Double Edinburgh Comedy Award winner and Taskmaster star John Kearns (Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Guessable) is set to embark on a new UK tour with Tilting at Windmills. The 50+ date UK & IRE tour will start 11th February and run to 6th November 2026, including three London dates (two consecutive nights at Wilton’s Music Hall and a later date at Soho Walthamstow), followed by stops in Brighton, Belfast, Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Cardiff, Nottingham and more.
Directed by Olivier winner Jon Brittain (Baby Reindeer, Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho), Tilting at Windmills is a fragmented, digressing portrayal of a 38-year-old man’s life, alluding to books he hasn't read, touching on the modern condition. Plus VAT! More allusive and bleak as ever, it is unreal the comedian you become. And for who? Decent craic with the right crowd. A show for those who have read about but not committed to the Guinness Nitrosurge.
Twelve years on since he first debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe, John is still the only comedian to have ever won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show (Shtick) and Best Newcomer (Sight Gags for Perverts) in the awards forty-five-year history. An internationally acclaimed live act, he has delivered his “richly, idiosyncratic comedy” (The Guardian) across the world, notably picking up three Melbourne International Comedy Festival Award nominations along the way.
Over the past year, John teamed up with fellow Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Adam Riches to become one of music’s most bangable duos in Ball & Boe, imagining themselves as the nation’s favourite power balladeers, crooning and clowning their way through a set both affectionate tribute and gleeful parody. The show went on to enjoy a double run at Soho Theatre, a three-night sell-out at the Pleasance Grand during the Edinburgh Fringe and a host of 5-star reviews.
John’s last stand-up hour, The Varnishing Days, was his biggest tour show to date. The show was twice-extended due to demand to over 100 dates, with 17 London shows, including two Soho Theatre runs, multiple sell-out dates at Bloomsbury Theatre and two sold-out shows at the iconic Royal Court Theatre. The show was filmed and released as a special on Sky and Now TV in August 2024.
Elsewhere on television, John was a star of series 14 of Taskmaster (Channel 4) and co-host of Guessable (Comedy Central) with Sara Pascoe and team captain Alan Davies. He played the lead in Top Coppers (BBC Three) and also appeared on shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Never Mind the Buzzcocks (Sky) and Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC).
Further credits include Pls Like (BBC), Lazy Susan (BBC), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Rotters (Sky Arts), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave), and Harry Hill’s Stars In Their Eyes (ITV).
On radio, John co-wrote and starred in Lasties (BBC Radio 4) alongside Tim Key, entertained the nation on Christmas Day 2019 with A Very John Kearns Christmas (BBC Radio 4), and wrote and performed his own series The John Kearns Show (BBC Radio 4), as well as hosting and guesting on numerous shows throughout the Fringe (BBC Radio 4/Radio 4 Extra).
Later this year John will be making his stage debut as Inspector Lestrade in the world premiere of Sherlock Holmes and The Twelve Days of Christmas at The Birmingham Rep from Friday 14th November to Sunday 11th January 2026. The comedy whodunnit is penned by Fringe-favourites The Penny Dreadfuls’ Humphrey Ker and David Reed, with new songs from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Tour tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 19th September with an exclusive fan pre-sale on Thursday 18th September for John’s mailing list subscribers. Full dates and tickets at johnkearnscomedy.co.uk
