gyles brandreth tour 2023

Gyles Brandreth

• Thu 10 Oct York, Grand Opera House Dame Judi Dench Gyles Brandreth View tickets
• Mon 4 Nov New Brighton, Floral Pavilion Theatre & Blue Lounge Gyles Brandreth View tickets
• Sun 13 Apr Aylesbury Waterside Theatre Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 20 Apr Woking, New Victoria Theatre Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 27 Apr Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 4 May Ipswich, Corn Exchange Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 11 May Winchester, Theatre Royal Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 18 May New Theatre Oxford Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 25 May High Wycombe, Swan Theatre Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets
• Sun 1 Jun Swindon, Wyvern Theatre Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking View tickets

Gyles Brandreth Can’t Stop Talking!

Nostalgia and humour wrapped in amusing – if very British – storytelling

The man who set the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest after-dinner speech – a mind-boggling non-stop 12.5 hours – cannot stop talking at the Fringe. Luckily, his show is filled with funny anecdotes, so the audience won’t leave with many complaints.

To the surprising choice of a punk song, Brandreth enters the stage and regales the filled auditorium with tales from his time as a theatre actor, radio and TV presenter, and general well-connected man in British society. As he says, if you aren’t a fan of name-dropping, this show isn’t for you. Those names are very typically British, going back half a century – so, if you’re not heavily clued into the local arts and cultural scene, some of the humour may escape you.

Brandreth carries a sense of ease and belonging on the stage. A snafu with the microphone is handled with such tact, it leaves us wondering if it’s all part of the act. He dips into topics such as the pains of growing old, failed attempts to be cast on popular reality shows, marriage, and a career in media and Parliament. An intriguing aspect of the show is the ‘menu’ – inviting audience participation to choose conversation topics for the evening, thus giving a sense of improvisation and offering something new each night. The humour has mass (British) appeal, mostly. A few shots at low-hanging fruit – quips at the expense of ‘snowflake generations’ and having a trans identity – sit misplaced within an otherwise entertaining show.

Gyles Brandreth’s Can’t Stop Talking! has a nostalgic value in an hour of amusing storytelling – with the caveat that the source of the talking is clearly from a specific time and place within society.

Sonali Misra

5 August 2023

• Assembly George Square Theatre Edinburgh 2 - 27 Aug 2023

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The Daily Brit

The lowdown on the latest UK news

Gyles Brandreth Announces National Tour and Full Edinburgh Festival Fringe run

Novelist, actor, ex MP, podcaster and best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth just can’t stop talking as he returns to the stage this summer. Kicking off his tour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the jumper-loving This Morning star, has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby. The award-winning raconteur, wordsmith and verbivore, who holds be the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech (12 and a half hours!) suffers from logorrhea and in his hilarious new one-man show he is trying to work out why..

From 40 years on Radio 4’s Just A Minute to 4 years on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox, he can’t keep his mouth shut. He even talks in his sleep. What’s it all about? He’s going to tell you – because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics. There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he’s going to talk about next.

ABOUT GYLES BRANDRETH:

A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End.

A prolific broadcaster, Gyles has appeared on QI, Have I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You?, Pointless and is a reporter and presenter for The One Show (BBC 1), as well as Dictionary Corner’s most frequent resident on Countdown(Channel 4). On stage he has appeared most recently in Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest. He is the Chancellor of the University of Chester, a columnist for The Oldie and the author of seven Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as his detective now published in 22 countries around the world. His Sunday Times best-sellers include a biography of Elizabeth II, Word Play, The 7 Secrets of Happiness, and, most recently, his autobiography, Odd Boy Out.

He’s won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he’s been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out.

