The instantly recognisable Alasdair Beckett-King starts his first UK tour this week, kicking off the Interdimensional ABK in Brighton and coming to the Oxford Glee Club on 13th April 2023 (now sold out but fans can catch him at other venues listed below, Swindon being the closest).
Most comedy fans will recognise the flame-haired star as a Mock The Week favourite for the final two seasons. He’s been an award-winning comedian for a decade, and just scooped Chortle’s Breakthrough Act of the Year 2023.
Some may know him for his online sketches and distinctive animated shorts, many of which have gone mega-viral on YouTube, reaching millions of viewers. He also a kids novelist (the brilliant Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum) and podcaster, and is basically supremely talented as well as being hugely likeable.
But a returned to stand-up comedy was well overdue, and several sold out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe gives fans impetuous to catch him while you can.
The sparkling Alasdair Beckett-King’s show is a hilariously funny introduction to his surreal observation comedy for new fans, and is a superb and entertaining experience.
It’s a riotous laugh from a hugely likeable comic who is genuinely brilliantly funny. It’s impossible not to be captivated by his charming comedic delivery and sense of humour, and of course his luscious locks. I highly recommend you go and see him if you can he’s my favourite comic on the circuit right now.
What is the show about?
Astute, intelligent, and jammed with niche nerdery, whilst easy on thinly shredded nerves, The Interdimensional ABK is giving it a good go… Because as it turns out – here we all are, rudderless-ly moping about in the bafflingly miserable B Timeline, totally clueless to there being a marginally superior version.
In the A Timeline Wetherspoons is called Definitelyspoons to start with. And, well, all and sundry is just generally better, happier, and more optimistic. But don’t despair – Alasdair Beckett-King is here, on a heroic mission, sent from the A Timeline to save us all from ourselves.
He has however, hit a snag. The madness of B Timeline – war, injustice, growing anti-Ginger sentiment – is overwhelmingly distracting. And that’s before you get him started on Agatha Christie Poirot plots. Also – it turns out the B Timeline has heaps of awful things that he kind of loves. Instead of Alasdair making the B Timeline better, is the B Timeline is making him worse?
Innovative observational comedy, idiosyncratic animated illustrations and what one critic called “majestic” ginger locks, team up to deliver charmingly subtle commentary on the unavoidably addressed political climate in which we Timeline B inhabitants find ourselves.
Interview with Alasdair Beckett-King
Prior to his tour, we were graced with an opportunity to interview the great man himself, and yes, we covered the secret to the hair.
Firstly congratulations on your first UK tour, what sort of show should your fans be expecting?
I think both of my fans have already got tickets. But, if you are on the fence about coming to see me in Oxford, Swindon or elsewhere, here’s the pitch. The premise of the show is that I come from a parallel universe that is just slightly better than the one we all live in. Which, to be honest, is just an excuse for jokes, whimsical set pieces and a bit of multimedia wizardry. Audiences seem to enjoy it, and they need a laugh, don’t they? After what they’ve been through, would you deny them a bit of fun?
Have you ever been to Oxford before? Is there anything you’re looking forward to?
I’m very excited to perform in Oxford. Once, at a gig in Cambridge, I described Cambridge as “the Oxford of Cambridgeshire.” And let me tell you, they hated it so much. You’ve never heard such posh booing.
As an obviously intelligent comedian (trying to avoid the title thinking man’s comic), was it intentional for your tour to cover the famed university cities like Bath, Oxford, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Winchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and erm Tiverton?
This is, if I may say, such an Oxford question. The real secret behind the tour itinerary is that I don’t know how to drive a car. So I am mainly going to places that have train stations. But, yes, I am also seeking intelligent, urbane audiences with rarefied cultural sensibilities. Just as long as they live quite near a train station.
You won the Chortle breakthrough act 2023, a decade after starting out. What do you attribute to this overdue recognition despite clearly being a hidden talent for such a long time?
