★★★★★ The Times ★★★★★ Daily Telegraph ★★★★★ The Sunday Times
★★★★★ Mirror Online ★★★★★ Three Weeks ★★★★★ Fest ★★★★★Time Out Live ★★★★★ Forth One ★★★★★ One4review ★★★★★ The New Current ★★★★ The Scotsman

Hot on the heels of his 2010 Edinburgh Comedy Award win, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here Now! presenter RUSSELL KANE is to bring his sell-out Fringe smash Smokescreens & Castles to theatres nationwide this autumn. The comic, well known for his appearance on BBC ONE’s flagship live comedy show Live at the Apollo - who won the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award following four nominations in five years - will play venues up and down the county from 24th September.

Smokescreens & Castles is inspired by RUSSELL’s childhood home; the only council house in his street which had been privately bought - by his Dad. This attracted the ire of the neighbours, and when Dave Kane built an extension, their home was mockingly christened ‘The Castle’ by incensed Enfield folk.

The Castle could be a symbol for all the funny and heartbreaking stuff that went on in that house. The bricking they put around their love, the barriers they built in place of feelings, the smokescreens in communication which hid the tender truths…

One room at a time, RUSSELL whisks us through The Castle, blowing away the smoke of history in a whirlwind of high-energy contortions and pant-spraying hilarious routines.

Smokescreens & Castles sees RUSSELL return to the road following a whirlwind year which has included: receiving his fourth Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for his 2010 stand-up show; touring the country twice, with both his stand-up show Human Dressage and his brand new Fakespeare play, The Tragickal Saveings of King Nigel; co-presenting the TRIC-award nominated I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here Now!; appearing as a regular on BBC TWO’s Grumpy Guides to… and Comedy Central’s Grouchy Young Men; and returning to the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival for a month-long residency. In addition to debuting Smokescreens & Castles at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Fringe, this summer has also seen RUSSELL present his first musical The Great British Country Fete, commissioned by The Bush Theatre. Written with scores from award-winning composer and lyricist Michael Bruce, the satirical comedy is set at a fictional village fete.
ends

What the press said about Smokescreens & Castles in Edinburgh

“Russell Kane's new show is the finest of his career. Extremely funny, poignant and fuelled by real intelligence and passion.”
Tim Arthur, Time Out Live

A hugely impressive show, full of ideas and performed with an irresistible vigour, marking a quantum leap for a comic powering towards the top of his game.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle

For more information, please contact Fran Cherry, Jo Cross or Dan Lloyd at Avalon on: 020 7598 7222 franc@avalonuk.com, joc@avalonuk.com or danl@avalonuk.com

WHAT THE PRESS HAS SAID ABOUT:

…SMOKESCREENS AND CASTLES

★★★★★
“It’s a heartbreaking and inspiring show - a document of our times.”
Stephen Armstrong, Sunday Times

★★★★★
“A thought-provoking filial tour de force.”
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph �" Five Stars

★★★★★
“A seriously good comedian.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times

★★★★★
“Russell Kane's new show is the finest of his career. Extremely funny, poignant and fuelled by real intelligence and passion.”
Tim Arthur, Time Out Live

★★★★★
“His show is not only hilariously funny, but also captivating, intelligent and touching.”
Samantha Kent, Three Weeks - Five Stars

★★★★★
“Kane is an accomplished performer and a master of energising an audience. But what marks him out is a capacity for subtlety; an eye for authentic characterisation; an ear for kitchen sink drama. There are few comedians who can whip an audience into 59 minutes of laughter, before closing on a minute of whispered poignancy. This year, Kane isn’t good. He’s brilliant.”
Evan Beswick, Fest

★★★★
“Raising more interesting ideas in a single routine that many comics manage in an hour, this is yet another impressive show.”
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman

★★★★
“This is the show when Russell Kane finally comes of age, releasing all the potential he’s ever been credited with into one dense, smart, funny and honestly personal examination of his proud working-class family, warts and all….A hugely impressive show, full of ideas and performed with an irresistible vigour, marking a quantum leap for a comic powering towards the top of his game.”
Steve Bennett, Chortle

