Award winning comedian and star and co-creator (alongside TIM KEY and MARK WATSON) of BBC Four’s comedy quiz show We Need Answers ALEX HORNE is to embark on a 35-date national tour from 15th January 2010. Wordwatching, which is also set to be published as a book by Virgin on 14th January 2010, played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and follows ALEX’S quest as he attempts to answer some pressing questions: Can one man deliberately invent a successful new word? Is it possible to break into the dictionary? What is a pratdigger?
On 25th January 2006, the Perrier Best Newcomer Award nominee and Chortle Award winning comedian/wordsmith, ALEX HORNE celebrated his TKDay - his 10,000th day alive - and decided to mark the event by doing something truly remarkable. Already a successful joke writer, ALEX wanted to take the next logical step: he wanted to create a brand new verbal concept and successfully implant it in the English language.
In 1791, Dublin theatre owner James Daly proved it was possible. When a colleague wagered he couldn’t come up with a word that would catch on by the end of the weekend, Daly hired a group of street urchins to write “quiz” - a previously unknown sequence of letters - on the walls around the Irish city. Within 24 hours the word was common currency. People didn’t know what it meant so presumed it was some sort of test.
Could ALEX replicate this feat (bearing in mind that story is almost certainly untrue)?
Nowadays, verbal gardening isn’t so easy. Urchins are harder to find, more expensive to hire and most walls are already caked in their graffiti. But after much careful planning, daring stunts and almost a thousand days of sneaky verbal trickery, ALEX is making progress. His new words have appeared in nearly all the national newspapers, on Sky News, BBC TWO’s The Daily Politics and in an interview with GEORGE ALAGIAH witnessed by 250 million people on BBC World. Even TKDay (noun: one’s 10,000th day, a major turning point in one’s life) is beginning to catch on.
Come and see him spread the word further in his most ambitious show yet, a multi-media neologistic bonanza tracking the highs and lows of this secret linguistic campaign.
ends
What the press has said about Wordwatching:
Beautifully structured, endearingly honest... He not only entertains, amuses and impresses, but he makes you want to join in. Don’t be a pratdigger, go and see this show.
Kate Copstick, The Scotsman
A gentlemanly sort with a potentially impressive handlebar moustache, he displays a meticulousness bordering on obsession. Neither this, nor his love of sophisticated software, hinders or distracts from his rolling flow…Take the tech away and you'd still have a tautly written, charmingly delivered show… This is almost word perfect.
Mickey Noonan, Metro
For more information please contact: Jenny Stewart or Dan Lloyd at Avalon on 020 7598 7222 / jenny.stewart@avalonuk.com or danl@avalonuk.com
TOUR DATES
January
Friday 15th Berwick The Maltings Theatre 01289 330 999
Tuesday 26th Norwich Arts Centre 01603 660 352
Thursday 28th Derby Assembly Rooms 01332 255 800
February
Wednesday 3rd Edinburgh The Stand 0131 558 7272
Thursday 4th Aberdeen The Lemon Tree 01224 641 122
Thursday 18th Ebbw Vale The Beaufort Theatre 01495 355 800
Friday 19th Cambridge The Junction 01223 511 511
Saturday 20th Leeds The Library 0113 244 0794
Sunday 21st York The Hyena Comedy Club 0871 704 2054
Wednesday 24th Wycombe Swan Town Hall 01494 512 000
Friday 26th Newbury Arlington Arts Centre 01635 244 246
Saturday 27th Whitby Hilarity Bites 01325 362 364
Sunday 28th Hull The Otherside Comedy Club 0845 838 1558
March
Wednesday 3rd Milton Keynes The Stables 01908 280 800
Thursday 4th Bristol The Comedy Box 0117 902 0344
Sunday 7th Kings Lynn Arts centre 01553 764 864
Wednesday 10th Brighton Komedia 0845 293 8480
Friday 12th Colchester Arts Centre 01206 500 900
Sunday 13th Darlington Hilarity Bites 01325 362 364
Tuesday 15th Scarborough The Otherside 0845 838 1558
Wednesday 16th Glasgow The Stand 0131 558 7272
Saturday 27th Chelmsford Cramphorn Theatre 01424 462 288
April
Saturday 3rd Bath Rondo Theatre 01225 463 362
Thursday 8th Lydford Village Hall, Somerset 01963 240 417
Friday 9th Regil Village Hall, N. Somerset 01275 472 648
Saturday 10th Hastings White Rock Theatre 01225 463 362
Friday 16th Edington Village Hall, Somerset 01278 722 524
Saturday 17th Wootton Courtenay Somerset 01643 841 067
Tuesday 20th -
Saturday 24th London Soho Theatre 020 7478 0100
WHAT THE PRESS HAS SAID ABOUT ALEX AND…
…Wordwatching
"Quirky, candid and engaging."
Suzanne Black, The List
"This is enormously captivating fun, with strong timing and brilliant humour. Well worth the honk."
Ian Phillips, The National Student
"A master of the gentle, charming comedy set."
