Article: Barber inspires Rod's success with the fringe; Comic's chance to 'expose myself in a light-hearted way'.(Features)

Byline: Philip Key

ADOPTING a new identity has become de rigueur in the comedy business.

Where once we laughed at the clumsiness of Charlie Chaplin, we now regard Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G to be a cult character.

So, it's thanks to an animated Italian called Mario De Niro, that Welsh comedian Rod Woodward has finally broken into the stand-up circuit of the annual Perrier Awards in Edinburgh.

While the decision to perform in front of a demanding and often drunken audience has been a difficult one for the 25-year-old former public speaker, he acknowledges that it is a springboard to turn hopeful comedians into television stars - ...

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