NIGEL PLANER & HENRY NORMAL (14+)
Nigel Planer is a comedy legend, an actor, writer and more importantly for this show he's a great poet. He joins Henry Normal, BBC Radio 4's 'poet in reticence' to reunite a team that entertains, educates and informs (but mostly entertains it must be said). Expect poetry, stories, jokes, Q & A, fun, knitwear, and a few surprises.
Nigel George Planer is a British actor, writer and musician. He played Neil in the BBC comedy The Young Ones and Ralph Filthy in Filthy Rich & Catflap. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including original casts of Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
KEVIN BLOODY WILSON (18)
KEVIN BLOODY WILSON:
INTERNATIONAL DILLIGAF DAY - 40 years of KEVIN BLOODY WILSON
Run time to be confirmed.
2024 marks 40 years since Kev’s first album was released (which went on to obtain quadruple platinum status)
20 albums later, this comedy icon’s fan base continues to grow with new generations of fans flocking to experience Kev’s PC free live shows.
Tiktok, YouTube, Facebook or in the flesh, however you consume your Kev, there’s no denying he is the master of musical comedy and sharing his DILLIGAF attitude and way of life has made him the world's favourite Aussie storyteller.
INTERNATIONAL DILLIGAF DAY… it’s every day!
There are few international comedians today who shoot down political correctness with such comedic pin point accuracy as Australia’s Kevin Bloody Wilson.
While todays Age Of Outrage has his contemporaries ducking for cover over anything slightly controversial, Kev crushes PC eggshells with the grace and diplomacy of a wounded buffalo. Kev’s famous DILLIGAF* approach to PC is a breath of fresh air, direct, clever and outrageously funny. He doesn’t mince words and he doesn’t rely on subtlety to get his point across. In his new show FUPC, Kev tackles political correctness head on. His BS filters and brilliant comedic mind enables him say it as he sees it in a way we wish we all could. His directness totally embodies the spirit of Australian humour.
In recent times, Kevin Bloody Wilson has become a sought after social commentator and the media’s ‘go to guy’ for his comical, yet common sense take on political correctness. After a recent appearance on Australia’s 60 minutes programme, host Charles Wooley commented, “If political correctness was a disease, Kevin Bloody Wilson would be the cure”.
(*DILLIGAF - Do I Look Like I Give A F+#@)
Australia - Canada - South Africa - New Zealand - England - Ireland _ Scotland - Wales - Kevin Bloody Wilson is revered around the globe for his Outback Aussie Outlaw take on life. He’s performed everywhere throughout his career, from outback pubs and shearing sheds to the hallowed halls of the London Palladium, packing out major venues wherever he performs. An evening in the company of Kevin Bloody Wilson is must see for all of us desperately in need of some PC Pushback. Kev’s is not just a concert performance, it is a full-on event and an opportunity for all of us to tick off our bucket-list – see a ‘national institution’ in concert, done!
It’s been well documented that all of KBW’s non PC Bawdy Ballads contain an infectious singalong quality that stay with you forever. Kev’s FUPC World Tour Show includes a raft of brand new songs that are bound to have his audiences in stitches, from the opening tour title track, FUPC, to his unique take on on the worldwide #Me Too Movement in his hilarious new fan singalong, ‘DIY Me Too!’ Just like DILLIGAF, Dick’taphone, Hey Santa Clause and Living Next Door To Alan, these newly crafted songs are guaranteed to become Kev Klassics. His music has helped define our Aussie humour – Billy Connolly describes his little Aussie Mate as “The World’s funniest Australian”.
In a world almost drowning in a tsunami of Political Correctness, Kevin Bloody Wilson stands out as a beacon for PC Pushback.
Considered by Billy Connolly as‘The Worlds Funniest Australian’, Kevin Bloody Wilson is as dry and as rough as his Outback heritage.
His latest stage performance F.U.P.C. spotlights Political Correctness for what it is and how he sees it….a joke!
Kev’s 20 Albums of self penned Bawdy Ballads have generated millions of sales and his global legion of fans have elevated KBW to Rock Star Status.
American Audiences will revel in a knee-slapping, outrageously funny night of our Kev’s common sense take on Political Correctness.
Social Justice Warriors, Snowflakes and PC Advocates are invited to stay home………The rest of us are gonna have a ball!
