by Grapevine Editor | Nov 19, 2025 | Comedy, Tours
The King Of Crumbs is coming to: Shrewsbury, Brighton, Portsmouth, Frome, Oxford, Cardiff, Exeter, Taunton, Plymouth, Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Belfast, Liverpool, Barnard Castle, Newcastle, Canterbury, Sheffield, Chelmsford, Birmingham, Maidstone, Norwich, Leeds, Manchester, London, Colchester, Cambridge, Swindon, Salisbury & Aldershot.
Alasdair Beckett-King is the crumbliest comedian in the game: he is a multi-award-winning stand-up comic, author, (occasionally) an internet sensation and star of Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats. In 2026, he will embark on his third UK tour.
In King Of Crumbs, ABK blends his smart writing with his offbeat comic sensibility. Times are hard for a medieval whimsy pedlar. The milk of human kindness has curdled into the cheese of mistrust – hungrily devoured on the crackers of hatred. Which is bad news for everyone, especially the vegans.
With his distinctive comic voice, Alasdair is the only comedian daring enough to ask the real questions: Who watches the watchmen? Who milks the milkmen? How come ducks quack at the speed they walk?
These are the mysteries that plague the King Of Crumbs. As the pillars of civilisation crumble into the sea of chaos, Alasdair makes a rallying cry for uplifting nonsense. He steps down from the seat of the Elder Millennial High Council and asks…What Would Satan Do?
In his new show, Alasdair promises to:
- Raise people up, like an unqualified forklift operator.
- Solve the political and moral crises of our age and still have time for a funny story about biscuits.
- Escape the Millennial Nostalgia Trap before your very eyes. Were things better in the 90s? He says NO! Pop tarts were rubbish.
Alasdair is a legendary comedian and writer, in that there is little historical evidence that he exists. He has performed on C4’s 8 out of 10 Cats, BBC’s Mock the Week, Comedy Central Live, BBC Radio 4’s The News Quiz and at the Glastonbury Festival. Following several viral videos and sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Alasdair embarked upon his first UK tour in 2023. In the same year, Walker Books began publishing ABK’s Montgomery Bonbon series of children’s mystery novels. Alasdair is the co-host of Loremen, a podcast about historical oddities and local legends. With Eleanor Morton, he recently launched Eleanor & Alasdair Read That, a new podcast revisiting classic kids’ books.
“An absolute treasure trove” ★★★★★Chortle
“If that isn’t proof of a formidable comic talent combined with a warm, inviting personality I don’t know what is” ★★★★ Beyond The Joke
“A bold and fresh comedy voice”★★★★★ The Stage
Image Credit – Edward Moore
by Editor | Oct 29, 2025 | Comedy, Festival
Bury St Edmunds third Comedy Festival will bring two months of rib-tickling, laugh out loud fun to Suffolk during funny February and March 2026.
Prepare for a side-splitting rollercoaster ride through two months filled with stand-up, outrageous improv and a comedy cocktail that’ll leave you in stitches in a town where the history is as rich as the punchlines.
Familiar venues will be transformed into laughter sanctuaries with a line-up of comedians who are masters of their craft. From clever observations to the downright absurd, the lineup is curated to cater for every comedic taste, ensuring that no funny bone is left untouched.
For the first time, there will be a competition to find Abbeygate Comedy Club’s Comedian of the Year 2026. The first heat will be held on Sunday, 25th January with further competitions on 8th and 22nd February leading up to the exciting final on Saturday, 28th February, all the heats will be ticketed events held in the Abbeygate Cinema. More details about the comedians taking part and how to book will be announced soon.
Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds comedy season begins on Wednesday evening, 4th February when Luke Wright brings his adoption to life in Later Life Letter, the fifth and latest collection of his poems. What’s it like to stumble across your birth mother on Facebook? How do you honour the parents who have raised you while satisfying a curiosity about where you came from? What is it telling if you marry a social worker? Wright navigates his audience through a warm and honest hour of poems and stand-up with the wit, pathos and silliness that has made him one of the most popular live poets in England.
Laughter at Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds continues on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th February with Showstopper! An Improvised Musical. With 15 years as an Edinburgh Fringe must-see phenomenon, BBC Radio 4 series, critically acclaimed West End run and an Olivier Award to their name, The Showstoppers have delighted audiences across the globe with their ingenious blend of comedy, musical theatre and spontaneity. A brand new musical comedy is created from scratch at each performance as audience suggestions are transformed on the spot into all-singing, all dancing productions with hilarious results.