Website: www.gylesbrandreth.net/ | Twitter: @GylesB1

Listings information

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Show: Gyles Brandreth: Cant’ Stop Talking!!! Dates: 2nd – 27th August Time: 4:00pm Venue: Assembly George Square – Gordon Aikman Theatre Address: 32 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH Price: Previews: £11/ £12 Weekends £22/ £21 Weekdays £18/ £17 Box Office: www.assemblyfestival.com / www.edfringe.com

Tour Dates For tickets visit https://www.gylesbrandreth.net

1 Sept 2023 St Albans Arena 3 Sept 2023 Buxton Opera House 6 Sept 2023 Yeovil Westlands 10 Sept 2023 Cardiff New Theatre 19 Sept 2023 Chatham Central Theatre 20 Sept 2023 Guildford G Live 22 Sept 2023 Eastbourne Congress 23 Sept 2023 Northampton Royal and Derngate 26 Sept 2023 Harrogate Theatre 29 Sept 2023 Poole Lighthouse 1 Oct 2023 Reading Hexagon 3 Oct 2023 Birmingham Town Hall 4 Oct 2023 Chester Storyhouse 6 Oct 2023 Colchester Charter Hall 8 Oct 2023 Canterbury Marlowe 18 Oct 2023 Nottingham Playhouse 20 Oct 2023 Tunbridge Wells Trinity Theatre 22 Oct 2023 Basingstoke The Anvil 17 Jan 2024 Chichester Festival Theatre

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Gyles Brandreth Announces National Tour with CAN'T STOP TALKING

He will also be performing at the Assembly George Square at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer

Novelist, actor, ex MP, podcaster and best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth just can't stop talking as he returns to the stage this summer. Kicking off his tour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the jumper-loving This Morning star, has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby. The award-winning raconteur, wordsmith and verbivore, who holds be the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech (12 and a half hours!) suffers from logorrhea and in his hilarious new one-man show he is trying to work out why..

From 40 years on Radio 4's Just A Minute to 4 years on Channel 4's Celebrity Gogglebox , he can't keep his mouth shut. He even talks in his sleep. What's it all about? He's going to tell you - because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics. There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he's going to talk about next.

A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth 's career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major 's government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London's West End.

A prolific broadcaster, Gyles has appeared on QI , Have I Got News For You , Would I Lie To You? , Pointless and is a reporter and presenter for The One Show (BBC 1), as well as Dictionary Corner's most frequent resident on Countdown (Channel 4). On stage he has appeared most recently in Hamlet and The Importance of Being Earnest . He is the Chancellor of the University of Chester, a columnist for The Oldie and the author of seven Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as his detective now published in 22 countries around the world. His Sunday Times best-sellers include a biography of Elizabeth II, Word Play , The 7 Secrets of Happiness , and, most recently, his autobiography, Odd Boy Out.

He's won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he's been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out.

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Gyles Brandreth - Can't Stop Talking

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Gyles Brandreth Announces National Tour

Novelist, actor, ex MP, podcaster and best-selling biographer  Gyles Brandreth  just can’t stop talking as he returns to the stage this summer.  Kicking off his tour at the  Edinburgh Festival Fringe , the jumper-loving  This Morning  star, has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby. The award-winning raconteur, wordsmith and verbivore, who holds be the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech (12 and a half hours!) suffers from logorrhea and in his hilarious new one-man show he is trying to work out why..   

From 40 years on Radio 4’s  Just A Minute  to 4 years on Channel 4’s  Celebrity Gogglebox , he can’t keep his mouth shut.  He even talks in his sleep.  What’s it all about?  He’s going to tell you – because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics.  There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he’s going to talk about next.  

ABOUT GYLES BRANDRETH:  

A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End.  

A prolific broadcaster, Gyles has appeared on  QI ,  Have I Got News For You ,   Would I Lie To You? ,  Pointless  and is a reporter and presenter for  The One Show  (BBC 1), as well as Dictionary Corner’s most frequent resident on  Countdown (Channel 4). On stage he has appeared most recently in  Hamlet   and  The Importance of Being Earnest .   He is the Chancellor of the University of Chester, a columnist for The Oldie and the author of seven Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as his detective now published in 22 countries around the world. His Sunday Times best-sellers include a biography of Elizabeth II,  Word Play ,  The 7 Secrets of Happiness , and, most recently, his autobiography,  Odd Boy Out.