Kevin Bloody Wilson’s story is now one of legend. Always a larrikin, he originally wrote and recorded songs on a homemade cassette tape for his mates, simply songs penned about his experiences living in the Outback and working nights as a part time musician and an electrician by day in the gold mines in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Sales of this initial cassette skyrocketed to the tens of thousands before it was transferred to vinyl, where it proceeded to sell tens of thousands more. It was just the start of a career that Kev admits he never saw coming. and he has never looked back.
COUNT ARTHUR STRONG IS CHARLES DICKENS IN 'A CHRISTMAS CAROL'
Live Nation & Komedia Entertainment Presents
Count Arthur Strong is Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol'
Arthur delivers the Charles Dickens story and follows this with his own adaptation of the most classic of festive tales, A Christmas Carol.
Due to public pressure, Count Arthur Strong extends his fond farewell to you, for a ‘once in a lifetime’ limited run. As he takes on, one of the literary greats, the famous Charles Dickens, and then goes on to present his one-man interpretation of A Christmas Carol. ‘If you miss it, you weren’t there!’
‘Pure genius and pure tribute to the golden age of vaudeville’
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
'At every turn, his performance gives us something to marvel at'
Brian Logan, The Guardian
Run time to be confirmed
CHUBBY BROWN 2024 (18)
TOM STADE: RISKY BUSINESS (16+)
Tom’s funny and today’s funny don’t always see eye to eye, but that’s cool; it’s not Tom’s way to follow the herd. He much prefers to take the path less travelled (some smart guy once said that).
Join this independent spirit and irrepressible force of nature, as he airdrops his ingenious and unflinching comedy into an ever-changing minefield.
It’s a risky business navigating the tightrope of today’s times but Tom’s approaching it with his usual gusto. Without risk there is no reward.
“ENDLESSLY FUNNY. SLICK, INTELLIGENT, SPARKLING CHARM” Independent
“EVERY INCH A STAR” Daily Record
“DEBAUCHED TRUTH TELLER” Guardian Guide
“UNMISSABLE” Edinburgh Evening News
“NATURAL FLAIR FOR STORYTELLING AND A VILLANOUS SENSE OF HUMOUR. MASTER OF HARDCORE COMEDY” The List
www.tomstade.com
MANFORD'S COMEDY CLUB
Manford’s Comedy Club are very excited to announce the addition of the Forum to our comedy family!
This beautiful and impressive venue is the perfect space to play host to the award-winning comedy club.
Every show has a different line-up of four top comedians, who are all personally chosen by Jason Manford.
Born and bred in Sunderland, insanely funny and charming, as pleasant as he is wonderfully brutal, Matt Reed is one of the funniest, quick-witted comics and MCs on the UK circuit and can keep you on the edge of your seat with the ability to skillfully destroy any heckler that has the misfortune to cross his path!
Kai is a happy-go-lucky, supremely funny and truly loveable Geordie comedian and compere, his infectious enthusiasm and high-octane delivery of genuinely hilarious and delightfully optimistic material has seen him rapidly shooting up the professional comedy ranks.
Phil is an energetic and exciting performer with an unquenchable thirst to break boundaries and innovate with his work. His skill as an improviser whether it be musical, comedy or straight is unparalleled. With a surreal edge to his mischievous rantings, Nichol always brings something new to the stage.
MITCH BENN: THE POINT (14+)
What it might be, how we can miss it and how we can find it again…
Like all those who spread mirth for a living, MITCH BENN ("the country's leading musical satirist" - The Times) has been wondering if he's really making a difference, and if this is a POINT to what he - or anybody - is doing.
Well the good news is he's had a long hard think about it and he's figured it out, and he's coming back to tell us all what the POINT of comedy - and much else besides - might be…
“Song after song of exquisitely crafted satire”…The Scotsman
“Well crafted, well sung, his songs are just plain funny”…The Guardian
Mitch Benn is a comedian, author, satirical songwriter, musician and actor and is widely acknowledged as one of the best writers/performers of comedy songs in the UK. He is perhaps best known as the resident comic songwriter on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show from 1999 to 2016.
Mitch has a large online following and his recent comedy songs, such as F*ck All and Moving to Scotland, have amassed more than a million views.
Mitch began his comedy career in Edinburgh in the mid-1990s, before moving to London and becoming one of the most in-demand comedians on the UK comedy circuit. He has released many albums of comedy songs and has performed all over the world, including South Africa, Singapore, China and many European nations.
