Stephen K Amos brings Oxymoron tour to Otley Courthouse, Selby Town Hall and Leeds City Varieties

Stephen K Amos has been noticing contradictions everywhere. “It’s what we’ve experienced in the last few years, people arguing about being vaccinated, questioning scientists about things like climate change, comedians becoming serious politicians, like Zelensky in Ukraine and politicians behaving like comedians like Boris Johnson in the UK.”
By Grace Hammond
Published 29th Sep 2023, 11:45 BST

Hence the title of his latest tour, Oxymoron, which will come to Yorkshire on various dates. It explores the “madness of recent years” and Amos will be “finding the funny in all of that”.

He has been a successful comedian for three decades and appeared on shows including Live at the Apollo.

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Amos is known for his trademark quickfire audience interaction. Can audiences expect that this time around?

Stephen K Amos is coming to Yorkshire on his latest tour, Oxymoron. Picture: Pål Hansen.Stephen K Amos is coming to Yorkshire on his latest tour, Oxymoron. Picture: Pål Hansen.
Stephen K Amos is coming to Yorkshire on his latest tour, Oxymoron. Picture: Pål Hansen.

“Of course. It’s not a Ted Talk. The script is in my head, but I veer off and come back to it. I want every show to feel like we’re in the moment together. It’s a live comedy experience. Something wonderful often happens in the room, or maybe somebody says something that gives me an idea to go off on a tangent. I love it when something happens that couldn’t have happened anywhere else and I think the audience loves it too.”

Amos will appear at Otley Courthouse on Friday, October 13, and Selby Town Hall on Saturday, October 14. Next year, he returns to the region with a show at the City Varieties in Leeds on Thursday, February 1.

He played Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady at the London Coliseum in 2022, but when it comes to performing, he agrees that stand-up is his true love.

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"Oh my goodness, yes. I’m so grateful to be able to do a job where I am my literally my own boss. I can say whatever I want onstage. It’s the only job in the world that I can think of, where you can say whatever you want.

"The audience have come to see you and they don’t know what they’e going to get. If you go on television or on radio, there’ compliance, you have to go through various people who check things, there’s a script to follow.

"Even if you’re the Prime Minister you have to toe the party line, but with a stand-up, you just tell your jokes and make people laugh.”

And Amos always manages manage to pick out the fans in the audience who are comedy gold.

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“It comes from starting out as a club MC (master of ceremonies) and being fearless, just talking and seeing what happens,” he says.

“It’s a combination of things. Like body language, if someone is near the front and looking shy or awkward avoid like the plague. It’s not about embarrassing anybody. If someone is too animated, again, avoid like the plague. They’re going to get over-involved. I’ve got a couple of jokes that are specifically designed to test people out but I won’t reveal them, they are a trade secret!”

For tickets visit: stephenkamos.com/live-uk

Related topics:Prime MinisterBoris JohnsonUkraine