He’s won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he’s been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out. 

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Show:                         Gyles Brandreth: Cant’ Stop Talking!!! Dates:                            2 nd  – 27 th  August  Time:                          4:00pm Venue:                        Assembly George Square – Gordon Aikman Theatre Address:                    32 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH Price:                          Previews: £11/ £12 Weekends £22/ £21 Weekdays £18/ £17 Box Office:                 www.assemblyfestival.com  /  ww w.edfringe.com   

1 Sept 2023              St Albans                  Arena 3 Sept 2023              Buxton                      Opera House            6 Sept 2023              Yeovil                         Westlands     10 Sept 2023            Cardiff                       New Theatre 19 Sept 2023            Chatham                   Central Theatre        20 Sept 2023            Guildford                  G Live             22 Sept 2023            Eastbourne             Congress       23 Sept 2023            Northampton           Royal and Derngate           26 Sept 2023            Harrogate                 Theatre           29 Sept 2023            Poole                         Lighthouse                                       1 Oct 2023                Reading                    Hexagon        3 Oct 2023                Birmingham             Town Hall      4 Oct 2023                Chester                     Storyhouse   6 Oct 2023                Colchester               Charter Hall 8 Oct 2023                Canterbury               Marlowe         18 Oct 2023              Nottingham             Playhouse     20 Oct 2023              Tunbridge Wells     Trinity Theatre         22 Oct 2023              Basingstoke             The Anvil                               17 Jan 2024             Chichester               Festival Theatre  

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• National Tour for Connor Burns

Tour And Edinburgh Run For Gyles Brandreth

Novelist, actor, ex-MP, podcaster and best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth  just can’t stop talking as he returns to the stage this summer.  Kicking off his tour at the  Edinburgh Festival Fringe , the jumper-loving  This Morning  star, has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby. The award-winning raconteur, wordsmith and verbivore, who holds be the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech (12 and a half hours!) suffers from logorrhea and in his hilarious new one-man show he is trying to work out why..   

From 40 years on Radio 4’s  Just A Minute  to 4 years on Channel 4’s  Celebrity Gogglebox , he can’t keep his mouth shut.  He even talks in his sleep.  What’s it all about?  He’s going to tell you - because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics.  There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he’s going to talk about next.    

A former Oxford Scholar, President of the Oxford Union and MP for the City of Chester, Gyles Brandreth’s career has ranged from being a Whip and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury in John Major’s government to starring in his own award-winning musical revue in London’s West End.  

A prolific broadcaster, Gyles has appeared on  QI ,  Have I Got News For You ,   Would I Lie To You? ,  Pointless  and is a reporter and presenter for  The One Show  (BBC 1), as well as Dictionary Corner’s most frequent resident on  Countdown (Channel 4). On stage he has appeared most recently in  Hamlet   and  The Importance of Being Earnest .   He is the Chancellor of the University of Chester, a columnist for The Oldie and the author of seven Victorian murder mysteries featuring Oscar Wilde as his detective now published in 22 countries around the world. His Sunday Times best-sellers include a biography of Elizabeth II,  Word Play ,  The 7 Secrets of Happiness , and, most recently, his autobiography,  Odd Boy Out.

He’s won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he’s been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out.   

Website:  www.gylesbrandreth.net/  

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Show:                         Gyles Brandreth: Can't Stop Talking!!!