★★★★
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard

HUMAN DRESSAGE

“One of the most intellectually invigorating hours on the Fringe...There’s no doubting Kane’s originality or comic verve - I particularly loved his observation about the way men reduce their life-expectancy through their inveterate anti-sociability (“We think ourselves to death”).”
Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph

“Class-consciousness, pretension and a ready self-deprecation have always been part of what makes Kane such a gifted, distinctive comic…plenty of astute and funny observations in this hour about age, nationalities, gender and sexuality.”
Jay Richardson, Chortle

“Exceptionally well-observed and full of physical as well as linguistic wit and is both high falutin' and base in its tone and subject matter. In other words he talks about psychology and wanking. There is more thought and intelligence behind his comedy than most people could ever get near…He remains a unique voice and certainly a comedian who you feel is capable of being one of the best around whose best days lie ahead of him, and you don't feel that very often.”
Jon Nicholson, Mirror

“His stand-up is as bold and defiant as ever, but shot through with more vulnerability, self-doubt even, than previous years have suggested possible. Unlike last year’s mannered and technical performance, this one is raw and sometimes needy, with tales of fleeing his threatening council-estate father for the cheerful insouciance of his riotous gran, ending in a perfectly formed humiliation that toys with a comedy cliché before stamping it down for ever…Watch him closely.”
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times

“Russell Kane is a smart young man and not afraid to show it. His new show, Human Dressage - nominated for the Edinburgh comedy award - is about the dances we humans do to define who we are. Kane ring-fences the argument with neuroscientific jargon; it's refreshing to hear a stand up unashamed of his learning…We are, in other words, emotionally repressed. Who knew? These are cliches, then - but at least they're cliches in the service of a sometimes interesting thesis. And they are animated by Kane's undeniable comic flair, as with this line about the Australians' laid-back dress code: "Have you seen my theatre vest, Muriel?" "It's next to your funeral shorts."…The funniest routine sees granny walking in on him masturbating: Kane, a hyperactive presence on stage, works the scene for every last drop of its comic (and dramatic) potential.”
Brian Logan, The Guardian

“Russell Kane is one of the many fine performers who just grow in stature each year and each time they are a pleasure to watch…He talks at a million miles an hour and this means that one has to listen intently to try and absorb every word he utters, and you just wouldn’t want to miss a single one… don’t miss the chance of a ticket, buy one today.”
Geoff Williams, one4review

…Gaping Flaws
“Russell Kane is an exceptional comedian, his pace is relentless and his material beautifully observed and exquisitely crafted...This is inspiring and brilliant stand-up…perfect.”
Corry Shaw, Chortle

“A fierce intelligence with an irreverent streetwise line of patter… Kane's background provides the richest seam of anthropological material and a compassionate context for his more cutting observations. Delivered at a break-neck speed, his set flits easily between the crude and the cerebral and makes telling points with both approaches. Gaping Flaws is one of those rare shows that makes an hour seem a very short time.”
Jonathan Trew, The Scotland on Sunday

“‘Gaping Flaws’ marks Russell Kane’s stand-up ascendancy.”
Ian Phillips, The National Student

“Much of his rantings and comedy make sense as does the fact that you should try and get a ticket for his show if you can.”
one4review

“A streetsmart intellectual, taking the everyday and adding his literate, sideways spin.”
Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard

“The kind of gags that make you snort beer out of your nose… An impressive punchline rate.”
Mickey Noonan, Metro

“Passionate and relentlessly punchy in his delivery.”
Jay Richardson, The Scotsman

“Hip-thrusting his way across the stage, Kane fires out anecdotes and witty asides with machine-gun frequency, his pitch-perfect observations hitting the mark every time… Anecdotes are not simply told, but illustrated with hilariously drawn impressions of the characters that inhabit them, and Kane's gloriously charismatic performance exudes energy and spark.”
Hannah Thomas, Fest

