 243 0808 or leedsheritagetheatres.com.