The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
If it is laughs you want, just look who is coming
18 great comedy gigs to have you in hysterics as 2022 gathers pace
Rhod Gilbert kicked of a terrific winter and spring season of stand-up comedy in Peterborough with a near sell-out gig at New Theatre earlier this month. And there are plenty more laughs on the way with a host of top names from the world of comedy making their way to the New Theatre and The Cresset in the next few months, starting tomorrow night.
Here is a run down of what you can look forward to.
AHIR SHAH: DRESS
The Cresset, January 28 Featuring his signature blend of philosophical inquiry, personal examination, and sweet gags, Double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Ahir Shah returns to stand-up with a new show about significance, insignificance and scurvy.
ROSS NOBLE: HUMOURNOID
New Theatre, February 10 What happens when pure comedy takes human form?
What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up?
Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show. You can come and see it. This is it.
Ross’s on-stage credits include 16 nationwide comedy tours and his recent critically acclaimed performance as Igor in Mel Brooks’ West End revival of monster hit musical Young Frankenstein, at London’s Garrick Theatre.
JOSH WIDDICOMBE: BIT MUCH…
The Cresset, February 13 The guy everyone can do an impression of is back with a new stand-up tour that will change your life. Bit much? Fine, it’ll be a very funny night in which Josh will finally tackle the hot comedy topics of advent calendars, pesto and the closing time of his local park.
Age Restriction 14+
NISH KUMAR: YOUR POWER, YOUR CONTROL
The Cresset, February 20
It has been a period of upheaval and uncertainty with COVID and the political situation. You will be amazed by Nish Kumar’s capacity to somehow take all these things personally. Your Power, Your Control is a new show from the host of The Mash Report.
ED GAMBLE: ELECTRIC
March 24
After a sell-out tour of his house in 2020, Ol’ Broken Pancreas Ed Gamble – Taskmaster champion and co-host of the award-winning mega-hit podcast Off Menu with James Acaster – is charged up and ready to flick the switch on another night of attention seeking.
SARAH MILLICAN: BOBBY DAZZLER
The Cresset, April 2 and 3 The hilarious Sarah Millican is back on tour with a Bobby Dazzler of a new stand-up show. In this, her sixth international tour, you’ll learn about what happens when your mouth seals shut, how to throw poo over a wall and how truly awful a floatation tank can actually be.
LOST VOICE GUY – CEREBRAL LOLSY
New Theatre, April 3 Following the success of his huge sell out 2019 UK tour, Lost Voice Guy is heading back out on the road to put a smile on the faces of people up and down the country once again.
The Britain’s Got Talent winner will poke fun at his life living as a disabled person in a postapocalyptic world, as he tries to cope with the fame and fortune since his memorable victory.
From the highs of meeting 50 per cent of The Chuckle Brothers to the lows of being called ‘him off The X Factor’, and everything in between. The standup comedian might not have a Geordie accent yet, and he might still sound like a posh version of Robocop, but his comedy is sure to leave you speechless.
PAUL ZERDIN: HANDS FREE
New Theatre, April 7
Back by popular demand, Paul Zerdin and everyone’s favourite puppets are heading your way with a new UK tour. Sam, Albert, Baby, Roger the bodyguard and an urban fox have all survived lock down with Paul…. well nearly.
They can’t wait to see you, so get ready to be involved. As well as his hilarious characters ‘Hands Free’ features Paul giving us a glimpse into his own world showing us what it’s like to be able to throw your voice in everyday situations where anything and everything can talk back.
Don’t miss out on your chance to see the winner of America’s Got Talent, the star of London’s Palladium Panto and without doubt one of Britain’s finest entertainers.
PAUL CHOWDHRY: FAMILY FRIENDLY COMEDIAN (NO CHILDREN)
New Theatre, April 8 Following a complete sellout 2021 tour, star of global smash hit ‘Live Innit’, Taskmaster and the first British-Asian
stand-up to sell-out London’s Wembley Arena, adds extra 2022 dates.
