James Acaster

James Acaster
Born 9 January 1985
Kettering, Northamptonshire, England
Medium Stand-up
Nationality British
Genres Low-key whimsy
Website http://www.jamesacaster.com/

James Acaster (born 9 January 1985 in Kettering) is an English comedian.[1]

Early life

Acaster attended Montagu secondary school in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Musical career

Acaster previously played drums in local bands in Northamptonshire including Pindrop, Three Line Whip and The Wow! Scenario.[2] After The Wow! Scenario broke up he "decided to do comedy before deciding what he really wanted to do."

Comedy career

In 2009 Acaster performed in a show at the Edinburgh festival fringe with fellow comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nick Helm.[3] In 2010 he supported Josie Long on tour and, in 2011 he supported Milton Jones on tour.[4]

He has appeared on Russell Howard's Good News Extra[5] and was the internet act in Dave's One Night Stand from Bristol.[6] In 2011 he had his first solo show at the Edinburgh Festival, "Amongst Other Things".[7][8] Acaster appeared in Australia Versus and was co-host in My First Gig on Resonance FM radio.[9] He appeared in Chris Addison's E4 programme Show and Tell in autumn 2011. In spring 2012 he performed "Amongst Other Things" as solo shows in various venues in the UK.

Acaster's 2012 Edinburgh show was called "Prompt". It began its run to positive reviews and enthusiastic audience response. It received a nomination from the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards for best comedy show at the festival in 2012. Acaster performed "Prompt" at 14 venues in England and Wales between January and March 2013, after which he appeared at Auckland Comedy Festival in New Zealand. He won the New Zealand Comedy Guild's best international act award in December 2013.

Acaster's 2013 Edinburgh show "Lawnmower" was staged at the Pleasance Courtyard. It was nominated for the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award 2013 for best comedy show. In September 2013 he made his first appearance on the BBC musical comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He completed his UK tour of "Lawnmower" at a hometown gig in Kettering on 30 November 2013.

Acaster has done various bits of radio, including the half-hour programme "James Acaster's Findings - Bread"[10] for BBC Radio 4, also featuring Nathaniel Metcalfe and Bryony Hannah. A series of four episodes of "James Acaster's Findings" was recorded in June and July 2014, the first of these episodes was broadcast on 5th November 2014. Acaster also regularly appears on Josh Widdicombe's XFM radio show, where he has a keen following for his "classic scrapes".

Acaster's 2014 Edinburgh show was called Recognise. The show was previewed in April and May in Australia and New Zealand,[11] where it won the New Zealand International Comedy Festival Award for Best International Show.[12] Recognise was again nominated for the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award 2014 for best comedy show - third in a row for Acaster.[13] It was performed at over 30 British venues during autumn 2014, including a two-week run at the Soho theatre in December due to the success of the October dates at the same venue.

Acaster appeared as a panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats on 17 March and on 4 November 2014,[14] on Spicks and Specks in Australia on 14 May 2014,[15] and on Mock the Week on 2 October 2014.

Personal life

Acaster currently lives in London.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.comedycv.co.uk/jamesacaster/index.html
  2. ↑ https://www.myspace.com/introducingthewowscenario
  3. ↑ http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/10000535-acaster-helm-and-widdicombe-live-at-the-voodoo-bar/
  4. ↑ http://www.theadvertiserseries.co.uk/leisure/8877065.Milton_Jones__Lion_Whisperer__Gala_Theatre__Durham/
  5. ↑ James Acaster on Russell Howard's Good News on YouTube
  6. ↑ http://uktv.co.uk/dave/homepage/sid/8779
  7. ↑ http://www.chortle.co.uk/comics/j/33492/james_acaster
  8. ↑ http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh/events/james-acaster-amongst-other-things
  9. ↑ http://www.thecomedycrawl.com/lineup.php?section=performers&id=112
  10. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rg23c
  11. ↑ http://www.comedy.co.nz/comedy-guide/shows/james-acaster-recognise.aspx
  12. ↑ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11257485
  13. ↑ Brian Logan (23 August 2014). "John Kearns wins the Foster's Edinburgh comedy award 2014". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ 8 Out of 10 Cats episode guide
  15. ↑ Spicks and Specks episode guide

External links