The List
"It’s an admirably pointless task, and one that’s amusingly told. He deserves kudos for originality, too, as you don’t get many stand-up shows dedicated to neologisms these days... Worth a few quid of anybody’s honk."
Steve Bennett, Chortle
"A refreshingly honest set of fun and games will have you honking for more!"
Paul McInnes, Guardian Online
"Alex Horne’s comedy stand up is a distinctive mix of the geeky and the quietly rebellious. He’s obsessed with words and how we use them, has a penchant for puns and is a virtuoso of the vowel and consonant… This clever show works on several levels and its enthusiasm for words is infectious."
William McEvoy, The Stage
"This is concept comedy in the vein of Dave Gorman: a gentle, feelgood exploration of one man’s unusual pursuit, which successfully keeps the audience intellectually stimulated as well as amused… you will be tickled, intrigued and perhaps even inspired to join in - which has got to be well worth your honk."
Tom Hackett, Fest
"Alex Horne's show Wordwatching is an amusing account of his quest to introduce various new words and usages into the English language… It's a show worth a few quid of anyone's hard-earned honk."
Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times
…Birdwatching
"Rather like a rare bird - his ostensible subject - he is a fragile delight, covering any subject with a daft, surreal charm."
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
"Much more of a progressively inclusive family comedy than your typical stand up, and the feel good factor is unrivalled… It’s well worth your while witnessing Horne’s sharp eye, quick wit and excellent audience rapport, as he effortlessly moves the boundaries of the genre itself."
Duska Radosavljevic, The Stage
"Quick, intelligent, and capable of generating wholesome laughs without falter."
Rupert Thomson, Fest
"Horne is as quick-witted and engaging as they come."
Nicholas Barber, The Independent on Sunday
"The gentle premise offers a platform for some sharp gags and surprisingly insightful
philosophising"
James Kettle, The Guardian
"The hobby is a springboard for apparent but expertly controlled chaos, delivered around his immaculately timed and surprisingly technological whimsy"
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
"Horne’s wide-eyed appetite for knowledge shines through and uncovers the naturally ridiculous elements of his findings… And who on the Fringe can wield a better PowerPoint presentation?"
Brian Donaldson, The List
“Quirky, quick-witted and affable.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
“Horne is that rarest of creatures, the funny geek. He has a scientist's curiosity coupled with the gentle humour and enthusiasm that characterises the best lecturers. Combining these traits with his beloved PowerPoint, Horne's show tells of the year he spent locked in polite Oedipal combat with his Dad seeing who could spot the most birds. It is charming, warm and cosy rather than packed with killer lines, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.”
Jonathan Trew, Scotland on Sunday
“Horne's observations are at once funny and fascinating.”
Sharon Lougher, Metro
…When in Rome
“A beguiling blend of the smart and stupid…a real delight.”
The Times
“This is the most inventive show I’ve seen this year.”
The Observer
“Horne has superb timing and fascinating delivery… Pure comedy gold.”
Metro
“A quick witted and genial comedian.”
The Independent
…Every Body Talks
“A real delight.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
"A subtly-structured piece of gentle genius which explores non-verbal communication, complete with pie charts, graphics and an odd picture of Ken Dodd."
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“One white male who really should have received a (Perrier) nomination is Alex Horne, who was a newcomer nominee last year and whose new show, Every Body Talks, is more ambitious in imagination and complexity. Stand-up purists may balk at the quantity of props, but this is the most inventive show I have seen this year.”
Stephanie Merritt, The Observer
“The concept is ambitious, the execution delightful and the atmosphere charming. Put simply, Every Body Talks is unlike anything else you will see on the Fringe. Which is exactly why you should go.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
…Making Fish Laugh
“Extremely well-conceived and executed, this makes for a fine hour laughing about laughter.”
Steve Jelbert, The Independent
“This delightfully daft lecture elevates him into a new league.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
“Being blinded by science has rarely seemed this fun.”
Nick Awde, The Stage **
“This is a hugely impressive debut. Conditions for laughter at the fringe? Alex Horne's gig.”
**Alex O'Connell, The Times
ALEX HORNE
Nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award in 2003 for Making Fish Laugh, his interactive Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut stand-up show; ALEX HORNE has established a reputation among critics, comics and audiences as a thoughtful and original stand-up, writer and solo performer.
To date ALEX has brought five solo show to the Edinburgh Fringe, including 2004’s Chortle Award winning Every Body Talks, and 2005’s When In Rome which went on to be ALEX’S first national tour. In 2007 ALEX performed Birdwatching to critical acclaim at the Fringe. The show went on to tour nationally in 2009 coinciding with the release of ALEX’S debut book Birdwatchingwatching (Virgin Books). 2007 also saw the Edinburgh debut of We Need Answers, a new comedy quiz show developed and hosted alongside MARK WATSON and TIM KEY. Following the success of the live show, two series of We Need Answers were commissioned by BBC Four, the second of which is currently on air.
ALEX’S other recent credits include The Percy Edwards Showdown (BBC Radio 4), The Verb (BBC Radio Three) and Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4).