Dates:                              2nd – 27th August 

Time:                          4:00pm

Venue:                        Assembly George Square - Gordon Aikman Theatre

Address:                    32 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LH

Price:                          Previews: £11/ £12 Weekends £22/ £21 Weekdays £18/ £17

Box Office:                 www.assemblyfestival.com  /  www.edfringe.com   

For tickets visit  https://www.gylesbrandreth.net

1 Sept 2023              St Albans                  Arena

3 Sept 2023              Buxton                      Opera House           

6 Sept 2023              Yeovil                         Westlands    

10 Sept 2023            Cardiff                       New Theatre

19 Sept 2023            Chatham                   Central Theatre       

20 Sept 2023            Guildford                  G Live            

22 Sept 2023            Eastbourne             Congress      

23 Sept 2023            Northampton           Royal and Derngate          

26 Sept 2023            Harrogate                 Theatre          

29 Sept 2023            Poole                         Lighthouse                                      

1 Oct 2023                Reading                    Hexagon       

3 Oct 2023                Birmingham             Town Hall     

4 Oct 2023                Chester                     Storyhouse  

6 Oct 2023                Colchester               Charter Hall

8 Oct 2023                Canterbury               Marlowe        

18 Oct 2023              Nottingham             Playhouse    

20 Oct 2023              Tunbridge Wells     Trinity Theatre        

22 Oct 2023              Basingstoke             The Anvil                              

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Gyles Brandreth

Can’t stop talking.

Sun 1 Oct, 15:00

Gyles Brandreth is back at The Hexagon with a brand-new show for 2023.

He’s back – and he’s unstoppable.  Gyles Brandreth just can’t stop talking.  The jumper-loving This Morning star, who keeps popping up on Pointless, QI, Would I Lie To You?, Sunday Brunch, and The One Show, has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby, and in his hilarious new one-man show the award-winning raconteur (and holder of the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech - 12 and a half hours!) is trying to work out why.   

From 40 years on Radio 4’s Just A Minute to 4 years on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox, he can’t keep his mouth shut.  He even talks in his sleep.  What’s it all about?  He’s going to tell you - because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics.  There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he’s going to talk about next.   

Don’t miss him – novelist, actor, ex-MP, podcaster, No 1 best-selling biographer, wordsmith and verbivore (he suffers from logorrhea - knows how to spell it and knows what it means) – he’s won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he’s been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out.  Fast.  So book now.  

‘Wildly funny’ Daily Mail. ‘Absolute joy’ Scotsman. ‘Genius’ Telegraph.

Trigger warning: there may be name-dropping  

Gyles Brandreth - Can't Stop Talking

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Ticket info

£27 Ages 12+ Box Office 0118 960 6060.

Queen Walk Reading Berks RG1 7QF United Kingdom

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Gyles Brandreth

He’s back – and he’s unstoppable. Gyles Brandreth just can’t stop talking. The jumper-loving This Morning star, who keeps popping up on Pointless, QI, Would I Lie To You?, Sunday Brunch , and The One Show , has been burbling and babbling since he was a baby, and in his hilarious new one-man show the award-winning raconteur (and holder of the world record for the longest-ever after-dinner speech - 12 and a half hours!) is trying to work out why.  

From 40 years on Radio 4’s Just A Minute to 4 years on Channel 4’s Celebrity Gogglebox , he can’t keep his mouth shut.  He even talks in his sleep.  What’s it all about?  He’s going to tell you - because this is his life story: a roller-coaster of tales and revelations from his unlikely life in showbusiness and politics. There will be surprises too (for him and you) when the audience spins a wheel to decide what he’s going to talk about next.  

Don’t miss him – novelist, actor, ex-MP, podcaster, No 1 best-selling biographer, wordsmith and verbivore (he suffers from logorrhea - knows how to spell it and knows what it means) – he’s won the Audience Award for Most Popular Show on the Fringe, multiple 5-star reviews and every time he’s been to Edinburgh his shows have sold out. Fast. So book now.

