One of the breakout stars of the three seasons of Clarkson’s Farm is Kaleb Cooper, the contract farmer and tractor driver who has patiently tried to get Jeremy Clarkson to the point where the TV personality/gentleman farmer to be at least competent at working the land. He’s popular enough that someone had the good idea to send him on a tour around the UK, talking about his favorite thing: Being a farmer.
The Gist: Kaleb Cooper, the amiable young tractor driver and farmer who has become one of the most popular members of the cast of Clarkson’s Farm, went on tour starting last January, bringing his stories about his life, farming, and working with Jeremy Clarkson to stages all over the British Isles. The World According To Kaleb: On Tour is a recording of one of those performances, recorded at the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre.
Cooper, the most famous farmer from Chipping Norton, wants to drive one of his half-dozen tractors into the theater, but it’s not allowed, so he rides in on a smaller one that’s more akin to a riding tractor.
During the hour, Cooper talks about how he started farming at a young age, buying his first tractor at 15 (he’s 26 now). He then plays the music video for a song he recorded called “I Hate Sheep;” we see him hooking his cows up to a milking machine, and more recorded segments.
During the intermission, Cooper gets the audience to write down questions, and he answers some of them, including his reasons for why he hates sheep so much. Then he talks about his heroes, including his parents, a farmer who taught him everything he knows, and taught him the notion that “dreams don’t work unless you do. Cooper also cites Jeremy Clarkson was one of his heroes, but he still takes the piss out of Clarkson by showing a scene from the series where Clarkson tills a field wrong.
After he brings three colleagues from the show on stage to race RC tractors, he leads a singalong.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Well, without Clarkson’s Farm, this tour would have never happened.
Performance Worth Watching: Cooper is front and center in this show, and given how amiable he’s been in his efforts to make Clarkson into a somewhat capable farmer, we weren’t surprised that he was able to command a stage and show some polished charm in this show.
Memorable Dialogue: Cooper takes a few opportunities to explain some of the economics of farming — the numbers aren’t kind, especially to dairy farmers — and how much of a strain the work is on mental health. But he also explains how farmers do this work because they love the environment and working the land.
Sex and Skin: We see two cows walking and loving in a pre-taped bit.
Our Take: Kaleb Cooper’s mostly one-man show is definitely designed to appeal to two audiences: farmers and fans of Clarkson’s Farm. He makes occasional references to episodes of the show and incidents that happened that will go over the head of people who haven’t seen the three seasons of the show. And there are other references that will likely go over the head of people who don’t shop regularly at Tractor Supply.
But for the most part, Cooper’s amiable manner shines through as he extolls the virtues of farming, makes fun of his various hairstyles, includes his fiancee and parents, who are in the audience, in his banter, and generally exudes a stage confidence that surprised us. Granted, the special was recorded at the end of the tour, so Cooper is likely more polished than he was at the beginning. But the tour was only a couple of months’ worth of shows — the man works as contract farmer full-time, and most of the tour took place during the winter — so we’re curious to see what the early shows looked like.
Our Call: STREAM IT. The World According To Kaleb: On Tour is a fun way to spend an hour learning about farming and laughing with one of the best members of the cast of Clarkson’s Farm.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
