ricky gervais tour uk 2022

• Login/Register

More Information

Considered one of the most influential British comedians since Charlie Chaplin, (he received the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy 2016 BAFTA/LA) Ricky Gervais is the creator and star of The Office, Extras, Derek, and the critically acclaimed Netflix hit After Life.

Following the global success of his two previous Netflix stand-up specials ‘Humanity’ and ‘Supernature’, 2023 saw Gervais release a third special and his biggest to date, ‘Armageddon’. It won a Golden Globe, was the global number 1 most-watched show on Netflix, and followed a record-breaking international tour, selling out 85 arena dates across the world. Gervais’s show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-grossing comedy gig ever.

Gervais has won countless awards across his career and enjoyed huge critical success for the outstanding three series of After Life. His hit series The Office is the most successful British comedy of all time, shown in more than 90 countries, with 13 remakes.

Ricky has hosted the Golden Globes awards five times, in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2020.

Follow Live Nation

Follow Live Nation for News, Presales and Exclusive Deals!

Track your favourite artists, access presale tickets, and never miss a show!

More Live Nation Events

Billie Eilish

Chris Stapleton

Craig David

Crowded House

Culture | Comedy

Ricky Gervais Armageddon tour: Dates, venues, and tickets for his UK shows

The Evening Standard's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Ricky Gervais has added more UK dates to his upcoming UK tour , Armageddon, after the first five shows sold out.

Gervais will begin touring the UK next week, with shows set to continue throughout the summer, before eventually coming to London for four dates in September.

The comedian and actor has also added more dates to his European and North American tours, which will see him perform in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Dublin, Barcelona, Oslo, and Berlin, among others.

Gervais expressed his excitement about the tour on Twitter, saying: “I had no money growing up. My dad was a labourer and my mum did everything to make ends meet. I went to the local comprehensive at the end of my road. Life was tough, I guess.

“And yet, all I can remember is having a  laugh. Anyway, in May, I’m playing The Hollywood F****** Bowl.”

How to get tickets to Ricky Gervais’ tour

Tickets for the new dates on the Ricky Gervais tour will go on sale on Friday, March 31, at 10am.

They will be available to buy from LiveNation.com and fans can set a reminder for when the tickets go live.

Ricky Gervais UK tour dates

April 4/5 – Newcastle O2 City Hall (sold out)

April 19 – St Albans Arena (sold out)

April 24/25 – Manchester O2 Apollo (sold out)

May 22 – Cambridge Corn Exchange

May 25 – Leeds First Direct Arena

May 30 – Manchester O2 Apollo

June 14 – Cardiff International Arena

June 21 – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena

July 20 – Liverpool M&S Bank Arena

September 4 – Birmingham Utilita Arena

September 13/14/15/16 – London Palladium

October 6 – London OVO Arena Wembley

December 11/12 – Bristol Beacon

Gervais also revealed that the Armageddon tour will be available to watch on Netflix in 2024, once he finishes touring the world in 2023. His previous specials, SuperNature and Humanity, are currently available to stream.

Big Brother and The Office named among landmark shows of last 50 years

ITV’s Oscars Live host Jonathan Ross on ‘major problem’ he had with Oppenheimer

Ricky Gervais leads tributes to The Office co-star Ewen MacIntosh who has died

Enter the AXA Startup Angel competition to win £25,000

Create a FREE account to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

Ricky Gervais

• Mon 17 Jun High Wycombe, Swan Theatre Ricky Gervais & Friends Sold out
• Tue 18 Jun High Wycombe, Swan Theatre Ricky Gervais & Friends Sold out
• Mon 24 Jun London, Leicester Square Theatre Ricky Gervais & Friends Sold out
• Wed 26 Jun London, Leicester Square Theatre Ricky Gervais & Friends Sold out

Ben Tipple / 23 February 2017

Ricky Gervais releases Platinum tickets for UK tour

Ricky gervais is taking on touts by adding platinum tickets to his humanity tour..

A limited number of Platinum tickets have been allocated to Ricky Gervais’ new Humanity world tour, guaranteeing premium seats at market rate. The move aims to dissuade touts from accessing the tickets, with some of the profit being donated to charity.

