Following Fiona Allen’s tour and Edinburgh run in 2023 with her debut stand-up show ‘On The Run’, the star and co-writer of Emmy and Bafta award winning TV series ‘Smack The Pony’’s has added 13 extra dates for 2024.
‘On The Run’ follows Fiona’s warm, engaging and very funny and recent journey to the stand-up stage, her thoughts on family, marriage, sex robots, passive aggressive school Mum’s and supermarket dress codes.
Fiona is a woman born with itchy feet. As a teenager, she left her hometown of Bury for the bright lights of Manchester and became part of the Tony Wilson empire of the Hacienda Nightclub and Factory Records. When she decided to become an actor, she came to London and in next to no time had won 2 Emmy’s as the star and co-writer of the hugely influential all female Sketch show ‘Smack the Pony’.
She met and married Mike, the son of the late Sir Michael Parkinson, and had 3 kids in 5 years. The last few years have been a whirlwind of work and kids, kids and work with a small bit of husband thrown in and a large dollop of a mad Cockapoo. The kids and the other two are sort of housetrained so now it’s a good time to take a breather and decide what Fiona would like to do for herself.
The only problem is her chronic itchy feet and an attention span that would put her behind a goldfish in a list of possible contestants on The Chase. So, in true Fiona style she decided to go On the Run…
As a working Mum with kids she can’t remember the last time she did anything for herself. The problem is finding what that ‘thing’ is, particularly when your spirit animal is a sloth and people generally annoy you. It basically came down to a choice between cage fighting or stand up. She chose the latter and has spent the last couple of years perfecting her style in the UK’s clubs.
Now, she is ready to share her experiences of being on the road, the glamour of motorway services, the challenge of finding a parking spot in a town centre and her random thoughts that arise whilst driving from place to place.
She muses on being a Mum, raising her kids in a world full of parenting theories and passive aggressive school mums. She shares the stress of being a wife to a man who still can’t operate the washing machine, introduces you to her Northern Dad, her hilarious Spanish Mum, and her older sister who she really irritates just by breathing.
Why was stand up her only road to freedom? And not yoga, swimming, or the gym?! Why are nights under canvas or weekends away are not a good idea for someone whom other people are generally annoying? And why not being very good in groups tends to limit your options of finding an enjoyable hobby? ‘On the Run’ is a show for everyone and has no agenda other than to prove to Fiona that she can actually concentrate on one thing and stay in the same place for an hour.
Fiona’s many other screen credits are extensive and include Dalziel & Pascoe, Coronation Street, Poirot, Eastenders, Casualty, Shameless, In Deep, Happiness, Skins (as wife to Bill Bailey’s character), Waterloo Road, Mock The Week, Alan Partridge's Scissored Isle, Death In Paradise and 8 Out of 10 Cats. She has also appeared in numerous films including 24 Hour Party People, Fat Slags and Gladiatress.
The dates are as follows:
2023
NOVEMBER
Thurs 16th BRISTOL – The Alma Theatre
Mon 20th – Wed 22nd LONDON – Pleasance Theatre
Thurs 23rd YORK – Monkgate
DECEMBER
Sat 2nd MAIDENHEAD – Norden Farm
Fri 8th BANBURY – Mill Hill Arts Centre
2024
FEBRUARY
Thurs 8th CAMBRIDGE – Junction
Wed 14th BIRMINGHAM – Glee Club
Sat 24th STOCKTON - Manford’s Comedy Club
Sun 25th LEEDS – Wardrobe
Tues 27th EDINBURGH – Monkey Barrell
Wed 28th ABERDEEN – Breakneck Comedy
Thurs 29th FALKIRK – Grangemouth Town Hall
MARCH
Sun 3rd NEWCASTLE – The Stand
Thurs 7th BRIGHTON – The Forge
Thurs 14th GLASGOW – Oran Mor
Thurs 21st NORWICH - Arts Centre
Fri 22nd COLCHESTER - Arts Centre
Thurs 28th READING – South Street
TICKETS: https://www.aegpresents.co.uk/event/fiona-allen-on-the-run/
Photo Credit - Natasha Pszenicki
