Ben Elton announces first UK and Ireland stand-up comedy tour since 2019 – about human stupidity

The comic announced his 54-date schedule for his ‘Authentic Stupidity’ shows by declaring: “The verdict’s in! Humanity is thick!”

Ben Elton has announced his first UK and Ireland stand-up comedy tour in five years – and it is about human stupidity.

The wry 64-year-old novelist and comedian, famed for writing sitcoms including Blackadder and The Young Ones, will tackle the subject as part of his Authentic Stupidity shows.

Announcing the string of dates, Elton said: “The verdict’s in! Humanity is thick!”

“We need signs to tell us to step off escalators, we elect gibbering fools to lead us and now we’ve invented artificial intelligence which is actually going to replace us!

“I’ve spent 45 years in comedy exploring the outer limits of human idiocy and my mission has never been more timely. Forget AI! It’s AS we need to be worrying about.”

The tour will consist of 54 shows, the first of which arrives on 1 September 2024 at the York Barbican. Elton, who last toured the UK in 2019, will also visit venues in Brighton, Bristol, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Newcastle and Cambridge.

Ben Elton is embarking on his first UK and Ireland tour since 2019 (PA Media)

He will end the tour in London at the Lyceum Theatre on 18 November. Earlier this year, Elton called Rishi Sunak a “mendacious, narcassistic sociopath” live on the BBC, adding the Prime Minister’s statements were “Orwellian, meaningless, evasive word salad”.

He added: “Everyone wanted to believe – and I sort of wanted to believe – that maybe he’s kind of a bit more decent (than Boris Johnson.) “It turns out he’s just as much of a mendacious, narcissistic sociopath as his previous boss.”

In response, Claire Bullivant of the Conservative Democratic Organisation called Elton a “champagne socialist”.

In reference to Sir Elton John’s performance at Glastonbury this summer, Tory MP Steve Brine also weighed in, saying: “I would think most people in the country are more interested in hearing from another Elton.”

Elton eventually apologised for his comments, saying: “I’m sorry [Sunak’s comments] made me angry and I did not set out to have a go.”

A special recording of Elton’s 2019 UK tour, Ben Elton Live, will be broadcast on Channel 4 tonight (15 December) to mark the announcement of his new tour and tickets are on sale now.