Comedian Alasdair Beckett-King – UK Tour 2026 – King Of Crumbs

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

Bury St Edmunds 3rd Comedy Festival

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.

REVEREND RICHARD COLES ANNOUNCES NEW LIVE TOUR

by Grapevine Editor | May 16, 2025 | Comedy

Impatient Productions in association with NMP Live are thrilled to announce that writer, broadcaster, podcaster, author and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! runner up in 2024, Reverend Richard Coles will be embarking on a UK tour with live show Borderline National Trinket. Kicking off in Norwich on 25th May, tickets are on sale now and are available from https://richardcoles.seetickets.com/tour/richard-coles

From his Strictly Come Dancing days to I’m A Celebrity… Reverend Richard Coles is the man with a heart of gold. This show will allow audiences to delve into the extraordinary life of the nation’s favourite vicar. With his trademark wit and warmth, Reverend Richard Coles will share stories from his diverse career—charting his journey from 80s pop stardom with The Communards to life in the pulpit, broadcasting, and beyond. Expect candid reflections, hilarious anecdotes, and a glimpse behind the scenes of his most memorable moments in the spotlight.

Reverend Richard Coles is the only vicar to have had a UK number-one hit single and to have appeared as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and since the first leg of this tour, he’s charmed his way to the final of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… He is also a much loved broadcaster, and a Sunday Times bestselling author whose new novel, A Death On Location, comes out this summer. Is this national trinket on the verge of becoming a national treasure?

Many would say so, but the man himself would probably disagree. Still, whether you see him as treasure or trinket, this is a wonderful opportunity for an intimate evening with one of the UK’s most distinctive voices. Anecdotes from a life well lived, gossip, wit, and wisdom… and a Q&A that can, and likely will, go absolutely anywhere. From the jungle to the unexpected, no topic is off-limits. After phenomenal demand last year, the Reverend returns with a limited run of new dates for his first ever full national tour.

Reverend Richard Coles said today: “I am thrilled to be heading back out on tour again, I hope to be able to bring the confused ramblings of an aging starlet to audiences across the UK, and swapping creepy crawlies for candid conversation.”

Reverend Richard Coles is a former pop star turned Church of England vicar, broadcaster, and best-selling author. As one half of 1980s band The Communards, he achieved three UK Top 10 hits, including the best-selling single of 1986, Don’t Leave Me This Way, making him the only vicar to have had a UK number-one record. After leaving the music industry, he earned a theology degree and was ordained in 2005, serving as a parish priest until his retirement in 2022. From 2011 to 2022, he co-hosted BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live, and remains a regular voice on BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought. A familiar face on television, Richard has appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Have I Got News For You, and QI, and has presented documentaries including Good Grief? on Channel 4. He is a Fellow of King’s College London, Chancellor of the University of Northampton, and an Honorary Chaplain to the Worshipful Company of Leathersellers. As a prolific author, his memoir Fathomless Riches and the Sunday Times best-sellers The Madness of Grief and Murder Before Evensong have captivated readers.

TOUR DATES:

MAY 2025

26.05.25 – NORWICH, THEATRE ROYAL
31.05.25 – GUILDFORD, G LIVE

JUNE 2025

01.06.25 – RCHMOND, RICHMOND THEATRE
07.06.25 – CHESTER, STORYHOUSE
13.06.25 – ST ALBANS, THE ALBAN ARENA
24.06.25 – MANCHESTER, OPERA HOUSE
29.06.25 – LEEDS, GRAND THEATRE

JULY 2025

01.07.25 – CARDIFF, NEW THEATRE
02.07.25 – BIRMINGHAM, THE ALEXANDRA
06.07.25 – GLASGOW, KINGS THEATRE
07.07.25 – EDINBURGH, ASSEMBLY ROOMS
08.07.25 – YORK, OPERA HOUSE
11.07.25 – BOURNEMOUTH, THE PAVILION
14.07.25 – OXFORD, NEW THEATRE
17.07.25 – TUNBRIDGE WELLS, ASSEMBLY HALL

Rosie Jones to Tour This Autumn

by Grapevine Editor | May 14, 2025 | Comedy

Self-professed prick and star of Taskmaster Rosie Jones is heading back out on the road with her brand-new stand-up show I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying, where she’ll be talking about the big stuff: being single, the pressures of representing huge sections of the population, and gravy. Oh, and boobs.