“My frustration with touts is twofold: people spending way over the odds on tickets from illegal touts and, the association that ticket touts are connected in some way to my tour without my consent,” he explains. “Platinum tickets feels like a good way to try and stand up against ticket touts making a fast buck by exploiting fans and this way people willing to pay higher prices will at least know it’s going to charity instead of some scummy tout.

“If this scheme works it will take back some of the millions of pounds scalped every year by touts and divert it to worthy causes. I will split the extra profits generated between Macmillan Cancer Support and the RSPCA.”

The Humanity tour sees Gervais take to the United States, Canada and Europe. Here are those confirmed UK dates:

21 February – Colston Hall, Bristol 22 February – Colston Hall, Bristol 23 February – Colston Hall, Bristol 28 February – Barbican, York 1 March – Barbican, York 6 March – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff 7 March – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff 13 March – O2 Apollo, Manchester 14 March – O2 Apollo, Manchester 15 March – Empire, Liverpool 22 March – BIC, Bournemouth 23 March – BIC, Bournemouth 28 March – Waterfront, Belfast 29 March – Waterfront, Belfast

3 April – City Hall, Sheffield 11 April – Guildhall, Portsmouth 25 April – Pavilion, Plymouth 2 May – Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow 9 May – Centre, Brighton 5 June – City Hall, Newcastle 8 June – Playhouse, Edinburgh 13 June – New Theatre, Oxford 18 June – Mayflower, Southampton 28 June – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham 4 October – Hammersmith Apollo, London 5 October – Hammersmith Apollo, London 6 October – Hammersmith Apollo, London 7 October – Hammersmith Apollo, London

Tickets, including Platinum, for the new dates go on sale at 10:00 on Friday 24 February 2017 through Ticketmaster.co.uk .

Related News

Watch: Arctic Monkeys debut new track ‘I Ain’t Quite Where I Think I Am’

Caitlin Devlin

Shazam’s most-searched artist has been revealed

Orlaith Condon

Final Tickets On Sale Now

Ticketmaster

• Breakthrough 2024

• News & Reviews
• Tours & Tickets

Beyond The Joke

The Lowdown on Comedy, Theatre, TV, Food, Travel & Sam Campbell

Search form

Ricky gervais reveals first batch of tour dates for new show armageddon.

Ricky Gervais has announced the first official tour dates for his brand new show entitled Armageddon.

The outspoken comedian has been doing warm-up dates in London and the provinces in recent months. Fans who have seen the work in progress shows have been tweeting that this could be his most outrageous, controversial, taboo-busting show yet.

Gervais was previously on the receiving end of criticism for anti-woke jokes in his last show Supernature, but the show was still a massive hit on Netflix. 

Last week his Netflix comedy After Life won the Best Comedy Award at the National Television Awards.

The dates announced for November and December so far are in Oxford, Ipswich, Sheffield, Manchester, Cambridge and Cardiff.

There will also be two more warm-up shows at the Leicester Square Theatre on October 26 & 31.

Tags: 

Articles on beyond the joke contain affiliate ticket links that earn us revenue. BTJ needs your continued support to continue - if you would like to help to keep the site going, please consider donating .

Sign up for mailing list

• Privacy Policy

Ricky Gervais adds more new dates to 2023 Armageddon UK tour – how to get tickets today

Once again, Ricky Gervais's sharp brand of comedy is proving to be unbelievably popular as the comic has added 14 extra UK dates to his 2023 tour. Here’s how you can get tickets.

• Olivia Garrett
• Share on facebook
• Share on twitter
• Share on pinterest
• Share on reddit
• Email to a friend

Actor, writer and controversial comic Ricky Gervais has added yet more dates to the 2023 stint of his Armageddon UK tour.

Ever since he wrapped up the first leg of the tour in December 2022, Gervais has continued to book additional dates to meet high levels of demand from fans.

Now, he’s added 14 extra UK shows this spring, with stops in Liverpool, London, Cardiff and more as well as some additional bookings in Europe and the US.

