Music

Bill Bailey returns to Oz with Larks in Transit

Bill Bailey is a British comedian, actor, author, musician, and TV presenter, although if you ask Bernard Black, he’s just ‘a beard with an idiot hanging off it’.

Fortunately Bernard Black is fictional and directing his scathing insult at Manny Bianco, Bailey’s alter ego in Britcom Black Books, one of Bailey’s best known roles. It’s certainly where I first became aware of him, beautifully delivering such memorable lines as, ‘Right now I’m eating scrambled eggs, with a comb, from a shoe!’

Scrambled egg with a comb from a shoe

His take on The Little Book of Calm—the inciting incident leading to Manny and Bernard meeting in the first place—is also unmissable, and indeed if you do a Google search for Little Book of Calm, the second link is to a YouTube video of the performance.

Bailey has a number of other acting credits to his name besides Black Books, but the most likely place to catch him on television is on any number of panel shows and documentaries, notably Never Mind the Buzzcocks and QI.

In fact, Bailey is the most frequent guest on QI with 68 appearances to date, and his natural comedic talents lend themselves to the light hearted yet competitive quiz show. He’s particularly able to riff splendidly off host Stephen Fry and scapegoat Alan Davies, which can lead to the show descending into hilarious anarchy.

QI | The Osmond Brother In The Attic

But it’s Bailey’s latest stand-up comedy act that’s bringing him back to Australia. Having had him here just last October with Limboland, we’re extremely fortunate to see him again so soon with his new show, Larks in Transit. The show is billed as a compendium of tales about the shambolic life of a travelling comedian. Given that Bill Bailey first visited Australia twenty years ago and has graced our shores a fair number of times since, it’s particularly appropriate.

Bill Bailey will be touring Larks in Transit in November and December 2016. His tour details are below:

Arts Centre Melbourne – Hamer Hall
November 16 & 17

Riverside Theatre (WA)
November 27

State Theatre, Sydney
November 30 & December 1

Click here to purchase tickets now.