It wasn’t easy, achieving as little as I did for the first ten years. Consider it a very long run-up before a jump. They do say that you don’t really get good at stand-up comedy until you have been doing it for a decade, or are in your late thirties. The people who say that tend to have been doing it for a decade and are in their late thirties. But I’m sure that’s a coincidence.
You appeared in the last ever episode of Mock the Week. As a long-standing platform for emerging Comedians on mainstream TV, do you think it will be even harder for new acts to breakthrough now?
I admit it, I killed Mock the Week. I hope that whatever replaces the show will continue to take chances on newer comics. The show changed a lot over the years, and had become a good opportunity for new(er) acts, like me, to get their first taste of doing telly. I’m sure the “bring back Frankie!! hate this woke nonsense >:(” guys on Twitter will be glad to see the back of it, but I’ll miss it.
You have amassed new fans through digital media platforms such as YouTube and social media, no surprise with your filmmaking background. It seems the next generation of comedians are coming through on TikTok. Any plans to move into that channel?
I am always late to the new craze. I started YouTubing ten years too late. I missed out on Vine completely. (Remember Vine?) If the good ship TikTok has not yet left harbour, I might hop aboard. But I’m not going to dance. No way.
What is The Interdimensional ABK all about?
My name is Alasdair Beckett-King, and ABK are my initials. Basically, they don’t let you work in showbiz if your name is too long. That’s why Benedict Cumberbatch had to shorten his name, which was originally the entirety of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky.
I’m an interdimensional comedian, and this show is about moving from the “A Timeline” (freedom, optimism, adventure) to the “B Timeline” (paper cuts, climate change, Noel Edmonds). If you’ve spent your whole life in the B Timeline (AKA, the real world), you’ll know how hard it can be.
I come from the A Timeline, so I get to make jokes about all the best and worst things in our world, from an outsider’s perspective. So, there’s silliness, whimsy, and absolutely several proper jokes. We’re talking double figures, easy.
What is the inspiration for the show?
Schopenhauer said we live in the worst of all possible worlds. And he was right – but what a downer. I created this show because I wanted to spend some time in a better world. And I also wanted to make my own animated theme tune, in the style of a 1980s Saturday morning kids’ show. Which is the most self-indulgent thing anyone has ever done, but it turned out quite nicely.
Who should come and see The Interdimensional ABK?
I’m really on the lookout for a wealthy patron and/or secret benefactor who will bankroll more of this nonsense. If that’s you, please send your valet to my lodgings ASAP. As a struggling artist, I could die of consumption at a moment’s notice.
Apart from rich philanthropists, my target audience is people who notice misused apostrophes, but don’t make a fuss. People who are still boycotting Nestlé, but can’t remember why. People who would spend a night in a haunted house, but would definitely be the first one to die.
Normal people are welcome too.
If you could import one thing from happy, sunny Timeline A what would it be?
In the A timeline, pubs are required to have their names on the premises: the Red Lion has to have a red lion, the Rose & Crown must have a rose and a crown. This is the rule I would import here to the B timeline. So, there could only be one King’s head; blacksmiths would have to insure their arms against theft, and so forth. Eventually, all the animals would be taken, and all the tradesmen and aristocrats dismembered. Then pubs would have to name themselves after things they already have. You’d have The Wasteman’s Arms, The Hole in The Toilet Wall. It’d be great.
Who is your favourite interdimensional superhero?
I’m a huge fan of The Green Man, who came to our dimension as a powerful demi-god representing nature and fertility. Now he’s just in charge of traffic crossings, locked in a timeless struggle against his nemesis The Red Man. You can help him by pressing the button every time you pass one of the crossings.
SIDE NOTE: While writing this, I found out those crossings are called Puffin Crossings and now I’m furious. Pelican Crossing – fine. Zebra Crossing – no problem. Puffin Crossing? No way.
Your comedy shows could be described as ‘nerdy’ in places? Are there niche references in The Interdimensional ABK?
