Nominated for Best Show at the 2022 Edinburgh Comedy Awards, acclaimed comedian, Colin Hoult is set to embark on a national tour in the autumn, after hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. His new show Colin sees him set aside his trademark characters to perform as himself for the first time.
After years of playing characters, Colin is finally showing the person behind them in a hugely joyous stand-up show. Colin explores his relationship with his father (also named Colin) and his son, and how more than just a name can be handed down through a family.
How can Colin understand his repressed (but quite bonkers) parents and make sure his children are given more freedom to be themselves? On the flipside, how can he live up to his ‘proper bloke’ of a dad who was such a natural leader with strong principles? And was his dad right to behave as he did, the ‘proper bloke’ who always asked ‘why can’t we be a normal family?’? Now with children of his own, Colin wants to leave the world better than he found it, and not repeat the complicated mistakes of the generations before him.
But whilst you can take the man out of character, you can’t take the character out of the man – and Colin intersperses his stand-up with fleeting comic snapshots of his family in deliriously funny act-outs.
From gorillas and Ouija boards to Christmas memories, Colin’s journey of self-discovery sees him explore his background, in his own unique way, as he looks back at his working-class roots and the importance of the name Colin: his rather drab birth right, and a handy shorthand for how literal the passing down of family problems can be!
Acknowledging that his bizarre family was clearly full of undiagnosed neurodiverse people, Colin, who was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago, talks about how in his childhood, people weren’t labelled as neurodiverse or had proper diagnoses, but whispered about as people deemed simply ‘not right’ – and this progress made with proper diagnoses and sensitivity to difference is, at least, something to feel positive about.
Colin Hoult is a celebrated comedian, actor and writer in television, radio and theatre. He is best known for appearing as larger than life characters on stage as Anna Mann, and on TV in the likes of After Life (Netflix), Ghosts (BBC), and This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC). He’s also been seen in Trying (Apple), Derek (Channel 4), Life’s Too Short (BBC), Four Weddings and a Funeral (Hulu), Being Human (BBC) and BBC3’s award-winning Murder in Successville.
Hoult is a successful character comedian – he is well known for his celebrated ‘has-been actress’ character Anna Mann and has received great critical acclaim for his live shows, which were listed among the best-reviewed comedy shows at the Fringe by British Comedy Guide. Hoult is a prolific writer and former winner of the Writers’ Guild Award for Comedy. He penned a hugely successful trilogy of live shows which were adapted into a Radio 4 series, Colin Hoult’s Carnival of Monsters. Other writing credits include Romesh Presents: Inside Your Ancestors for Sky and Comedy: Shuffle for BBC.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/colinhoultcomedy Twitter: https:/twitter.com/colinhoult
Facebook: https://facebook.com/colinhoultcomedy/
What the press said about Colin
“…outlandishly funny, and raucous belly laughs fill the room from start to finish…” ★★★★.5 – Chortle
“a delightful hour of storytelling” ★★★★ – The Arts Desk
“Colin’s celebration of difference is what makes this show a beauty.” ★★★★ – The Observer
“It’s an hour that quietly casts its spell…” ★★★★ – The Guardian
“It’s the only show to leave me with a genuinely aching face. Colin Hoult is unrelentingly funny whether being himself or someone else.” ★★★★★ – One4Review
“I haven’t laughed so much at a show in a very long time – Colin’s ability to tell many stories whilst interacting continuously with his audience is a masterclass.” ★★★★★ – UK Theatre Web
“Colin Hoult has created an uproariously funny expression of mental health struggles and grief spanning three generations.” ★★★★ – The Scotsman
“Colin is bold, hilarious and a joyous show not to be missed.” ★★★★★ –Broadway World
“Colin is a superb show, showcasing the talents of a man who is in his prime. It rattles along at breakneck speed and he achieves the rarest of tricks in that the laughter never seems to stop. Tittering, wheezing, crying with laughter on repeat for the full hour. Brilliant.” ★★★★★ – Theatre Weekly
What the press said about 2022’s The Death of Anna Mann
“Terrific… you will laugh yourself silly throughout” ★★★★★ – The Telegraph
“This is a superb show that I wanted to watch again straight away” ★★★★★ – The Arts Desk
“Anna Mann is a creation of genius” ★★★★★ – The Times
“…A poignant yet fitting tribute to a truly iconic character” ★★★★ – The Independent
“What emerges is a show with a surprising emotional underpinning… while on a superficial level [it] is as silly as can be” ★★★★ – The Guardian
“Character comedy is rarely this immaculately observed ” ★★★★ – Evening Standard
“Hilarious… wonderfully lush, intricate tapestry” ★★★★ – The Scotsman
“Anna is quite pointedly, side-splittingly brilliant…an absolute gift to comedy” ★★★★★ –Broadway World
Tour Listings: For tickets please visit http://berksnest.com/colin
23 – 28 Sept London Soho Theatre
03-Oct-24 Nottingham Arts Theatre
04-Oct-24 Aberystwyth Comedy Festival
10-Oct-24 Bath Rondo Theatre
11-Oct-24 Winchester The Arc
12-Oct-24 Brighton The Old Market
16-Oct-24 Guildford G Live
17-Oct-24 Corsham The Pound Arts Centre
23-Oct-24 Birmingham Glee Club
25-Oct-24 Canterbury The Marlowe Studio
27-Oct-24 Norwich Playhouse
29-Oct-24 Newcastle The Stand
31-Oct-24 Bristol The Wardrobe
01-Nov-24 Swansea The Grand
02-Nov-24 Reading South Street Arts Centre
05-Nov-24 Leeds The Wardrobe
06-Nov-24 York Theatre@41
07-Nov-24 Bishop Aukland Town Hall
08-Nov-24 Manchester Fairfield Social Club
09-Nov-24 Liverpool Royal Court Theatre Studio
10-Nov-24 Chorley Theatre
13-Nov-24 Edinburgh The Stand
14-Nov-24 Glasgow The Stand
21-Nov-24 Aldershot West End Centre
22-Nov-24 Cambridge Junction
About Berk’s Nest:
Berk’s Nest are at the forefront of live comedy in the UK, and are the production company behind award-winning live comedy shows and tours from the likes of Nick Mohammed, Rose Matafeo, Richard Gadd, Catherine Cohen, Sophie Duker, and Kieran Hodgson. Their shows have won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show in 2016 and 2018, and Best Newcomer in 2019. Their tours, line-up shows, and festival programming champion the comedy stars of today and tomorrow, working with the likes of Tarot, Paddy Young, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Max & Ivan, Mawaan Rizwan, Lolly Adefope, and Jack Rooke to name but a few. BerksNest.com | @BerksNest