Comedy July.qxp_Layout 1 17/06/2021 12:19 Page 2
Comedy
Adam Kay Malvern Theatres, Fri 23 July; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sun 25 July; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Sun 12 September; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thurs 14 October
After watching an Adam Kay performance, Stephen Fry declared, “This made me very, very happy.” Numerous sell-out years at the Edinburgh Fringe and tens of millions of YouTube hits later, former obstetrician and gynaecologist Adam is this month visiting the Midlands with his hugely popular tour, This Is Going To Hurt: Secret Diaries Of A Junior Doctor. The show features one hour and one minute’s-worth of humorous material based on his bestselling book of the same name. Expect splendidly silly spoof songs and some seriously shocking stories from the NHS frontline...
Mark Watson Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, Thurs 8 July; Royal Spa Centre, Leamington Spa, Sun 3 October; The Brewhouse, Burton-on-Trent, Fri 12 November; Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, North Shropshire, Sat 13 November; Bilston Town Hall, Sat 22 January; Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Staffs, Sun 23 January; The Old Rep, Birmingham, Sun 15 May; The Place, Telford, Thurs 21 July
The Noise Next Door
Well established on the UK comedy circuit, Mark Watson was born in Bristol to Welsh parents and initially delivered his act with a Welsh accent, claiming he felt “more comfortable talking in a voice that I didn't quite recognise as my own”. A regular contributor to the Edinburgh Fringe, Mark has the curious distinction of having performed standup shows which
Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham, Sun 4 July; Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Wed 6 October; The Roses, Tewkesbury, Fri 5 November
Frank Skinner
Praised for presenting their audiences with ‘a superior kind of chaos’, The Noise Next Door is a quartet of improvising comedians who’ve been garnering critical praise for a good few years now. Big in Edinburgh at festival time, they pride themselves on their originality and quick-wittedness (the latter being pretty much essential in the world of improvisational comedy!). Their previous on-stage endeavours have included a mini-musical embracing the uncomfortable bedfellows of pantomime, folk music and death-metal, and a surreal adventure in which the Magic Roundabout’s Zebedee leads the forces of good against Darth Vader, who’s holed up in Worcester Cathedral. Check ’em out.
have lasted for a period in excess of 24 hours. “Comedy is certainly 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!’”
The Alexandra, Birmingham, Thurs 22 & Fri 23 July
A 24-carat class act if ever there was one, Frank Skinner here returns to his Midlands roots to present Showbiz, a set that’s already scored a big hit in the London West End. The dark days of his alcoholism, his allegedly dwindling sex-drive and his unbridled love affair with West Bromwich Albion Football Club all combine to ensure the Black Country-born 64year-old is never short of a story to tell. Some less-enamoured reviewers of this latest offering complain that despite the show being the length of a football match, it lacks anything much on which to hang one’s hat. Frank Fans won’t care too much about that, though: 90 minutes of high-quality gags are sure to leave them begging for extra-time. whatsonlive.co.uk 21