After barely surviving the pandemic, and with two years of pent-up killer material, Paul tackles the UK’s handling of the pandemic, why the rules of six only worked for white people, fame, England football fans and Tom Cruise landing his helicopter in someone’s garden. Don’t miss it.
OMID DJALILI: THE GOOD TIMES TOUR
The Cresset, April 8
After experimenting with a Zoom gig where he got muted by 639 people, multi award-winning comedian and actor Omid Djalili is now where he belongs – on a stage and bringing back the Good Times. Intelligent, provocative and always entertaining!
REGINALD D. HUNTER - BOMBE SHUFFLEUR
The Cresset, April 13 Unafraid to tackle head on the subjects the rest of us skirt around, Reginald D. Hunter is the voice of his generation – searingly honest, brutally funny and uniquely placed to commentate on the unfolding meltdown of life as we know it.
JIMMY CARR: TERRIBLY FUNNY
The Cresset, April 14 Jimmy Carr’s new show contains jokes about all kinds of terrible things.
But they’re just jokes – they are not the terrible things. Having political correctness at a comedy show is like having health and safety at a rodeo. Now you’ve been warned, buy a ticket.
JASON MANFORD: LIKE ME
The Cresset, April 20
It’s been a busy few years for Jason Manford since his last smash-hit stand up show.
Like Me is Jason’s latest comic offering and is sure to be ‘expert observational comedy’ (The Guardian) mixed with ‘comic gold’ (Mail On Sunday).
AL MURRAY - GIG FOR VICTORY
The Cresset, April 27
As the dust settles and we emerge blinking into the dawn of a new year, the people of this great country will need answers.
And when that moment comes, who better to show the way, to provide those answers, than the people’s man of the people, the Pub Landlord?
SANDI TOKSVIG LIVE! NEXT SLIDE PLEASE…
New Theatre, May 9 Following the sell-out 2019 tour of National Trevor, the comedian, broadcaster, writer, campaigner and all-round good egg, returns with her new show, Next Slide Please …
In an evening of warmth, love and laughter, Sandi will explore reasons to be cheerful after many long months of coronacoaster gloom.
Expect fascinatingly funny facts, silly jokes and a quick-fire Q&A. (Don’t expect handstands, ministerial behaviour or impressions of Chris Whitty)
KATHERINE RYAN: MISSUS
New Theatre, May 20 Creator and Star of Netflix smash hit The Duchess (along with two global Netflix comedy specials: In Trouble and Glitter Room) comedian and TV’s Katherine Ryan makes a hugely welcome return to the stage with her new live show, Missus.
Having previously denounced partnership, Katherine has since married her first love, accidentally. A lot has changed for everyone and we can look forward to hearing Katherine Ryan’s hilarious new perspectives on life, love, and what it means to be Missus.
STEWART LEE: SNOWFLAKE/TORNADO
New Theatre, May 21
A double-bill of two 60-minute sets, back-to-back nightly from “the world’s greatest living stand-up” (Times), including new material for 2022.
The first half, Snowflake, will be heavily rewritten in the light of the two years the show has been laid off, looking at how the Covid-Brexit era has impacted on the culture war declared on lovely woke snowflakes by horrible people.
The second half, Tornado, questions Stew’s position in the comedy marketplace after Netflix mistakenly listed his show as “reports of sharks falling from the skies are on the rise again. Nobody on the Eastern Seaboard is safe.”
PAUL MERTON’S IMPRO CHUMS
New Theatre, May 30
Paul Merton, Richard Vranch, Suki Webster, Mike McShane and accompanist Kirsty Newton are back on the road in 2022 to visit some of their favourite parts of the UK with another evening of mind-blowing improvisation.
The collective improvisational experience embodied in the Chums is a joy to behold. They flex their improvisational muscles to delight and entertain audiences in this country and abroad.
For tickets and show times visit the websites: www.newtheatre-peterborough.com and www.cresset.co.uk