I would like to retire... but the world keeps getting worse

Comedy great is set to go back on stage

- BY SIOBHAN MCNALLY

GODFATHER of alternative comedy Alexei Sayle has lost none of his Marxist zeal or rage against the establishment - and says his firebrand act is needed more than ever to resist an “assault on comedy”.

After more than 30 years of rants at the state of the nation, the 72-year-old veteran of The Comic Strip and The Young Ones is increasingly troubled about the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor.

Still on his soapbox, he says: “I would like to retire - but the world keeps getting worse.

“So what am I supposed to do?”

Comedy, he says, is one of the first casualties of an authoritarian society.

“They don't like a laugh,” says Alexei. “Healthy ones encourage criticism.