This is followed on Saturday,14th February when Daliso Chaponda takes the stage for his Topical Storm. Daliso has been writing jokes about the news for over a decade on Have I Got News For You, Radio 4′s News Quiz, Australia’s Good News Week and many more besides. But recently the news has been so absurd, chaotic and overwhelming that it more or less mocks itself. Where do we go from here? Topical Storm is Daliso’s response. A show not about THE news but about news itself.
Journalists, bloggers, fake news, satirical news, have we lost the thread of it all? Is the reporting of news endlessly polarising us as a society rather than educating us? Would we be better off going right back to the first ever news bulletin – the original caveman drawing on a wall – and starting from scratch? Daliso does just that in this explosive new standup show.
Fresh from a sold-out run at Edinburgh Fringe 2025, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds next comedy production is Pauline Eyre’s Anyone for Tennis?. A Wimbledon line judge for 20 years, Pauline is ready to spill the Pimm’s on tennis gossip from the fragrant royal box to the musty locker room, and why line judges are OUT! Expect smashing stories, ace anecdotes and a 40-love letter to the game. And there’s nobody to say ‘quiet please’. She cannot be serious… can she?
New for 2026, International Women’s Day will be marked on Sunday 8th March at Abbeygate Comedy Club with a special evening full of laughter. Details to follow soon.
The Apex entertainment centre is joining in the fun on Thursday, 12th March with Jason Manford’s live show, A Manford All Seasons. A nationally known stand-up comedian, writer, actor and radio and television host, Jason’s career spans various ITV shows including The National Lottery’s New Year’s Eve Big Bash, What Would Your Kid Do? Olivier Awards, The Nightly Show and The Royal Variety Performance. He has also appeared on BBC1’s First & Last and Live at the Apollo and was a team captain for Channel 4’s 8 out of 10 Cats.
Coming to The Apex on Friday, 20th March Tilting at Windmills is a new stand-up show from Channel 4’s Taskmaster alumni and double Edinburgh comedy award winner, John Kearns. His fragmented, digressing portrayal of a 38-year-old man’s life, alludes to books he hasn’t read and touches on the modern condition, plus VAT. John has also been seen on BBC’s Live at the Apollo, Sky’s Never Mind the Buzzcocks and his Sky stand-up special The Varnishing Days.
More fun nights are being added as the month gets nearer. To view the full line-up and book tickets priced from £12 per person as well as where to stay, shop, eat and drink visit www. burystedmundsandbeyond.co.uk/comedy-festival.
Bury St Edmunds Comedy Festival is a partnership project between Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, The Apex, The Hunter Club Arts Centre, Abbeygate Cinema and ICE. It is being coordinated by the town’s tourism brand Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, under Our Bury St Edmunds BID.
by Grapevine Editor | May 2, 2025 | Comedy
Award-Winning and Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominated Elf Lyons is bringing her new show Horses, the first ever comedy show performed entirely by a horse, on tour next summer, after a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year.
Bring your most enthusiastic childhood horse-loving energy to this new hour, all about play and the power of pretending. Treacle’s masterful performance has been directed by Elf Lyons, assisted creatively by Trygve Wakenshaw and Dylan Moran.
“A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him.” Pablo Neruda
A celebration of the child within, this hour has everything in it! Expect mime, stand-up, clown pieces and shadow puppetry all performed by Treacle, the horse and Francis of Acissi has helped interpret the interviews with horses, Bob Fosse has helped with choreography and at points Alfred Hitchcock has helped with the dramaturgy…
Elf Lyons is an award-winning comedian, theatre maker, director, comedy writer and voice artist. She has gained a cult reputation as one of the most innovative performers on the UK comedy and theatre scene. Her work has included re-enactments of classical ballets, musicals about the economy, immersive horror shows and even lectures at venues such as the Barbican on the Surrealist movement.
Since 2017 Elf has been nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality, Fringe World Perth’s Best Comedy Show and in 2018 Elf won Pick of the Fringe at the Adelaide Fringe, Australia. 2020 her show Unlikely Darlings with Helen Duff was one of The Telegraphs ’50 Best Cultural Moments’ of the year. In 2023 Elf was listed in The Telegraph as one of the Top 50 Funniest Comedians of the 21st Century.
Since 2019 Elf’s TV and radio credits have included Comedians Giving Lectures (Dave), Comedians Against Living Miserably (Dave), The A to Z of Horror Movies (Sky Original) Unexpected Fluids (Radio 1), Evil Genius (BBC Sounds), and BBC World Service’s Stand Up Show – London (BBC World Service). She wrote and starred in her own BBC Three short Top Ten Things I Have Brought Whilst Drunk. She has been a series regular on The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2 – series 2 & 3), The Breakfast Show and Culture Hour (Times Radio), The Colin Murray Show (BBC Radio 5) and The Dog Ate My Homework (CBBC). She is a three-time cover star of The Sunday Times Culture.
