Theatre News

Barry Humphries to return to the West End and tour the UK

The venerated performer is back

Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
© Producers

Much-loved Australian entertainer Barry Humphries, responsible for creating a pantheon of characters, will be returning to the UK stage.

Playing in April and May 2022, Humphries will begin performances in Nottingham on 7 April before visiting York, Bath, Guildford, Richmond, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Malvern, Bromley, Cheltenham, Canterbury, Norwich, Buxton, Northampton, Bournemouth and Yeovil, with two nights in the West End on 29 May and 5 June.

Humphries is responsible for the likes of Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Paterson and Sandy Stone, but will reflect on his own life, career and upbringing in the upcoming show,

Humphries commented: "This is a show in which I am the principal character; it's not Les, it's not Edna, it's not Sandy Stone. It is really about this character called ‘me'. I'm not in disguise. It is the story of my generation, it is a story of a life spent in the theatre and a life spent in comedy, and it will show what it is like to be a clown. In a way, this is perhaps the bravest thing I've ever done, and I hope the most entertaining. I think people might be agreeably shocked and they certainly will learn much they didn't know."

Humphries went on to tease: "Audio-visual technology has made dramatic strides in my life and it's now possible for me to be on stage with one of my own characters. They may intrude. I might be interrupted, I might even be upstaged!"

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