Comedy January 2022.qxp_Layout 1 13/12/2021 11:06 Page 1
Comedy
John Bishop Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Fri 21 January; Utilita Arena, Birmingham, Fri 1 - Sat 2 April
Mark Watson Bilston Town Hall, Sat 22 January; Brewhouse Arts Centre, Burton-upon-Trent, Sat 29 January
Well established on the UK comedy circuit, Mark Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents. He initially delivered his act with a Welsh accent, claiming he felt more comfortable talking in a voice that he didn't quite recognise as his own. “Comedy is a time-consuming element of
my life,” he admits, “but then while I’m out touring and on stage, there are people at home doing far less glamorous things. There have certainly been times when I’ve been very happy to say, ‘Of course I’d like to stay and help out with that plumbing crisis, but the Midlands awaits!’”
Siobhan Phillips
Alfie Moore
Bilston Town Hall, Thurs 20 January
Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, Sat 22 January; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Sat 30 April
Described as the love child of Peter Kay and Victoria Wood, Siobhan Phillips presents a stand-up routine that’s heavily constructed around her own experiences, included among which are becoming a first-time mum at the age of 40 and dealing with the trauma of a tantrum-throwing toddler. Gaining the attention of the wider public as the only female finalist on Britain’s Got Talent 2019, she’s since developed an army of dedicated fans, who simply can’t get enough of her witty observations on life and her hugely amusing self-penned songs. She visits Bilston with her touring show, Live And Unhinged.
24 whatsonlive.co.uk
Staunch Sheffield socialist Alfie Moore is a master raconteur and a very funny man. He also used to be a police officer. Indeed, back in the days when he was still both a comedian and a cop, his website advised that if you wanted to see Alfie ‘live’, your options were either to catch him at one of his gigs or drive to Scunthorpe and park on a double yellow line. With his gag-bag including “I'm in a samesex marriage... the sex is always the same”, he stops off in Sutton Coldfield this month with his new touring show, Fair Cop Unleashed.
Evidently a fella who likes to fly by the seat of his pants, John Bishop left the comfort of a lucrative marketing job to work full time on his comedy act. It was certainly a brave decision to make, but one that has since been fully justified the 55-year-old Liverpudlian is nowadays one of the UK’s best known and most highly regarded funnymen. Nowadays a regular face on TV - he’s currently assisting Dr Who, of course - his jokes include, “Being an England supporter is like being the over-optimistic parents of the fat kid on sports day,” and “Edinburgh is the only place you can be sunburned and get trench foot on the same day.” John stops off in Birmingham with Right Here, Right Now, his eighth stand-up show.
Andy Parsons The Glee Club, Birmingham, Wed 19 January
With complimentary reviews (sort of) including such observations as 'what he lacks in hair, he more than makes up for in originality', Andy Parsons is a sharp and topical comedian who's well known from TV shows such as BBC's Mock The Week and Live At The Apollo. Jokes include: “If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in tonight’s episode of EastEnders, they must have been acting better than they usually do.”
