Smack The Pony star Fiona Allen announces first tour
- Fiona Allen: On The Run will tour from September 2023. It is the Smack The Pony star's debut stand-up show
- "As a working mum with kids she can't remember the last time she did anything for herself"
Fiona Allen is to embark on her debut stand-up tour.
Following Edinburgh Festival dates, she will perform On The Run in venues from September.
The initial dates announced start on Friday 15th September at Hemel Hempstead's Old Town Hall and go up to Friday 8th December at Banbury's Mill Arts Centre. The tour will then start again in 2024, with dates yet to be revealed.
The promoters say: "On The Run follows Fiona's warm, engaging and very funny and recent journey to the stand-up stage, her thoughts on family, marriage, sex robots, passive aggressive school Mum's and supermarket dress codes.
"Fiona is a woman born with itchy feet. As a teenager, she left her hometown of Bury for the bright lights of Manchester and became part of the Tony Wilson empire of the Hacienda Nightclub and Factory Records. When she decided to become an actor, she came to London and in next to no time had won 2 Emmy's as the star and co-writer of the hugely influential all female sketch show Smack The Pony.
"She met and married Mike, the son of Sir Michael Parkinson, and had 3 kids in 5 years, so the last few years have been a whirlwind of work and kids, kids and work with a small bit of husband thrown in with a large dollop of a mad Cockapoo. The kids and the other two are sort of housetrained so now it's a good time to take a breather and decide what Fiona would like to do for herself. The only problem is her chronic itchy feet and an attention span that would put her behind a goldfish in a list of possible contestants on The Chase. So, in true Fiona style she decided to go On the Run...
"As a working mum with kids she can't remember the last time she did anything for herself. The problem is finding what that 'thing' is, particularly when your spirit animal is a sloth and people generally annoy you. It basically came down to a choice between cage fighting or stand-up. She chose the latter and has spent the last couple of years perfecting her style in the UK's clubs. Now, she is ready to share her experiences of being on the road, the glamour of motorway services, the challenge of finding a parking spot in a town centre and her random thoughts that arise whilst driving from place to place.
"She muses on being a mum, raising her kids in a world full of parenting theories and passive aggressive school mums. She shares the stress of being a wife to a man who still can't operate the washing machine, introduces you to her northern dad, her hilarious Spanish mum, and her older sister who she really irritates just by breathing.
"Why was stand-up her only road to freedom? And not yoga, swimming, or the gym?! Why are nights under canvas or weekends away are not a good idea for someone whom other people are generally annoying? And why not being very good in groups tends to limit your options of finding an enjoyable hobby? On The Run is a show for everyone and has no agenda other than to prove to Fiona that she can actually concentrate on one thing and stay in the same place for an hour."
The 2023 tour dates are as follows:
September
Fri 15th: HEMEL HEMSTEAD - Old Town Hall
Sat 16th: STAFFORD - Gate House Theatre
Thurs 21st: BATH - Rondo Theatre
Sat 23rd: STOURBRIDGE - Crown Centre
Thurs 28th: GUILDFORD - Electric Theatre
Sat 30th: SOUTHAMPTON - Stage Door
October
Thurs 12th: HUDDERSFIELD - Lawrence Batley Theatre
Fri 13th: SALISBURY - Arts Centre
Wed 18th: SWINDON - Wyvern Theatre
Fri 20th: ALYLESTONE - Black Horse
Thurs 26th: NEWPORT - Live Studio Theatre
November
Thurs 16th: BRISTOL - The Alma Theatre
Mon 20th - Wed 22nd: LONDON - Pleasance Theatre
Thurs 23rd: YORK - Monkgate
December
Sat 2nd: MAIDENHEAD - Norden Farm
Fri 8th: BANBURY - Mill Hill Arts Centre
Tickets via frontfoottalent.com