“the finest set of his career… what a show”
Brian Logan, The Guardian ★★★★★
“the delightful, poetic flourish that defines all his work… perfectly structured with overlapping themes and surprising callbacks… It’s all rather wonderful”
Steve Bennett, Chortle ★★★★★
“about as funny as anything this decade”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times ★★★★
“comedy as ridiculous as it is profound… unexpectedly moving”
John Bailey, The Age ★★★★★
“This is yet another superb hour from a gifted writer and performer, suffused with beauty, tenderness and frequent, exceptional hilarity.”
Jay Richardson, The List ★★★★★
Friday 9th August – It was announced today that winner of Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show and Best Newcomer, 2024 Chortle Award winner and Taskmaster Series 14 star, John Kearns’ debut special, The Varnishing Days, will land on Sky Comedy and streaming service NOW on Saturday 31st August.
Taped at London’s Royal Court Theatre, 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.
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. The forthcoming special comes off the back of John’s largest, international and critically-acclaimed tour with his latest and fifth solo show, The Varnishing Days, which was twice-extended due to demand with over 100 tour shows, including 17 sold-out London shows with two sold-out Soho Theatre runs and multiple sell-out dates at Bloomsbury Theatre. The Varnishing Days saw John win at the Chortle Awards 2024 for Best Show, nominated at Melbourne Comedy Festival 2024 for Most Outstanding Show and made numerous ‘best of the year’ lists including The Guardian, The Times and Chortle. On television, John was a breakout star of series 14 of Taskmaster (Channel 4) and was the co-host of Guessable on Comedy Central alongside Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies. John was the lead role in cult BBC Three sitcom Top Coppers and has also appeared on shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) and House of Games (BBC Two).
John Kearn’s The Varnishing Days has been commissioned by Sky. The 60” special is produced by Avalon and Executive Produced by Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner, and Julien Matthews.
John Kearns’ The Varnishing Days first airs on Saturday 31st August on Sky Comedy and NOW.
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Further praise for The Varnishing Days
“a tender, poignant show, Kearns can deliver big-laugh gags and callbacks in a terrific hour of comedy.”
Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk ★★★★
“silliness and sentiment together to extraordinary effect… laugh-till-you-fall-off-your-stool”
Laurie Presswood, The Skinny ★★★★★
“a flawless fusion of gut-busting laughter and razor-sharp observations… comedic gold”
Michael Benson, Broadway Baby ★★★★★
“John Kearns is in complete control, a master of his craft, whose act – a decade after it made its debut the Edinburgh Fringe – seems to just keep getting better and better.”
Archie Brydon, WhyNow ★★★★★
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York. Avalon, Artists Rights Group and The Agency together represent a diverse and distinctive roster of artists including actors, comedians, writers and directors, among them Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award-winners.
Avalon is the UK’s largest true independent television production company, with over 40 shows in production in the last year including: hit entertainment format Taskmaster (Channel 4 in the UK, Network 10 in Australia, TV4 in Sweden, TVNorge/Discovery+ in Norway); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); Starstruck (HBO Max/BBC); Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Breeders (FX/Sky); The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show (BBC); and Fantasy Football League (Sky). Avalon has produced over 4,000 episodes of hit programming for audiences in the UK, US and around the world, winning over 30 Emmy Awards and BAFTAs from nearly 100 nominations.
Other landmark Avalon shows include Catastrophe (Amazon/Channel 4), Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime), The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), TV Burp (ITV), and the cult classic workplace sitcom Workaholics (Comedy Central). Avalon has also produced over 60 comedy specials for various platforms including Amazon, HBO and Netflix, as well as numerous podcasts and radio shows, including the UK’s biggest podcast Shagged. Married. Annoyed. with Chris & Rosie Ramsey. Avalon’s dedicated distribution arm licenses its catalogue of programmes and formats to over 200 territories worldwide.
Avalon also produces and promotes live comedy around the world and has promoted more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company. Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show, Jerry Springer: The Opera, winner of four Olivier Awards, and is currently producing Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical in the West End.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press or follow @avalonent
For more information, interview and screener requests, please contact: Perrine Davari at [email protected] / 020 7598 8000.