“His 60-minute meditation on the flaws of humans has a thumping heart and a burning soul.”
Brian Donaldson, The List

“Well on his way to rock-star status… Kane springs and struts around the stage like a boxer, and sounds like a Ben Elton who actually is working class… he's getting better and better.”
Nicholas Barber, Independent on Sunday

“There's enough bawdiness in his relentless, energetic material to please the less discerning punter, but it's underpinned by subtly serious points.”
Stephanie Merritt, The Guardian

…Easy Cliché and Tired Stereotype
“Jaw-achingly faultless… cements Kane’s status as masterful observational comic.”
Alison Lutton, Fest

“The best show we’ve seen.”
LBC

“The Perrier nominee is about as smart a young comic as you’re likely to find.”
Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times

“It's his quick-fire, spur-of-the-moment jokes and comments which prove that the man is genuinely hilarious.”
Three Weeks

“Great skill and huge laughs… it’s refreshing to find an hour where the conceit never feels strained.”
Mickey Noonan, Metro

“At one point, Kane refers to a loud noise outside as the stars falling off his reviews. Only the one Russell.”
Marissa Burgess, The List

…The Theory of Pretension
“Kane is an intelligent, confident comedian who can make us look at ourselves and laugh, regardless of the sometimes unpalatable view. His ferocious, rapid fire delivery and needle sharp observations are accurate and genuinely funny. A proper stand-up comedian; a lot rarer these days than you think.”
Drew Tosh, The List

“It’s also hilarious from start-to-finish, as he thrusts about revealing Shakespeare as the rubbish comedian we all knew he was at school, exposing the fallacy of the jobsworth, and explaining how the ultimate antidote to pretentiousness is silliness. Kane has a rambling, hyperactive style, though it’s clearly a very carefully constructed narrative, flexible enough for ad-libbing with the audience and quick-witted brainwaves that leave the audience floored with laughter.”
Ally Brown, Skinny Fest

“Few Edinburgh newcomers make performing look this fluid… It looks like his rise to meteoric heights is about to begin.”
Sharon Lougher, Metro

“Stand-up Russell Kane is one to watch.”
Jonathan Trew, Scotland on Sunday

TOUR DATES
September
Friday 24th Barking The Broadway 020 8507 5607
Saturday 25th Bradford Alhambra Theatre 01274 432 000
Wednesday 29th Wellingborough The Castle 01933 270 007
Thursday 30th Aldershot West End Centre 01252 330 040

October
Friday 1st Newbury Corn Exchange 01635 522 733
Saturday 2nd Kendal Brewery Arts Centre 01539 725 133
Sunday 3rd Scunthorpe The Otherside Comedy Club 0845 838 1558
Monday 4th Preston Frog and Bucket 01772 200 902
Wednesday 6th Colchester Arts Centre 01206 500 900
Thursday 7th Telford Oakengates Theatre 01952 382 382
Friday 8th London Bloomsbury Theatre 020 7388 8822
Saturday 9th Derby Assembly Rooms 01332 255 800
Sunday 10th Sheffield Comedy Festival, Memorial Hall TBC
Tuesday 12th Brighton Comedy Festival, Corn Exchange 01273 709 709
Wednesday 13th Harrogate Theatre 01423 502 116
Thursday 14th Didcot Cornerstone Arts 01235 515 144
Saturday 16th Barnsley The Civic 0845 1800 363
Wednesday 20th Birmingham The Glee 0871 472 0400
Thursday 21st Cardiff The Glee 0871 472 0400
Friday 22nd Stockton on Tees ARC Centre 01642 525 199
Sunday 24th Hull Comedy Festival, Otherside 01482 323 638
Tuesday 26th Manchester Comedy Store 0844847 1728
Wednesday 27th Bristol Comedy Box 0117 973 7661
Thursday 28th Epsom Playhouse 01372 742 555
Saturday 30th Folkestone Quarter House 01303 858 500

