Comedy Tour News
CKP and Stuart Piper for the ROAR Group proudly presents:
JAN RAVENS – DIFFICULT WOMAN – UK TOUR
“…world-class” THE TIMES
“…whip-smart” GUARDIAN
“…Ravens’ imitative skills are worth the ticket price alone” EVENING STANDARD
“…a seasoned all-round entertainer.” CHORTLE
“…hilarious”THE SPECTATOR
The star of BBC Radio 4 Dead Ringers – Jan Ravens- made her Edinburgh Festival debut which was a total sell out including her extra shows that were added due to overwhelming public demand. The show, ‘Difficult Woman’, delighted audiences and received much critical acclaim this August. The show sees her perform spot on impressions that include Theresa May, Nicola Sturgeon, Diane Abbott, Lyse Doucet and Fiona Bruce
as she puts her unique political stamp on the world. She is now set to take the show on the road this autumn with an initial handful of dates across the UK before spreading it out further in 2018.
This is the age of the powerful woman, particularly those who, like Jan, are in their fifties. Does a powerful woman have to be a Difficult Woman, as Ken Clarke famously called Theresa May? And what exactly did he mean? Difficult as in a quadratic equation, or difficult as in not agreeing with him? Or difficult in that she wasn’t keen on having a few beers in the bar?Whereas little boys are praised for strength and courage, little girls still have a tougher time growing up to be women who are tenacious and ambitious, without having those qualities held against them.
Just how is it that an experienced stateswoman like Hillary Clinton could not beat Trump to President? Is it that the American people just couldn’t forgive her for being a woman?
Jan of course addresses Brexit, where Brexit means ‘Oh no there isn’t actually another £350m a week for the NHS, sorry about that.’ Maybe it wasn’t surprising that so many people voted Leave, when even the sensible newspapers spent the last few years portraying Europe as some kind of ‘loony’, who tried to foist it’s eccentric or pedantic policies on us. ‘Straight bananas!’ or, ‘Its health and safety gone mad!’ What’s so bad about health and safety? They are two of Jan’s very favourite things.
And this show will take a personal as well as a political view, looking at Jan’s own life and that of her friends as they approach another ‘milestone birthday’. Who will go for the fluorescent reading glasses and waterfall cardigan (covers a multitude of sins!) look. And who will get a mans haircut, take up golf, and say that’s enough sex for me thanks.
Well, who knows? The great thing is that there are so many choices for the ‘mature lady’ these days, one of them being to stay immature! You don’t have to settle for the elasticated waistband and the M & S foot-glove. Though they are very comfy.
On TV she has been seen in two series of Hebburn for BBC2, Skins, Love Soup, Big Bad World, Midsomer Murders, Bremner, Bird and Fortune, Big Impression, Alexei Sayle’s Stuff, Carrotts Lib, The Grimleys, and of course seven series of Dead Ringers.
She was also heard as many voices on Spitting Image. Her stage work includes Viola in Twelfth Night at Birmingham Rep, The Relapse at Chichester, and The Children’s Hour and 5@50 at Manchester Royal Exchange. She played Gabriella in David Edgar’s award winning Pentecost at the Royal Shakespeare Company.In 2012 she appeared at Edinburgh in The Intervention with the Comedians Theatre Group.She contributes to many topical programmes on radio and television such as Newsnight, Peston on Sunday, The Daily Politics, Mock the Week, QI, Question Time, Today and PM.
She wrote and presented her own programme on radio parody for 4Extra, Parody Please, and interviewed two heroines, Germaine Greer and Lyse Doucet for One to One on Radio 4. In 2009 she toured the UK with her own show ‘A Funny Look at Impressions’. More recently she has completed a UK tour with Rory Bremner in his show ‘Partly Political’.
MORE CRITICAL ACCALIM FOR ‘DIFFICULT WOMAN’
“…a master class of mimicry…a rare talent” TELEGRAPH ****
“…superb…a warm intimate show” MAIL ON SUNDAY EVENT MAGAZINE ****
“This one of those wonderful shows where you emerge from it feeling happier than when you went in. And even more importantly, it is one where you will laugh and laugh and laugh again.” NEW EUROPEAN *****
“…a joy from start to finish…a gleeful mix of top-notch impressions and pointed political comedy…one of the hottest tickets this year…a gutsy comic and remarkable entertainer.
THE LIST ****
“…fine stand up observations…the most gifted impressionist”
DAILY MAIL ****
“…a masterclass in biting satire” BROADWAY BABY ****
“…well written and of course the impressions were spot on throughout ..Just perfection.” ONE4REVIEW ****
“…She weaves observant humour into each of her impersonations, inviting peals of laughter from the crowd…Stellar” EDINBURGH FESTIVAL MAGAZINE ****
“..a smart, funny women who isn’t afraid of poking fun at those in power. “
THE TO DO LIST ****
The dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
Monday 18th CHELTENHAM COMEDY FESTIVAL – Pillar Room
Thurs 21st BISHOP STORTFORD – Rhodes Theatre
Sat 23rd COCKERMOUTH – Kirkgate Centre
OCTOBER
Fri 6th TEIGNMOUTH –Pavilions
Sun 8th SWINDON – Arts Centre
Sat 21st CARDIGAN – Theatr Mwldan
NOVEMBER
Sat 11th MAIDENHEAD – Norden Farm
WATCH JAN IN ACTION:
PESTON INTERVIEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61Ksn9K8l7s
THERESA MAY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv0JYIbRSCI
IMPRESSIONS: https://vimeo.com/184680673
https://www.facebook.com/RavensJan/
For more information please contact Impressive PR on 0207 284 3444
Helen O’Brien helen@impressivepr.com
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