In addition to his work on The Now Show, Mitch has presented several series of his own show on BBC radio, and his TV credits include Live At Jongleurs (ITV), Watchdog (BBC) and The Comedy Store (5).
Mitch's acting credits include Merlin (BBC1) and in 2013 he took over the role of Zaphod Beeblebrox for the live stage show tour of The Hitchhikers’ Guide To The Galaxy. His voice acting credits include Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens TV series and the Sandman audiobooks.
Mitch has also appeared on ‘celebrity’ editions of several TV quiz shows, including winning Celebrity Mastermind in 2016.
Mitch is a weekly columnist for The New European newspaper and has written three Science Fiction novels.
Edinburgh Reviews
"The man is talent .... I really enjoyed it! The audience all around me seemed to lap up every musical second."…Edinburgh Reviews ****
"As always there is what is for me a highlight, his ‘live looping’ where with the aid of his phone and a few pedals, he builds from scratch a fully orchestrated number in front of ones very eyes",,,One4Review ****
"Mitch Benn may be wondering what _The Point_ is, but to the audience, it’s very clear, making us all laugh until we’re red in the face. And he does this very well. Bloody funny, go see."…Starburst ****
JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH: RAISE THE OOF
RAISE THE OOF
with John Shuttleworth
Radio 4 favourite, comedy legend, and ‘the 42nd best reason to love Britain’ (The Telegraph) JOHN SHUTTLEWORTH, is back with more hilarious stories and songs performed on his trusty Yamaha organ (with built-in auto accompaniment!) In RAISE THE OOF John celebrates 40 years in showbiz. Yes, it was 1985 when he met TV’s Clarinet Man - next door neighbour Ken Worthington who came last on New Faces in 73 (Tony Hatch crucified him!)
“When I met Ken he was eating a CurlyWurly” recalls John, “although initially I thought it was a packet of sparklers, so I gave him a wide berth”, and the rest, as they say, is hysterical!
“ Actually, I feel rather calm” muses John, “although after forty years and still no chart success, perhaps I should be slightly anxious. My wife Mary says I should get a proper job, but there's not time - I'm about to retire! Besides, Comet - where I used to demonstrate audio equipment - no longer exists. As for the sweet factory in the Rotherham area where I worked as a security guard in the 1980's - that’s now an Axe Throwing Centre. Oof!"
But I'm still posting off my songs (on cassette tape with Dolby so it's not too hissy) to cutting edge pop acts like Chris Rea and the Lighthouse Family, plus I'm still being booked for nostalgic singalongs at the local hospice (for petrol money only) so we have every reason to celebrate my long and illustrious career. Do come along and join me in punching the air, and helping - in an orderly and controlled fashion - to RAISE THE OOF!
"His stand up is second to none, his timing is impeccable, and you can practically warm your hands on his good nature" The Guardian
“The Cole Porter of the antimacassar set” The Times
“A Ludicrously compelling night out” Evening Standard
“Sublime character comedy “ – The Guardian
“Totally unmissable” - NME
ALEX MITCHELL: TICS TOWARDS PUFFECTION (12+)
Lee Martin for Gag Reflex presents
Alex Mitchell: Tics Towards Puffection
Britain’s Got Talent 2024 finalist Alex Mitchell is an autistic comic with functional neurological disorder (FND). He uses self-deprecating humour - laughing at himself, his neurodivergence, disability and sexuality - to reflect on some of the most difficult subjects within his own life and wider society.
His debut show, Tics Towards Puffection, tackles his desperate obsession for perfection and being "the best version" of himself. He explores how and if he'll ever achieve this, and how this has and continues to impact his life. Reflecting on society's perception of queer, disabled, and neurodiverse communities, as well as his own perception of himself, Mitchell creates a heartwarming, emotional but always hilarious show.
"Tremendous" - Notts Comedy Review
"Definitely one to watch, very funny and unique" - Jack Gleadow
Awards and Accolades:
Britain's Got Talent finalist 2024
You Can Laugh You Know: Disabled Comedian of the Year 2023
Beat The Frog Winner February 2024
https://neurodiversereview.co.uk/alex-mitchell-tics-towards-puffection/ - 4* “an energy and speedy delivery that never drags”
Run time to be confirmed.