American comedian Russell Hicks is bringing his Happy To Be Here tour to The Phoenix Theatre & Arts Centre in Bordon on October 16 at 8pm.
The award-winning comic has baffled live crowds and television audiences with his anarchic and electrifying stand-up, made even more incredible by his propensity to make it all up as he goes along.
Hicks has starred in ITV’s Stand Up Sketch Show, won Channel 4’s comedy competition show Captive Audience, and hosted the Prime Video reality series Lovestruck High.
Fresh from winning Best Comedy Show at the 2024 Prague Fringe Festival, he has just completed shooting on a feature film, which will premiere next year and will constitute his acting debut.
Russell is renowned among fans and fellow comics alike. “Russell Hicks is the real deal of a comedian. I’m definitely in the back of the room to watch,” extolled Jamali Maddix, star of Taskmaster and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.
Bolstered by a sizeable social media following, his tour comprises 40 dates across the UK. It will showcase his ability to interweave an irreverent American perspective, incisive appraisals of British life, and spur-of-the-moment improvisations.
It’s not lost on Russell that he’ll be performing during the upcoming American election.
He said: “I always talk about whatever’s going on. What’s happening in the room, in the audience, in the world. There’s no way I’m not gonna have to let loose and joke about what’s happening in the States right now.
“Looking back at America from outside the country is like seeing a photo of yourself from 15 years ago, with a terrible haircut. You think, how did I ever think that was normal?”
Russell Hicks’s ability to reduce even the stoniest crowd to hysterics has earned him a reputation as a killer on the live comedy circuit.
Producer Jay Pond-Jones said: “Russell Hicks is just funny. You watch him walk out on a massive stage like the Hammersmith Apollo, knowing he has no jokes – he’s just about to make it all up and then he takes the roof off the place. You have to see it to believe it.”
Initially met with some resistance by a comedy industry largely ruled by trends - he was once told by an industry executive “We already have a guy named Russell in a T-shirt” - Russell Hicks has persevered.
He has decided to work as an independent artist, eschewing corporate comedy trappings like a large agency or PR reps, instead embracing social media and live performances to connect with his audience. He now has more than 250,000 followers and millions of views across channels, and is proud to be partnering with Bound & Gagged for his debut tour.
No-one can deny Hicks is funny. When he warms up the studio audiences for major British television programmes, producers “borrow” the booming laughs he solicits from the crowd to edit into the episode broadcast. When he appears on live comedy nights with television stars, he often closes the show, as he’s too tough an act for some others to follow.
David Gower once had to give a speech after Russell’s stand-up, and opened with: “That was awesome. How am I supposed to follow that?”
To buy tickets, priced £16, call 01420 472664, visit https://www.phoenixarts.co.uk or visit www.RussellHicks.co.uk/Tour