Alongside performing on stage and teaching performers clowning, Elf is a well-respected writer. She has written articles for The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, The Independent, Londonist, Cosmopolitan Magazine and Refinery29, amongst others. Elf was also featured on the cover of the Observer Magazine for her article ‘In Praise of Polyamory’.
Tour Dates:
- 15 May 2025 Exeter Phoenix
- 17 May 2025 Bath Rondo Theatre
- 18 May 2025 Bristol Tobacco Factory
- 21 May 2025 Leicester Attenborough Arts Centre
- 22 May 2025 Leeds Hyde Park Book Club
- 23 May 2025 York Theatre@41
- 24 May 2025 Norwich Norwich Playhouse
- 29 May 2025 Brighton The Old Market
- 30 May 2025 Cambridge Junction
- 31 May 2025 Oxford Arts at the Old Fire Station
- 01 June 2025 London UCL Bloomsbury Theatre
- 05 June 2025 Hull Truck Theatre – Studio
- 06 June 2025 Edinburgh Monkey Barrel
- 07 June 2025 Glasgow The Stand
- 08 June 2025 Newcastle The Stand
For tickets visit: https://www.mickperrin.com/tours/elf-lyons-horses/
by Grapevine Editor | May 2, 2025 | Comedy
Comedian, star and writer-creator of BBC’s critically acclaimed Spent, Michelle De Swarte is back on the road with her entourage of trademark razor-sharp wit and no-holds-barred storytelling.
After the main event’s highs and lows, Michelle wonders what to do after the party. She’s heading to the afters for some brutally honest oversharing about life before social media, trying to scrape the barrel of youth, how to know when too much filler is too much, breaking down the cost difference of “party powder” to powdered greens, whether tarot card readers replace actual therapy and when is a good time to pregame perimenopause. Michelle is here to share all the fu@k ups, so you don’t have to.
As well as her recent smash hit Spent, Michelle starred in Sky/HBO’s The Baby and appeared on Amazon’s Backstage with Katherine Ryan and The Duchess on Netflix, as well as, Live at the Apollo and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Michelle was recently named one of Variety’s 10 Brits to Watch for 2025.
Tour schedule:
2025:
- Friday 19 September Liverpool, Royal Court Studio (on sale soon)
- Saturday 11 October Canterbury, Marlowe Studio (on sale soon)
- Wednesday 15 October Guildford, G Live
- Thursday 16 October Birmingham, Glee
- Monday 20 October Glasgow, The Stand
- Tuesday 21 October Edinburgh, The Stand
- Wednesday 29 October Cardiff, Glee
- Thursday 13 November Leeds, Glee
- Sunday 16 November Southend, Dixon Studio
- Thursday 20 November Bath, Rondo
- Friday 21 November Brighton Corn Exchange
- Tuesday 9 December Newcastle, The Stand
2026:
- Friday 13 March Salford, Lowry Quays
- Thursday 16 April Leicester, Y Theatre
- Saturday 25 April Bristol, Tobacco Factory (on sale soon)
- Friday 29 May London, Hackney Empire
by Hayley Clapperton | Apr 30, 2025 | Comedy, Featured, Reviews, Theatre
Spin-a-Play – Hunter Club Arts Centre
Have you ever seen a play that no-one else will ever get to witness? Have you ever experienced a play where you are in a strange, unique moment of time that will never be repeated? Welcome to Spin-A-Play.
Spin-A-Play, as the name can possibly suggest, is a brand new improvised comedy show where the actors have no idea of the script, storyline, setting or theme of a play they are about to perform. What could possibly go wrong?
I was lucky enough to be invited to one of the preview shows before a group of enthusiastically delusional comedians travel off to Brighton Fringe & Camden Fringe and release their endeavours to other unsuspectingly brave audience members.
The setting was the very cool Hunter Club Arts Centre in their ‘cosy’ room where the audience were made to feel welcome and comfortable – on purpose of course as the more comfortable we felt then the more audience participation there would be. Which is the essential ingredient of the night.
Aaron comes on stage, a quick introduction and pointing out it is a preview show, another way of giving an excuse for any major failings. The introduction informs us that the play will be made up from scratch based on what we, the audience, are just about to shout out, and he as the ‘playwright’ and director, will guide it along as best he can.
The first thing we need to determine is the genre. We all shout out different TV, film and play genres including WhoDunnit, Cop Drama, Action….the usual. However Aaron’s frontman warm charm and self-deprecating humour made the process funny and encouraged the more unusual suggestions….burlesque.