Trigger warning: there may be name-dropping

‘Wildly funny’

‘Absolute joy’

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• Coffee House

The comedy of the Queen’s coronation

• From magazine issue: 06 May 2023

Gyles Brandreth

Once, years ago, making small talk with Elizabeth II, I asked her if it was true that many peers attending her coronation in 1953 had taken sandwiches into Westminster Abbey hidden inside their coronets. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said. ‘They were in the abbey for something like six hours, you know. The Archbishop of Canterbury even had a flask of brandy tucked inside his cassock.’ Apparently, His Grace offered Her Majesty a discreet nip, but she declined.

When I pressed the Queen for any amusing recollections of the great day, she did recall the moment, after the crowning, when England’s premier baron, William Stourton (22nd Baron Stourton, 26th Baron Segrave and 25th Baron Mowbray), came forward to pay homage. As the noble lord, whose titles dated back to 1283, when Edward I was king, retreated backwards from the throne, the poor fellow almost fell over. ‘His robe – which had been used by generations of the family – bunched up around him, with moth balls and pieces of ermine flying all over the place.’ This could explain why the peers in attendance this weekend were initially instructed not to dig out the family coronation robes. At the last minute, they have been allowed to dress as they please, but advised to check for moth balls first.

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Elizabeth II certainly remembered the best quip from the day. She only heard about it afterwards, but it made her laugh out loud. Crowned heads from around the world came to London for the event and one of them was Queen Salote of Tonga. She was a magnificent lady, aged 53 in 1953, very tall (6ft 3in) and splendidly built. She travelled to the abbey in an open carriage sitting opposite the comparatively diminutive Sultan of Kelantan. Someone asked Noël Coward: ‘Who is that with Queen Salote?’ ‘That,’ replied the playwright, ‘is her lunch.’

Coward’s quip went around the world and, 20 years later, when Prince Philip was on a visit to Malaysia, he met a group of VIPs at a reception and was much amused when the shortest member of the party introduced himself with a squeal of pride: ‘I’m the lunch!’

As a rule, Noël Coward is one of my favourite diarists, but his record of 2 June 1953 is disappointingly straightforward: ‘Tuesday, coronation day, I spent at home watching the proceedings on television, most excellently done. The English State Ballet at its best. Weather foul and everyone soaked.’

Much more fun is the unpublished diary of Vyvyan Holland, the son of another great playwright, Oscar Wilde. Holland’s son Merlin kindly let me dip into his father’s journal when I was writing my recent biography of Elizabeth II. Vyvyan Holland’s Australian wife, Thelma Besant, was the Queen’s make-up consultant through the 1950s and in charge of the ‘royal face’ on coronation day. Thelma was devoted to Her Majesty, but her husband had royal reservations. A few days before the coronation, he reported in his diary: ‘We took an expensive taxi (15/-) to go to see the show in Parliament Square, Whitehall, etc. It is, of course, all very grand, but the whole thing is too mediaeval and barbaric for my liking. It is only the fact of having a young Queen that makes the thing possible at all. With an old goat like Edward VII the situation would become absurd.’ Later he recorded, clearly chuckling to himself: ‘I have started a rumour that the footmen standing at the back of the coronation coach are really eminent physicians in disguise, just in case the Queen is taken queer.’

Having not so long ago played Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest , and (when considerably younger and prettier) having given my Rosalind in As You Like It and Chinese princess in Lady Precious Stream , I have never had a problem with gender-fluid and colour-blind casting. It can sometimes help the audience to look at a familiar work in a new way – as it does with the thrilling production of Richard III at the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh plays Richard not as a hunchback but as the only black woman in the Cotswolds. Shakespeare’s play (not a word of the original is altered) is set in a bucolic but brutal 15th-century world that includes Morris dancing. It works – and resonates in the time of Putin and war-torn Sudan.

I thought of our new King, too, towards the end of the play. Richard is dead and his successor, Henry VII, is handed the crown with this instruction: ‘Wear it, enjoy it, and make much of it.’ It is a line with which Charles – a profound lover of Shakespeare – will be familiar. I reckon he will make much of it. He is a good man. I hope he finds time to enjoy it, too.

Gyles Brandreth’s Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is out now.  

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