January
Thursday 20th Inverness The Ironworks 0871 789 4173
Friday 21st Southend Palace Theatre 01702 351 135
Sunday 23rd Exeter Laugh Out Loud Comedy Festival, Phoenix 01392 667 080
Tuesday 25th Durham Gala Theatre 0191 332 4041
Wednesday 26th Fife Carnegie Hall 01383 60 23 02
Thursday 27th Aberdeen Lemon Tree 01224 641 122
Saturday 29th Edinburgh University TBC
Sunday 30th Salford The Lowry 0870 787 5780

February
Wednesday 2nd Wrexham Glyndwr University 01978 293 439
Thursday 3rd Bath Komedia 0845 293 8480
Friday 4th Milton Keynes Stables 01908 280 800
Saturday 5th Windsor Firestation Arts 01753 866 865
Tuesday 8th Liverpool Baby Blue 0151 702 5831
Thursday 10th Wolverhampton Civic Hall 0870 320 7000
Friday 11th Cambridge The Junction 01223 511 511
Saturday 12th Clacton-on-Sea Princes Theatre 0113 224 3801
Wednesday 16th Hereford The Courtyard 01432 340 555
Thursday 17th Cheltenham Town Hall 0844 576 2210
Friday 18th Kettering The Lighthouse Theatre 01536 414 141
Saturday 19th Dorset Tivoli 01202 885 566
Thursday 24th Pocklington Arts Centre 01759 301 547
Friday 25th Warrington Parr Hall 01925 442 345
Saturday 26th Leeds The Carriageworks 0113 224 3801

March
Wednesday 2nd Tring The Court Theatre 01442 823 130
Saturday 5th Lowestoft Marina Theatre 01502 533 200
Sunday 6th Nottingham Playhouse 0115 941 9419
Friday 18th Glasgow Comedy Festival, Oran Mor 0844 395 4000
Sunday 20th Hornchurch Queens Theatre 01708 443 333

May
Thursday 19th Brighton Komedia 01273 647 100
Friday 20th Tunbridge Wells Trinity Theatre 01892 678 678
Saturday 21st Berwick Upon Tweed Maltings 01289 330 999
Sunday 22nd Northampton Royal Theatre 01604 624 811
Wednesday 25th Norwich Playhouse 01603 598 598
Saturday 28th Lancaster Grand Theatre 01524 64695

AVALON PROMOTIONS
Avalon Promotions Limited is one of the leading promoters of live comedy in the UK. Productions include: NEWMAN & BADDIEL in the first comedy show ever to be staged at Wembley Arena; FRANK SKINNER’s record-breaking performance to an audience of 6,000 at the Battersea Power Station; Jerry Springer - The Opera at the National Theatre, at the Cambridge Theatre in London’s West End, on national tour and at New York’s Carnegie Hall; HARRY HILL at the Palace and Dominion Theatres in London; and Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure at the Sydney Opera House, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, on national tour and at the Village Theatre, New York (nominated for Drama Desk Award 2004).

The last 12 months has seen Avalon Promotions: present multi-award winning comics CHRIS ADDISON, SIMON BIRD, JENNY ECLAIR, DAVE GORMAN, RICHARD HERRING, RUSSELL HOWARD, LEE MACK, and FRANK SKINNER on sell-out runs; produce AL MURRAY, THE PUB LANDLORD live at the O2 and RUSSELL HOWARD at Wembley Stadium; introduce some of the fastest-rising stars in comedy such as KRISTEN SCHAAL & KURT BRAUNOHLER and ISY SUTTIE; produce stage shows, such as Frank Skinner’s Credit Crunch Cabaret and Grumpy Old Women Live, which has toured the UK three times and performed highly successful runs in Australia and London’s West End; and present 20 acts at the Edinburgh Festival, where it has promoted a total of five Perrier Award winners and 18 Perrier Award/Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees in just 21 years.