Robert Webb talks ahead his night at the Birmingham Glee Club

The comedian, actor and writer, best known for Mitchell & Webb and Peep Show, will discuss his new book, How Not To Be A Boy.

Following nine series of Peep Show, and alongside Back, the new Mitchell and Webb sitcom, Robert has published a part-memoir, part call-to-arms.

Looking back over his life, from schoolboy crushes (on girls and boys) to discovering the power of making people laugh (in the Cambridge Footlights with David Mitchell), and from losing his beloved mother to becoming a husband and father, Robert considers the absurd expectations boys and men have thrust upon them at every stage of life.

Hilarious and heart-breaking, How not To Be a Boy explores the relationships that made Robert who he is as a man, the lessons we learn as sons and daughters, and the understanding that sometimes you aren’t the Luke Skywalker of your life – you’re actually Darth Vader.

The book has earned praise from the highest quarters. JK Rowling said: “Quite simply brilliant. I (genuinely) cried. I (genuinely) laughed out loud. It’s profound, touching, personal yet universal . . . I love it.”

Dawn French said: “It takes us deftly from hilarity to heart-stopping hurt . . . A truly great read, full of heart.”

Ian Rankin added: “A witty, honest coming of age story with a subtext that tackles masculinity and manhood … I could hear Webb’s voice throughout, and that’s a storytelling skill many would kill for.”

Stephen Fry said: “Written with wit and clarity, How Not to Be a Boy is a funny, rueful, truthful book. I enjoyed every page.”

Robert has been a man for his whole life. As such, he has been a boy in a world of fighting, pointless posturing and the insistence that he stop crying. As an adult, he has enjoyed better luck, both in his work as the Webb half of Mitchell & Webb in the Sony award-winning That Mitchell & Webb Sound and the Bafta award-winning That Mitchell & Webb Look, and as permanent man-boy Jeremy in the acclaimed Peep Show.

He also played Bertie Wooster in the acclaimed West End run of Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense. Robert has been a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and the New Statesman, and now lives in London with his wife and daughters, where he continues trying to be funny and to fumble beyond general expectations of manhood.

In recent times, he’s has spoken out about his unhappy childhood, which helped to form his comedic outlook on life. And he has also spoken in support of Princes Harry and William, who have spoken about the pressures on men and the need to talk about mental health issues.

He says: “You think you’ve got something radical to say and then two princes of the realm go and agree with you. Terrific. Thanks, lads. I’ve never claimed to have much street cred but this is the limit. I’ve written a funny book about the harmful restrictions of masculinity and now, apparently, it comes with implicit royal approval.

“What shall I do next? A play about the ticket prices at Ascot? An outrageous podcast claiming that, as Kingsley Amis wrote, ‘nice things are nicer than nasty ones’?”

Robert, like Harry and William, lost his mother at an early age. He was 17 when she passed away to a fast-moving cancer, which had a profound effect on his life.

He says he found it difficult to talk about it but now realises how important it is to be in touch with his emotions.

“Men could be gentle without being thought of as quiche-wielding crybabies, men could argue with their partners stubbornly but respectfully, men could value work while equally valuing their home life and friendships and men could love women without lying to them.

“Men could also break out of the box of wonky stereotypes and false virtues as well as talking about their feelings.”

In his new book, Robert explores the idea that being told how to act because of our sex didn’t just happen to girls. It happened to boys too. The system of patriarchy is one that he explores in his book and describes as a set of mental and cultural habits that restricts the full potential of men, women and those for whom those categories are a meaningless burden.

He says: “I am a product of that environment, and resisting it – even noticing it – is easier said than done. I oppose it with a brain and personality formed by it.”