With all the suggestions written on a colourful spinning wheel, it got spun and the genre chosen: Western.
The cast nod appreciatingly, their faces depicting their thoughts that are racing through whatever is in their brains which is linked to ‘Western’. Not that this, as it would transpire, would help them in any way.
Other suggestions for elements in the play are asked from the audience and as we are nicely warmed up, they come faster and more… shall we say… off topic?
Once all the suggestions are in, Aaron provides a little summary guidance to the cast in an attempt at a structure, similar to herding cats, and our very own play begins.
Occasionally Aaron interjects, whether to end a scene or to insert a curve ball storyline or just to annoy his fellow cast members, he does generally keep it on track, sort of.
Can I call it a play? Can you call five comedians crawling about a stage, speaking with strange Southern accents, confusing a brother and sister relationship, pig rustling, a famous eight ingredient breakfast, a Sherriff who commits crimes in disguise, biting your own toenails and human souls being sucked out with a machine that sounds like someone slurping on custard?
Yes I can. There was a storyline, in fact due to this particular audience crowd being so wonderful ours had a happy ending!
Yes I can call it a play. However I can also call it a uniquely funny, enjoyable experience!
It was totally bonkers in the most charming way. Not only were the cast able to string a made-up coherent, surreal storyline together, their natural comedy instinct made it hilarious as the audience were laughing all the way through. We were laughing at the jokes, laughing at the cast as they realised what had just come out of their imagination was bonkers, and also laughing with the cast as they were enjoying the performance and enjoying causing further havoc to their colleagues as one simple line could alter this ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ into the ‘Twilight Zone’ in an instant.
It was great fun and it felt an honour to be part of a play/performance which no-one else outside of those four walls will ever experience in the same way.
Keep an eye out for Insert Laughter Here comedy shows
https://www.insertlaughterhere.co.uk
by Grapevine Editor | Mar 14, 2025 | Comedy
After an acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe, and fresh from supporting Jack Dee on tour, Alex Kealy (The Now Show, Gig Pigs with Ivo Graham) brings The Fear on a tour between February and July 2025.
Last year, 2024, was the best year of Alex’s life. He got married and is, bluntly, happy. But if you’re an anxious overthinker and it’s going well, you just start thinking about when it’ll all end. You get “the fear”.
But what’s at the root of these personal anxieties? If Alex cannot win the war with the voices in his head, can’t he at least achieve a plausible UN-administered power-sharing agreement with them? Is it possible to achieve a positive transformation of your psychological make-up if you’re not cool enough to take Ayahuasca?
Don’t be too afraid of ’The Fear’, though – there’ll also be loads of great jokes fashioned out of his over-examination of coffee machines, the book of Ephesians, duty-free shopping, monarchy, how love is like totalitarianism, beach holidays, death, losing your voice, organised religion and Toblerone.
Alex Kealy is a stand-up comedian who mixes smart political material with self-deprecation and relatable observations. In his first year of performing, he reached the final of the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny competition. He has since taken six hours of stand-up to the Edinburgh Fringe, including 2022’s Winner Takes All, which made The Times’s Top Jokes of the Fringe and received a host of 4-star reviews before a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre and a subsequent national tour.
Meanwhile, on the live circuit, he can be seen performing full weekends at the biggest comedy clubs in the country, including The Comedy Store, The Glee Clubs, Brighton Komedia and Monkey Barrel. He’s also supported Jack Dee, Ivo Graham, Shaparak Khorsandi, Tatty Macleod, Tom Rosenthal and Pierre Novellie on their national tours.
In radio work, Alex recently appeared on Catherine Bohart: TL;DR on BBC Radio 4 and has twice appeared on The Now Show and was on the pilot episode of Rhys James’ Radio 4 show What Are You Talking About?. He is also the co-host of the Gig Pigs podcast, along with Ivo Graham, where comedian guests (including James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Lou Sanders and Rose Matafeo) are taken to a live music gig and then give their verdict afterwards. It’s quickly established a loyal following of music and comedy fans, and the first two seasons regularly saw it reach the top of the UK music podcast charts.
An in-demand joke writer, Alex regularly writes for shows including Mock The Week (BBC Two), The News Quiz and The Now Show (both BBC Radio 4), as well as Turtle Canyon Comedy’s Grave New World (‘a fresh perspective, stylised writing and high gag rate’ – Beyond The Joke). His comedy has been listed in the Top Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe by The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mirror, The Evening Standard, The Independent, iNews, The Scotsman and The Huffington Post.
