RBM, Northern Pictures and Chic Ken Productions present the 20th Anniversary screening tour of the critically acclaimed comedy documentary IT’S NICE UP NORTH .

Graham Fellows’ much loved 2006 comedy documentary It’s Nice Up North stars his alter ego John Shuttleworth. The tour is also being presented as a tribute to the late Martin Parr, the celebrated photographer who shot the movie, and whose distinctive eye is central to the movie’s charm and enduring appeal. Time Out called it ‘Eccentric, beautifully inconsequential..’

It’s Nice Up North follows the legendary comic character John Shuttleworth on a gently absurd journey through the Shetland Islands to test the theory that the further north you go, the nicer people become. Foiled by failing light, let down by a flat car battery, and buffeted by the constant wind, John doggedly pursues his quest; asking everyone he meets the all important question; ‘Is it nice up North?’

Co starring Shetland tour guide, Elma Johnson (pictured with John), as herself, and featuring the inspiring music of Shetland’s folk ensemble Fiddlers Bid

Graham Fellows will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A, and to discuss his on and off screen relationship with Martin Parr and how the photographer chose to adapt his legendary techniques to a film camera and crew on a remote Scottish island.

Now in his 42nd Year since being created by Fellows, John Shuttleworth has been a mainstay of the UK touring circuit and a much loved and popular figure on BBC Radio 4. His other films include Southern Softies (2009) which was released theatrically in the UK and was screened on Sky Arts, plus in 2023 an environmental documentary Father Earth - a tribute to his late father Derek Fellows, which also had a theatrical release. 

Certificate U 

The tour starts in Manchester on September 17. Click here for full dates.