His brand new show, The Showing Off Must Go On will fun for 47 dates and begins in February in Leicester before concluding in December 2019 in Southend.
Star of Death in Paradise, Father Ted and My Hero, Ardal O’Hanlon, comes from a small-town in Ireland where there is nothing worse than showing off. Yet he is a professional ‘show-off’ who continues to do stand-up comedy for money, a very shy show-off (and as a result conflicted) but a big show-off nonetheless (a disgrace to his family). So why does he do it?
Well. Just when he thought he’d made sense of the world, when he thought he knew everything he needed to know. When he finally found a hat that he liked and learned how to make cocktails and how to relax sagaciously in a big chair. Just when he was about to quit airing his dirty linen in public and stop (for the love of God) showing off, the world shifted. Dramatically. The world fell off its axis. And is adrift in the universe. And needs saving.
In an age of raging populism, #MeToo, identity politics, the end of truth, the collapsing middle ground, peak avocado and £15 Gin and Tonics, and terrified of being on the wrong side of history, and desperate to prove that his gender, race, age and class don’t necessarily define him, Ardal is forced to saddle his high horse again and ride fearlessly into the culture wars (with a white hankie in his pocket just in case), comedy as ever being the best emergency response mechanism to extreme events there is.
Speaking about the new tour, Ardal said “I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing my stand-up show on the road in 2019, having been testing stuff in clubs and at festivals for the past few years. It’s great that the noise in my head is finally cohering into delightful comedy chunks.”
Tour dates
Previews
24th February 2019, Leicester, Y Theatre
26th February 2019, Hemel Hempstead, Old Town Theatre
27th February 2019, Haverhill, Arts Centre
28th February 2019, New Milton, Forest Arts Centre
1st March 2019, Reading, South Street
2nd March 2019, Nottingham, Lakeside Arts
Full tour
3rd March 2019, Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal
6th March 2019, Leeds, City Varieties
7th March 2019, Huddersfield, Lawrence Batley Theatre
8th March 2019, Barrow-in-Furness, The Forum
9th March 2019, Lancaster, Grand Theatre
10th March 2019, Sheffield, Memorial Hall
13th March 2019, Barnstaple, Queens Theatre
14th March 2019, Redruth, Regal Theatre
15th March 2019, Exeter, Northcott Theatre
16th March 2019, Southampton, Nuffield Theatre
17th March 2019, Bath, Komedia
20th March 2019, Wimborne, Tivoli Theatre
21st March 2019, Hoddesdon, The Spotlight
22nd March 2019, Lincoln, Performing Arts Centre
23rd March 2019, High Wycombe, Town Hall
24th March 2019, Basingstoke, Haymarket
30th October 2019, Cork, Opera House
2nd November 2019, Reading, The Hexagon
3rd November 2019, Richmond, Richmond Theatre
6th November 2019, London, Alexandra Palace Theatre
7th November 2019, Armagh, The Market Place Theatre
8th November 2019, Derry, Millenium Forum
9th November 2019, Dublin, Vicar Street
12th November 2019, Aberdeen, Music Hall
13th November 2019, Glasgow, Tramway
14th November 2019, Stirling, Albert Halls
15th November 2019, Edinburgh, Queen's Hall
16th November 2019, Newcastle, Tyne Theatre & Opera House
17th November 2019, Salford Quays, The Lowry
20th November 2019, Northampton, Royal & Derngate
21st November 2019, Birmingham, Symphony Hall
22nd November 2019, Brighton, Brighton Dome
23rd November 2019, Portsmouth, New Theatre Royal
24th November 2019, St Albans, The Alban Arena
28th November 2019, Cambridge, West Road Concert Hall
29th November 2019, Limerick, University Concert Hall
30th November 2019, Belfash, Belfast Waterfront
5th December 2019, Cardiff, Sherman
6th December 2019, Bristol, Anson Rooms
7th December 2019, Yeovil, Westlands
8th December 2019, Southend, Palace Theatre
Tickets for The Showing Off Must Go On go on sale from Thursday 25th October. Book tickets here.
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