The Fast Show: 30th anniversary live shows announced
- The 15-date live tour An Evening With The Fast Show will run from February to April 2024. Ticketmaster
- Simon Day, Charlie Higson, John Thomson, Paul Whitehouse, Mark Williams and Arabella Weir will celebrate 30 years of the sketch show through a mix of performance and chat
- "Get ready to laugh, sing, reminisce, and create new memories. 'I'll get me coat'..."
The Fast Show stars are reuniting for a live tour to celebrate the TV sketch show's 30th anniversary.
It's been announced that An Evening With The Fast Show will run between February and April 2024.
The show's promoters say: "Fans of the iconic TV programme The Fast Show are in for a real treat as the original cast members - Simon Day, Charlie Higson, John Thomson, Paul Whitehouse, Mark Williams and Arabella Weir - bring their comedic genius to theatres across the country this spring.
"This celebratory live tour will be a huge treat for fans of the multi-award winning quick-fire TV sketch show and provide a real behind-the-scenes insight into some of their favourite characters and catchphrases as they come alive on stage once again.
"The cast will chat together about how it all began, how they made the TV show, and created the characters and the fun they had doing it. This will be interspersed with performances of some of their best-loved sketches monologues and songs, with on-screen inserts and a moment to remember their former collaborator, the late, great Caroline Aherne.
"Fans will be thrilled to see the return of many of their favourite characters, including: Ted & Ralph, Jesse, Swiss Toni, Does My Bum Look Big In This?, Dave Angel, Jazz Club, The Suit You Tailors, Ron Manager, The Mad Painter, Rowley Birkin, Bob Fleming, Competitive Dad, Professor Denzil Dexter, and The Girl Who Boys Can't Hear."
Charlie Higson says: "Taking The Fast Show out on tour is very much like making love to a beautiful woman."
Paul Whitehouse comments: "I'm afraid I was very drunk."
The Fast Show launched on BBC Two in September 1994, and ran for three series up to 1997. Specials then followed, including the three-part series The Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. Starring alongside Day, Higson, Thomson, Whitehouse, Williams and Weir in the shows were Caroline Aherne, who died in 2016.
The Fast Show gang have put on two previous tours, in 1998 and 2002.
Speaking to The Sun, Higson said: "It's been 20 years since we last did anything on stage and thankfully we all still get along, probably because we've allowed each other to do other things outside of The Fast Show. Sleep with other people and the marriage stays strong."
He also teased: "We've had some ideas about using the characters in another format, like the Carry On films, or even a panto, so this tour is just to test the waters."
Speaking about how the idea for an anniversary tour came about, the Swiss Toni actor said: "I posted a thing on X [Twitter] saying the old team are back together [for a charity tribute for cast member Felix Dexter] and there was a massive response as people assumed The Fast Show was back and we're going to do a DVD and live tour. So I had to say, 'No, it's just for a one-off charity event'. But we thought, 'OK, people are interested', and Paul and I have been talking about doing something live for a long while but never had the time where we're available to do it. That [anniversary date] was a spur to say, 'Let's do this'."
Whitehouse jokingly added: "It will be great fun, we just need to get it wrapped up before we all peg it."
The stars have ruled out another television series though, noting: "I don't think we'll do any more TV stuff, we can't do anything better than what already exists. We're all quite old. If you try and do new stuff, people will just say, 'Oh, this new stuff isn't as good as the old stuff'. And if you just do the old characters, they'd be like, Can't they just do something new?'."
A list of dates for An Evening With The Fast Show are below. Tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster
2024 dates
Sunday 18 February: London, Pleasance Theatre
Monday 18 March: Stoke-On-Trent, Regent Theatre
Tuesday 19 March: York, Grand Opera House
Wednesday 20 March: Glasgow, Pavilion Theatre
Thursday 21 March: Oxford, New Theatre
Friday 22 March: Basingstoke, The Anvil
Saturday 23 March: Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre
Monday 25 March: Sheffield, City Hall
Tuesday 26 March: Newcastle, Tyne Theatre & Opera House
Wednesday 27 March: Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
Thursday 28 March: Birmingham, The Alexandra
Friday 29 March: Bristol, Beacon
Saturday 30 March: Bournemouth, Pavilion
Sunday 31 March: Brighton, Dome
Monday 01 April: Liverpool, Philharmonic