Sacha Baron Cohen to revive Ali G for stand-up tour
- Ali G will appear on stage as part of a new live show being developed by Sacha Baron Cohen, according to a report
Sacha Baron Cohen is reportedly working on a stand-up tour in which his character Ali G will make an appearance.
Variety reports that the comedy star is bringing back the controversial character as part of a series of planned live shows. However, there are no further details at this stage as to the title, content, timing or location of these shows.
Sacha Baron Cohen first appeared as the yellow-suited rapper 25 years ago, in a sketch for The 11 O'Clock Show. The character later got his own TV show, a series which also introduced his journalist characters Borat and Brüno to viewers.
The spin-off movies - Ali G Indahouse (2002), Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2006), Brüno (2009) and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020) - have since made the characters famous around the world.
Sacha Baron Cohen has appeared as Ali G a number of times since the movie 2002 movie, including at the 2012 British Comedy Awards and the 2015 Oscars. The Staines-based rapper last popped up in 2021, during an un-billed gig at The Comedy Store in Sydney. He said at the time: "I just wanted to get on stage and muck around and see what Ali G would be like with a crowd. It was really good fun."
Asked by GQ magazine if he would appear live as the character again, he said: "Yes, I think I would. Because the reason I became a comedian was that I loved people laughing at my jokes. To actually hear laughter is a rare thing for me. When I do the movies, I think it is funny, but I have to wait three months to hear an audience laugh."
However, whilst Sacha Baron Cohen may be planning live dates, he currently has no plans for Ali G to appear in another film. A "source close to Baron Cohen" strenuously denied to Variety that any new movie plans were in development, citing that the writer and actor is strictly abiding by the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America rules as the organisations continue to strike. "As a SAG and WGA member he is supporting the ongoing strike alongside his fellow writers and actors."