Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
LAUGHING STOCK
Book your tickets for side-splitting comedy as four of the UK’S stand-up superstars make their way to Kent
Irreverent comedian Paul Foot is taking his most personal show to date on tour – although fans can still expect more of his usual eccentric self.
The new show, Dissolve, sees the Oxford graduate talk about everything from identity and the meaning of life to Jacob Rees-mogg and Cliff Richard and, as always, audiences can never be sure what to expect from the award-winning performer.
You might recognise the 50-year-old from TV shows such as Would I Lie to You, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
Details: Wednesday, April 17 at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre, Canterbury
MICKY FLANAGAN
Fans of record-breaking laughtermaker Micky Flanagan will be pleased to hear that the comedian has recently added a Kent date to his intimate UK tour.
The tour will see the comedian perform his latest show, If Ever We Needed It, at theatres – as opposed to his usual sold-out arenas – across the UK this spring, including a night in the county next weekend.
Since starting his stand-up career in the 1990s, the London-born comic has performed at some of the UK’S biggest venues.
His 2017 show, An Another Fing,
was the biggest comedy event of that year and broke box office records after being performed to more than 600,000 people across the UK and Ireland.
Details: Friday, April 19 at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.
JULIAN CLARY
Julian Clary is bringing his new Western-themed stand-up show to two Kent venues.
The tour, A Fistful of Clary, is heading out on the road for 45 dates this year.
“I love touring, it is a very lovely, creative process,” says the comic.
“Every night is different. I look forward to seeing how things evolve:
a tiny spontaneous idea one night can become a 20-minute routine after a few shows.
“That sort of thing can only happen on stage – no amount of thinking in the comfort of your own home can bring it about.”
After making a name for himself on the alternative comedy circuit in the 1980s, the stand-up star appeared on TV shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother and in the London Palladium pantomime for eight years.
A Fistful of Clary will have a quirky Wild West theme, with a small number of fans being invited on stage to join the former game show host in his Hang ‘Em Low Saloon.
“I can’t give too much away but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to slip into a pair of chaps.”
Details: Saturday, April 13 at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells. Book online. The show is also at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury on Thursday, April 25 but tickets have sold out.
IAIN STIRLING
Voiceover star Iain Stirling has escaped the Love Island villa and is hitting the road for a stand-up tour.
The comic is known for narrating the sun-soaked dating show in the summer but, this spring, he’s going back to his roots with a live tour of his new stand-up, Relevant, across the country.
After working on the comedy circuit as a university student, the Scottish funnyman landed his first TV role on CBBC.
He presented there for four years before being given his own show, the Dog Ate My Homework, for which he won a BAFTA in 2016.
Over the past decade, the comic has appeared on TV shows such as Taskmaster, Celebrity Gogglebox and Buffering, a sitcom he wrote with actor and fellow stand-up Steve Bugeja.
Details: Friday, April 12 at the Gulbenkian Arts Centre in Canterbury.