“Kearns could be your new King of Comedy”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard ★★★★★ | Dominic Maxwell, The Times ★★★★ | Brian Logan, The Guardian ★★★★
Mark Monahan, The Telegraph ★★★★ | John Nicholson, The Mirror ★★★★★ | Alice Jones, The i ★★★★
Sharon Lougher, Metro ★★★★ | Ben Williams, Time Out ★★★★ | Steve Bennett, Chortle ★★★★★
Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk ★★★★ | Jay Richardson, The Scotsman ★★★★ | Rebecca Cross, Sydney Morning Herald ★★★★
Fresh off the back of a sold-out run at London’s Soho Theatre, with the tour already extended into the autumn due to demand, Winner of Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show and Best Newcomer, four-time Chortle Award nominee and Taskmaster Series 14 star, John Kearns adds a second week-long run of his brand-new and sell-out tour, The Varnishing Days, at London’s Soho Theatre, Downstairs from Monday 19th June to Saturday 24th June at 7.15pm. Set to be his largest tour to date, John will tour his latest show, “about as funny as anything this decade” (Dominic Maxwell, The Times ★★★★), till the Friday 24th November.
Tickets are on sale from Wednesday 1st March. Full dates and tickets available at johnkearnscomedy.co.uk
The Varnishing Days is the heart-stopping, glasses-dropping, hard-rocking, wig-shaking, levothyroxine-taking, knee-knocking, boot-licking, justifying, teeth rattling, digressing new show from stand up comedian to the stars John Kearns. Go silent as I walk on! Acknowledge when something funny happens! Leave discussing dinner plans! Others will be implicated. Points will be circled and missed. Hell, it’s a man trying his best! When I visit your town dogs will start barking, as will clergy. Your microwave will go haywire. The lights in your vestibule will flicker and the Bank of England will nervously look at interest rates. On the day I write this, the pound has hit an all time low against the dollar. Mark my words. This show will break that record again and again and again.
Nearly ten years on since he first debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, John is still the only comedian to have ever won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show (Shtick) and Best Newcomer (Sight Gags for Perverts) in the awards forty-year history. An internationally acclaimed live act, he has delivered his “richly, idiosyncratic comedy” (The Guardian) across the world, notably picking up two Melbourne Barry Award nominations along the way and was twice-voted one of the Evening Standard’s 1000 Most Influential Londoners. Following sold out residencies at the Soho Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and at the Edinburgh Fringe, he toured the UK for the first time with his third solo show, Don’t Worry, They’re Here, directed by Olivier winning playwright Jon Brittain. John’s fourth and latest show Double Take and Fade Away was hailed by critics as his finest yet, making numerous ‘best of the year’ lists including the Evening Standard and The List. The show had a sold-out Edinburgh run, two weeks at London’s Soho Theatre, and a UK tour.
One of the latest contestants on the last series of Taskmaster (Channel 4), elsewhere on television John co-hosts Guessable (Comedy Central) with Sara Pascoe, was the lead in cult hit Top Coppers (BBC Three), appeared on Cats does Countdown (Channel 4), Richard Osman’s House Of Games (BBC Two) and Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave), went down with the Titanic on Drunk History (Comedy Central), ballsed up a heist in Rotters (Sky Arts) and wrote and performed on Harry Hill’s Stars In Their Eyes (ITV). John also wrote for Harry Hill on HH’s Tea Time (Sky One). On radio, John co-wrote and starred in Lasties (BBC Radio 4) alongside Tim Key, entertained the nation on Christmas Day 2019 with A Very John Kearns Christmas (BBC Radio 4), and wrote and performed his own series The John Kearns Show (BBC Radio 4), as well as hosting and guesting on numerous shows throughout the Fringe (BBC Radio 4/Radio 4 Extra). John also co-hosts Microscope, an improvised comedy podcast, alongside fellow comedian Mat Ewins.
What the press said about John Kearns’ last live show, Double Take And Fade Away
“John Kearns has restored my faith in comedy”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard ★★★★★
“the best showcase for his greatness yet… Kearns is as original and beguiling as any comedian in Britain.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times ★★★★
“a toothy, tragicomic delight… cult purveyor of mock-heroic suburban standup.”
Brian Logan, The Guardian ★★★★
“There is something quite magical about the world John Kearns creates… exquisite to watch.”
Alice Jones, The i ★★★★
“Kearns’ poised, poetic stream of consciousness is the whirring logic of a very funny man with a profound understanding of the human condition.”
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman ★★★★
“damn funny… An hour of this unique act, exquisite but robust, is more rewarding than any arena stand-up”
Steve Bennett, Chortle ★★★★ ½
For more information, interview requests and press tickets, please contact: Perrine Davari at PDavari@avalonuk.com / 020 7598 8000.
