Comedian and musician Bill Bailey to bring live show to Shetland

Comedian and musician Bill Bailey is bringing his new live show to Shetland as part of a tour of the north-west of England and the Highlands and Islands. He will perform one of what his publicists are describing as “intimate gigs” at the Clickimin Centre on Wednesday 26th May.

The tour comes after his critically acclaimed performances last year at London’s Royal Albert Hall and a successful UK tour of his musical comedy extravaganza, Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra.

Performing alongside some of the UK’s finest orchestras, Bailey’s show provided fans with the opportunity to see his surreal comic and musical imagination at its best and was described by The Guardian as “sublime hilarity” and Stephen Fry as “wonderfully enjoyable … like driving a Rolls-Royce off-road”.

British Comedy Award winner Bailey has enjoyed success on the live stage for many years. In 2001 he took his show Bewilderness to New York for an eight week run at the Westbeth Theatre. The New York Times wrote of him: “Bill is an unalloyed pleasure, a treat for the funny bone, the brain and the ear.”

In 2004 he performed his show Part Troll at over 50 venues around the UK, culminating in an extended run at London’s Wyndhams Theatre. In 2007 he embarked on a sold-out UK arena tour with his audio-visual, comedic extravaganza Tinselworm. He took the show down under during the summer of 2008, touring Australia and New Zealand, before returning to London in December 2008 for a 10-week run of the show at The Gielgud Theatre.

A regular on the festival circuit, Bailey recently played at the first ever Comedy Session at the iconic Eden Project in Cornwall.

He has also performed at the Edinburgh Festival almost every year since his debut in 1996 when he was nominated for the prestigious Perrier Award for his stand-up show Cosmic Jam. The fringe has also seen Bailey branch out as a dramatic actor, firstly in an extremely well-received production of 12 Angry Men and two years later as the slouchy, unkempt Oscar in the equally acclaimed The Odd Couple.

Having taken over from Sean Hughes in 2002, following 11 successful and enjoyable series, in autumn 2008 Bailey stepped down from his role as team captain on the long running music and comedy panel show Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC2).

In addition to Buzzcocks, Bailey’s TV portfolio includes three series of the hit black comedy Black Books (C4) in which he played the increasingly deranged ex-accountant Manny Bianco opposite fellow comic Dylan Moran, acclaimed comedy Spaced (C4), Is It Bill Bailey? (BBC2) and Bill Bailey Live (C4). He appeared in the comedy drama serial Jonathan Creek (BBC1) as well as the edgy teen drama Skins (C4).

Bailey has guest hosted the satirical panel show Have I Got News for You (BBC1) and can be seen as a regular panelist on QI (BBC1). Nurturing his interest in nature, he hosted both the wildlife series Wild Thing I Love You (C4) and the more recent Bill Bailey’s Birdwatching Bonanza (Sky One), in which he pitted well known faces against one another as they tracked down some of the UK’s most elusive birds.

On the big screen, Bailey appeared in the film Saving Grace, had a cameo appearance in the comedy feature Hot Fuzz and can be seen playing Farmer MacCready in the current comedy sequel Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Most recently he has filmed roles in the upcoming comedies Burke and Hare and Chalet Girl.

Bill is currently developing ideas for film and television with his own production company, Glassbox Productions. This coming summer he will tour Australia and New Zealand.

Bill Bailey Live 2010 will kick off on Friday 14th May in Ullapool and proceed to Oban, Orkney, Isle of Skye, Isle of Lewis, Drumnadrochit, Inverness, Shetland, Isle of Bute, Penrith, Millom, Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness, before culminating in Kendal on Saturday 5th June.

Tickets went on sale at 9am this morning, priced £15, and are available from Shetland Box Office on (01595) 745555.