From QI to Cats Do Countdown, Black Books to Hot Fuzz, Bill Bailey has spent decades as one of Britain’s most beloved, respected and admired comedians.
The activist, writer, multi-instrumentalist and all-around charmer has forged a career by merging the whimsical and surreal with the literate and scholarly. As his expansive knowledge of music, history, art and nature clashes against his penchant for the obscure and obsolete, Bailey provides a smorgasbord of wild, fantastical descriptions and wonderfully fanciful images. As curious ramblings meet impassioned musical passages, the outcome is often unexpected, regularly impressive and always hysterical.
While his appearances on a plethora of panel shows highlight his acerbic wit, and his film cameos utilise his effortless charisma and boundless physical comedy, the essential Bill Bailey experience is always seeing him on stage, commanding an arena with ease. The new tour, ‘En Route To Normal’, is Bailey’s reflection on the past year or two. As the name suggests, the tour ponders the difficult and challenging road we are walking down as a community, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In true Bailey fashion, the questions asked often find themselves sourcing back through history, tapping into patterns seen through time. Looking back, the comedy master finds his answers in everything from his own life, infamous moments of turmoil in the past and even the beauty of nature.
As tales of incredible human resilience interweave between the purity of nature and its effect on music, the show aims to match the hilarity with the profound, as we look to the past to show us how to step forward, into the future. Lamenting over past tragedies and how the human condition overcame them, the show’s soundtrack ranges from the importance of birdsong to the wonder and unity found on dance remixes. As widespread are the musical parodies at play, as too are the themes and emotions set to entertain the night, as the national treasure discusses everything from dogs and sky diving to ringtones, dishing each anecdote out with an ample portion of heart and community.
Before the nationally besotted comedian brings his comedic jewels to Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on Monday 20th December, be sure to secure tickets and guarantee yourself a night of endlessly amusing turns and inspired sketches, the likes of which can only stem from the mad magic of the pipe-smoking maverick, Bill Bailey.
Tickets, priced from £40.00, are available from ticketmaster.co.uk.
