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Ian Stone is a hugely experienced broadcaster, podcaster and writer and a brilliantly funny comedian who has performed at major comedy festivals and venues globally, as well as having a vast following on social media. In the last four years, he has performed his one-man shows at the Edinburgh Festival to packed rooms and great reviews and, in 2023, he won the prestigious Spirit of the Fringe Award. He is returning to the touring life with his "Looking for the Wow" national tour, which will see the 62-year-old Londoner travel across the country, including dates on January 17 at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre and May 14 at Ludlow Assembly Rooms, as well as Birmingham Glee Club on March 19. He said the tour was part of a search for more positivity and an attempt to be more optimistic. He said: "You come up with these titles way before you know what they're going to be about, but essentially, I'm quite an optimistic person, and there's so much terrible news out there. "I thought, what don't I concentrate on the positives a little more and the wow stuff that we all see from time to time and that we all get a touch of when going to a music gig or watching football, particularly if you support Arsenal like I do. "So it's all about the wow, how love gives you that feeling of awe and wonder and I know there will be a bit of me saying 'isn't this terrible' as well and making jokes about it, but it's all about the wow and awe moments and trying to get as many as I can." Ian Stone's comedy style, as he readily admits, is that of a Jewish man of a certain age and of being of that age of being able to moan about politics and the world as there's a lot of comedy in that. It's a style which has brought him great acclaim and praise and seen him appear on shows like Mock the Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks, as well as radio shows like BBC Five Live's Fighting Talk and his own twice-weekly Arsenal podcast, Handbrake Off, for The Athletic He said he felt that he had been doing the job for a long time and had some skin in the game and said that his style seemed to appeal to people because of saying things with conviction and passion. He said: "I think you're better off asking audiences why they think I'm funny and they might say 'Well, he's just a funny bloke' and I guess I have a turn of phrase and things do come out funny, there's no doubt about it. "Also, the more upset and angry I get, the funnier it gets and I think a lot of comedians suffer from that, that people don't take them seriously. "If I'm complaining about something, like for example, the fact that Kemi Badenoch says gloom and doom, rather than doom and gloom, which is the wrong way round as we know that if there is doom, gloom will automatically follow, where as if there is gloom, that doesn't necessarily lead to doom. "There will be people looking at me going 'What are you talking about?', but these are the things that annoy me and I think I say them with enough conviction and passion and humour that people find it funny." Ian said his experiences of playing in the Midlands had generally been very good and said he was very fond of the region for its self-deprecating humour. He said: "I've played Birmingham loads of times and I think the greatest heckle or chat with an audience member I've ever had was in Birmingham with a guy from Dudley and I asked him what he did for a living and he said 'I'm an international playboy', which made everyone in the room laugh and it was a beautiful moment as he had a big old grin on his face. "I just remember 400 people cracking up and Birmingham was always one of my favourite places and I do believe that the Midlands is the beating heart of Britain. "If you go to a lot of places and have a go at it, like Manchester or Liverpool, they will get a bit funny about it, but if you go to Birmingham and say it's a bit naff, everyone will sit there and agree with you and I love that about them. "I'm very much looking forward to coming back there and, with Ludlow, I've done the Ludlow Festival and I've got a good mate who lives there, so I thought it would be nice to go back, and with Stafford, I've not been for a long time, but the Gatehouse said they wanted me and I said I would come." Ahead of the tour, Ian said he was always thankful that he was about to go around the world and talk for a living and enjoyed the trappings that came with it, including being put up in nice hotels and being able to visit places he'd never been to before. He said that he hoped people would come and enjoy an evening of laughing at his own unique take on the world and jokingly said: "Please come and see me in Stafford, Ludlow and Birmingham because I was neglected as a child and I need the adulation of strangers on a nightly basis." Ian Stone presents the "Looking for the Wow" national tour, playing January 17 at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre, March 19 at Birmingham Glee Club and May 14 at Ludlow Assembly Rooms. To find out more and to buy tickets, go to Ian Stone's website.
