Comedian Stephen K Amos in Victoria Hall visit in Hanley

Jan 20 2010 by Will Harris, Crewe Chronicle

Comedian Stephen K Amos talks to Will Harris

DAPPER comedian Stephen K Amos is making the nation sit up and take note.

The 43-year-old comes to the Victoria Hall next week as part of a nationwide tour in which he is encouraging the country to forget about the post-Christmas blues.

Amos is a specialist in black humour and observational comedy, regularly picking up on issues surrounding sexuality – he is openly gay – Afro-Carribean culture and race relations.

With the recession hanging over everyone’s heads, Amos aims to deliver an uplifting show.

“I want to entice people to leave their houses and come to the show for some escapism,” he says. “I want them to forget their troubles and have a good laugh. People have been watching Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor on TV because they want to escape their troubles.”

He himself considers his wry humour as observational, a reflection of what’s going on around him.

“I like talking to people and hearing what they say – I am a very positive person and I think that comes over in the show,” he said.

His child-like joy and exuberance means he can find the funny in some of the most unexpected places.

He’s perhaps best known as a comedian, performing as stand-up at London’s Comedy Store, and for panel shows such as Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week.

He’s collected a pile of gongs from around the world, such as the Richard Pryor, Time Out Stand-Up and Chortle Awards, plus the International Comic at the New Zealand Comedy Awards.

However, he’s also an actor and has notched up some serious roles on stage and screen, such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Absolute Beginners.

His debut DVD Find the Funny – Live is out this month – and expect to see more of him on TV soon.

“I’m now in talks about my next project with the BBC,” he revealed. There’s already been a pilot show, which went down very well.

“It’s a sitcom written by Simon Nye, who wrote Men Behaving Badly, and it’s called In My Country.

“It’s two males living in a flat. I can’t say yet who the other man will be, it’s still under wraps, but it is a well-known face. We live in a flat but it’s not two womanising louts, this is set in contemporary London.”

He’s also in talks about a comedy sketch series of his own, provisionally titled The Stephen K Amos Show.

“I may change that,” he mused, “though it does tell the viewer who’s in it.”

Stephen K Amos visits Hanley’s Victoria Hall on Saturday, January 30. The show starts at 7.30pm and tickets are priced £16.50, to book phone the box office on 0844 871 7649.