I reject the title “King of the Nerds” and accept only the humbler title “Lord Protectorate of the Nerds”. There are no intentionally niche references in my show. Most of the material is about regular stuff like Winston Churchill’s love of the band Queen, or why Hercule Poirot pretends he can’t speak English. The only thing I’ve actually had to cut for being too niche was – quite surprisingly – a reference to Shaggy’s 2000 single It Wasn’t Me (feat. Rikrok).
Spoiler: it was, in fact, him.
The world needs to know, how do you maintain your lustrous locks?
The truth is, I have no secret hair-care regimen. I just use normal, cheap shampoo and conditioner. But I’ve learned that this truth is unpalatable, so I’ve prepared a more interesting lie…
During my travels in lands of ancient mystery, I came upon this passage in a sacred grimoire: For Locks that shyne as yf oyl’d and haire that curles a comlee Syghte, take thee Een of Catte ‘twixte Leafes of Oliue and Willow and presse thee the Mylke thereof.
And the secret is to never put that stuff on your hair.
Who is Alasdair Beckett-King?
He won the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2017 and garnered a very enthusiastic critical response plus Amused Moose Comedy Award nomination with his debut Edinburgh show of the same year.
Alongside his recent TV appearances and YouTube fame, he has featured on BBC radio as a comedian and sketch writer and performed stand-up across the UK, at Glastonbury, Citadel Fest, the Udderbelly Southbank and at the Fringe.
He once won a student RTS award and was nominated for a Student Oscar, but quit filmmaking for stand-up on realising it was a cheaper medium to be unsuccessful in.
What do the critics say?
“A riotous laugh from a hugely likeable comic. It’s impossible not to be captivated by his charming comedic delivery and his luscious locks”
Oxfordshire Guardian
★★★★★
“A bold and fresh comedy voice”
The Stage
★★★★★
“Alasdair Beckett-King is a nice man and a breath of fresh air for the Festival Fringe”
Edinburgh Festival Magazine
★★★★
“A wonderfully playful mind and redoubtable creativity”
The Scotsman
★★★★
“A thoroughly enjoyable, positive and uplifting hour”
Three Weeks
★★★★
“A lilting lyrical meander”
one4review
★★★★
“Refreshing and innovative”
Voice Mag
★★★★
“Alasdair Becket King is clockwork comedy perfection”.
Stewart Lee
★★★★★
“you’re never sure where the next laugh is coming from, but it’s always a delight when it arrives”
Telegraph
★★★★
“Erudite, daft, punning, rammed with gags, rich in characters, autobiographical and visually lively.
You couldn’t possibly ask for more”.
Chortle
★★★★★
“If that isn’t proof of a formidable comic talent combined with a warm, inviting personality I don’t know what is”
Beyond The Joke
★★★★
Alasdair Becket King UK Tour dates 2023
APRIL
07/04/2023 & 22/04/2023 Brighton – Komedia Studio
08/04/2023 Bath – Rondo Theatre
13/04/2023 Oxford – The Glee Club
14/04/2023 & 15/04/2023 Birmingham – The Glee Club
20/04/2023 Aldershot Hampshire – West End Centre
21/04/2023 New Milton Hampshire – Forest Arts Centre
27/04/2023 Norwich Arts Centre
28/04/2023 Bristol – The Comedy Box at The Hen & Chicken
29/04/2023 Tiverton Devon Tiverton Community Arts Theatre
MAY
05/05/2023 Maidstone – Hazlitt Theatre Studio
06/05/2023 Cambridge – Junction (J2)
11/05/2023 Fareham Hampshire – Ashcroft Arts Centre
12/05/2023 Winchester – The ARC Winchester
13/05/2023 Swindon – Arts Centre
16/05/2023 Newcastle Tyne & Wear – The Stand
17/05/2023 Edinburgh – The Stand
18/05/2023 Glasgow – The Stand
19/05/2023 Belfast – The Limelight
20/05/2023 Derry – Nerve Centre
27/05/2023 & 04/06/2023 Manchester – HOME Studio
28/05/2023 Leeds – The Wardrobe
JUNE
17/06/2023 & 18/06/2023 London Leicester Square Theatre
