Rising star comedian Alasdair Beckett-King is about to embark on his first UK tour.
Alasdair is a familiar face on TV screens including appearances on Mock The Week as well as picking up awards along the way. He's perhaps best known for his online sketches and animated shorts which have gone viral on YouTube.
Ahead of the tour, I sat down with Alasdair to discuss the show.
The Interdimensional ABK marks your first UK Tour, can you tell me a little bit about the show and the themes you discuss during it?
The premise of this show is that I come from a parallel timeline that is just slightly better than the real world. Which, in all honesty, is just an excuse to tell jokes, do some whimsical set-pieces and attempt a bit of multimedia jiggery-pokery. I don't think I actually discuss any themes, per se, but the audiences don't seem to mind.
How have you gone about shaping a tour show?
A lot of people tour with a support act. But I've decided to be my own support act. That way, by the time I get on stage after the interval, the audience has been nicely warmed up by the first guy. And if they don't like him, they're bound to like me.
What keeps you inspired in terms of your comedy?
I think back to William Blake, and all the artists who went their entire lives without either riches or recognition. If you can keep going, if you enjoy your job, you're winning.
You recently scooped the Best Breakthrough Act at the 2023 Chortle awards, how did it feel to win the award?
I was very surprised and a little bit embarrassed. I was so sure I wouldn't win that I didn't go to the awards ceremony. Maybe not going to the ceremony is my good luck charm? I must make sure not to go to the BAFTAs or the Oscars next year.
As a Leicester-based page, I'm very aware of the Leicester Comedy Festival where you won the 2017 Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, how much of a launch pad was that award which led you to where you are now?
It was a turning point for me. The first time I did a show at the Leicester Comedy Festival, I was put in some kind of Masonic hunting lodge, way outside the city centre. There was no sign that the venue had comedy inside. There was no indication that the place was open to the public. There were no lights on in the building that were visible from the street. Audience numbers for that first show… were not great.
But then I won Leicester Mercury and every time I've visited Leicester since then has been an unalloyed delight with full rooms and nice supportive audiences. Thanks, Leicester!
If you could have dinner with any 3 comedians (alive or dead) who would you invite and why?
I'd have Buster Keaton (alive), Victoria Wood (alive), and Jim Davidson (dead). In truth, I'm not keen to meet my comedy idols. I've run into a few of them, and I get very tongue-tied.
Why should anyone book to see your show?
Because the venue won't let you in without a ticket. They're fussy like that.
Alasdair Beckett-King’s first UK tour, “The Interdimensional ABK” kicks off in Brighton on 7th April with dates all the way across the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, culminating in two dates at London’s Leicester Square Theatre on 17th and 18th June. To book, visit https://www.mickperrin.com/tours/alasdair-beckett-king-the-interdimensional-abk/
APRIL
07/04/2023 & 22/04/2023 Brighton - Komedia Studio
08/04/2023 Bath - Rondo Theatre
13/04/2023 Oxford - The Glee Club
14/04/2023 & 15/04/2023 Birmingham - The Glee Club
20/04/2023 Aldershot Hampshire - West End Centre
21/04/2023 New Milton Hampshire - Forest Arts Centre
27/04/2023 Norwich Arts Centre
28/04/2023 Bristol - The Comedy Box at The Hen & Chicken
29/04/2023 Tiverton Devon Tiverton Community Arts Theatre
MAY
05/05/2023 Maidstone - Hazlitt Theatre Studio
06/05/2023 Cambridge - Junction (J2)
11/05/2023 Fareham Hampshire - Ashcroft Arts Centre
12/05/2023 Winchester - The ARC Winchester
13/05/2023 Swindon - Arts Centre
16/05/2023 Newcastle Tyne & Wear - The Stand
17/05/2023 Edinburgh - The Stand
18/05/2023 Glasgow - The Stand
19/05/2023 Belfast - The Limelight
20/05/2023 Derry - Nerve Centre
27/05/2023 & 04/06/2023 Manchester - HOME Studio
28/05/2023 Leeds - The Wardrobe
JUNE
17/06/2023 & 18/06/2023 London Leicester Square Theatre
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