Rosie is a BAFTA-nominated powerhouse, and she’ll be bringing her loveable blend of cheek and charm to venues up and down the country this Autumn.

Rosie has a starring role as Emily in her first ever sitcom Pushers, which is coming soon to C4: Having had her state benefits cut to shreds after being made redundant, a young woman with very little left to lose begins to build an illegal drugs empire. But Emily isn’t your average street-dealing dope peddler – she’s sharp, funny, biting, highly educated – and on top of all that, she has cerebral palsy. People have underestimated Emily her entire life. If they’re not patronising her for completing the most menial of tasks, they’re pretending she’s not there. What better disguise could there be for criminal activity than to be entirely written off by the same broken system which exists to protect the law?

Rosie recently fronted her own hit Comedy Central series Out Of Order, her hard-hitting Channel 4 documentary Am I A R*tard and two travelogue series’, Mission: Accessible and the BAFTA nominated Trip Hazard as well as ground-breaking roles acting in primetime dramas Silent Witness, Casualty and Call The Midwife.

Her other television credits are extensive including: Taskmaster, Live At The Apollo, The Jonathan Ross Show, The Royal Variety, QI, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Cats Does Countdown, The Last Leg, Blankety Blank, Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, Mock The Week, Hypothetical, The Ranganation, Jon Richardson’s Channel Hopping, Dating No Filter and The Last Leg Tokyo to name a few.

Rosie is also an established writer and actor, having written on hit Netflix series Sex Education, she also both wrote and starred in Disability Benefits which has was commissioned by Channel 4 as part of their 2022 Comedy Blaps collection and will be returning as Pushers very soon.

Rosie also has her own bestselling children’s book series The Amazing Edie Eckhart published by Hachette Children’s Group. Jacqueline Wilson described Rosie’s first publication in the series as a “brilliant book – fresh, funny and ultra cool”. Last year saw the release of Rosie’s first non-fiction book Moving On Up: Beat the bullies, make fearless friendships and deal with funny fails.

On Rosie’s debut international tour with Triple Threat, she was nominated for Most Outstanding Show at Melbourne Comedy Festival in 2023. She has since toured the UK & Ireland to sell out audiences and filmed her special at Brighton’s Theatre Royal.

Rosie Jones Foundation:

Rosie has recently set up the Rosie Jones Foundation which is on a mission to empower lives and change minds. It is taking a stand against isolation and prioritising inclusion. This begins with two key priorities: ensuring access to appropriate, lived experience-led mental health support for individuals living with cerebral palsy and fostering community connection and peer support through events and workshops. Rosie’s tour provides the perfect opportunity for exclusive in-person events around the UK which will announced by the Foundation in the coming months.

Tour schedule:

Tuesday 9 September Taunton, Brewhouse
Thursday 11 September Bradford, Studio
Friday 12 September Kendal, Brewery Arts Centre
Saturday 13 September Lancaster, Grand
Tuesday 23 September Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
Thursday 25 September Leeds, City Varieties
Friday 26 September London, Bloomsbury Theatre
Wednesday 1 October London, Blackheath Halls
Friday 3 October Basingstoke, Haymarket
Monday 13 October Bristol, Old Vic
Tuesday 14 October Maidstone, Hazlitt Theatre
Wednesday 15 October Canterbury, Gulbenkian
Sunday 19 October Brighton, Corn Exchange
Friday 24 October Durham, Gala Theatre
Saturday 25 October Newcastle, Northern Stage
Sunday 26 October Leicester, Y Theatre
Wednesday 29 October Newcastle Under Lyme, New Vic Theatre
Thursday 30 October Birmingham, Old Rep
Friday 31 October Chelmsford, Theatre
Sunday 2 November Salford, Lowry Quays
Thursday 6 November Derby, Theatre
Friday 7 November Southampton, MAST Theatre
Monday 17 November Bury St Edmunds, The Apex
Saturday 22 November Tunbridge Wells, Trinity Theatre
Wednesday 3 December Glasgow, Glee Club
Thursday 4 December Edinburgh, The Stand

Tickets: https://rosiejonescomedy.com/

Comedian Elf Lyons performing in Cambridge

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/

Michelle De Swarte – UK Tour 2025

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.