The man behind social media sensation the Dundonald Liberation Army is taking the show on the road with his first ever solo stand-up comedy tour, Sabotage.
The tour that was “never really supposed to be a tour” is on it’s way to the Market Place Theatre, Armagh – the city that has long been on the comedian’s mind.
Stephen Large – author of a Kindle chart-topping book, BBC comedy sketches and 5 sold-out stage comedies – burst onto the local stand-up scene two years ago.
Speaking to Armagh I comedian and comedy writer, Stephen Large describes how his debut tour came about: “It was never really supposed to be a tour. It started as my debut solo stand-up gig and I did it locally in the Strand Arts Centre in East Belfast and the idea was I would do an hour and it was a 180-seater and, honestly, I would have been pretty happy if that had just sold out.
“I put that on sale in August last year for the show in December and it sold out within four days so I put a second one on to see how that would go and it sold out too! I ended up with three shows in the Strand and an additional one at The MAC.
“Once I saw the appetite for it, I decided to take it on a bit of a tour and Armagh is included in that.”
No stranger to the ecclesiastical capital, Stephen recalled a previous visit, the one which prompted him to include an Armagh-stop off as part of the tour: “Previously I was in the Market Place for a play that I wrote for Martin Lynch called ‘Three’s a Shroud’ and we put it in the Market Place Theatre back in 2018.
“It was originally a two week Belfast run and the following year we brought it back and opened the run in Armagh and the crowd were great.
“It was such a warm crowd and they enjoyed the humour. My humour can be quite close to the knuckle so you’re always worried but it went down well.
“I thought the venue was great, the people that worked there were friendly and helpful and it was a sell out with 400 people there so it was always in my mind that if I was doing the tour and going around the country I’d love to go back to Armagh.”
Funny and a charmer! Now that he has Armagh’s attention, what is the show all about?
Stephen said: “It’s basically a look back at my ridiculous life. I go through the last 42 years of chaos in graphic detail and so far it has got a really good response in the Belfast shows.
“I look back to my childhood, the differences between growing up in the 80s and what I see my kids experiencing with the likes of school and holidays and things like that.
“Then I go though my own experiences, high school, partying 20s and settling down in my 30s. If you’ve lived in Northern Ireland since 1981 then everything in there will be relatable to you no matter what age you are.”
The tour will also take in stops at The Playhouse, Portrush on June 28 and The Braid Theatre, Ballymena on October 26.
The Armagh audience will welcome Stephen to the Market Place Theatre stage on September 6. Tickets are on sale now.
Friday September 6, 2024
8pm | £15.00
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