The comedian also recently announced that the Armageddon tour would be appearing on Netflix in the future with the tweet : "Loads of people who couldn’t get tickets asking me if #Armageddon will be on Netflix. The answer is Yes! I will continue touring it throughout 2023 and then it will stream on Netflix around the world in 2024."

Previously, Gervais hadn’t been on tour since 2019 with SuperNature, but now he’s compensating with this extended run of shows, suitable for viewers 16 and over.

More like this

As a man who’s been in the comedy business for over 20 years, Gervais has picked up fans from all walks of life. Whether it’s through the cringe-comedy of The Office, the stinging quips of his Golden Globes hosting, or the meaningful commentary in After Life, the comic has proved to be a jack of all trades.

Here’s how you can get yourself a ticket to one of his extra shows.

Buy Ricky Gervais tickets at Ticketmaster

Ricky Gervais UK tour 2023: when and where are the new shows?

Ricky Gervais is continuing his Armageddon tour in Newcastle next week before heading to St Albans and Manchester. This new set of shows will take place from May onwards, and will include a four-day run at the London Palladium.

Here’s the full list of dates and venues:

• 22nd May 2023 – Corn Exchange, Cambridge
• 25th May 2023 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
• 30th May 2023 – O2 Apollo, Manchester
• 14th June 2023 – International Arena, Cardiff
• 21st June 2023 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
• 20th July 2023 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool
• 4th September 2023 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
• 13th September 2023 – London Palladium, London
• 14th September 2023 – London Palladium, London
• 15th September 2023 – London Palladium, London
• 16th September 2023 – London Palladium, London
• 6th October 2023 – OVO Arena Wembley, London
• 11th December 2023 – Bristol Beacon, Bristol
• 12th December 2023 – Bristol Beacon, Bristol

Ricky Gervais UK tour 2023: how much do tickets cost?

So far, ticket prices for the Armageddon tour have ranged between £35 and £50 depending on the venue.

Re-sale prices are going for a lot higher because of how quickly tickets have sold, so if you want to guarantee a good price make sure you try and get tickets as they’re released.

Ricky Gervais UK tour 2023: when do tickets go on sale?

Tickets for the new dates are on sale today at 10am (Friday 31st March). Judging by how this tour has sold out so far, you're going to have to be quick. So, to grab yourself a spot, read our tips on how to beat the Ticketmaster queue .

For more comedy, check out how to get Iain Stirling tickets and the best comedy shows in London .

Plus, for more fun things to do across the UK this year, stay up to date with our Going Out section where we have the best F1 experience days , the best animal experiences , and the best Shakespeare plays in London .

Subscribe to Radio Times

Try 10 issues for just £10!

Car finance free online calculator

PCP car finance is a popular method of financing a new or used car. It offers several benefits that make it an attractive option for many UK car buyers.

Understanding equity release

If you’re a homeowner aged 55 or over, you may be able to unlock the value that has built up in your home as tax-free cash to help you supplement your later life finances.

The best TV and entertainment news in your inbox

Sign up to receive our newsletter!

By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy . You can unsubscribe at any time.

Ricky Gervais to perform in Suffolk during short 2022 UK tour

The award-winning comedian is bringing his Armageddon tour to Suffolk for one night only

• 16:00, 17 OCT 2022

Ricky Gervais is to perform in Suffolk as part of his short UK tour for the rest of 2022. Gervais, who wrote the popular Netflix series After Life , will take his Armageddon tour to the Ipswich Regent Theatre on Tuesday, November 15.

Following the success of his previous stand-up shows SuperNature and Humanity , the 61-year-old is to perform in just six UK towns and cities over the next two months. The Golden Globe-winning writer, actor and comedian is one of the nation's best-loved TV personalities and has performed to hundreds of thousands of people over his two decade-long career.

Get more news from SuffolkLive straight to your inbox for free HERE .

Gervais' After Life is one of Netflix's most popular shows and has an impressive IMDb rating of 8.4/10. The Reading-born comic also co-wrote hit BBC series The Office alongside Stephen Merchant in the early 2000s.

Announcing the one-night-only show on Twitter, Ipswich Regent Theatre teased the "big announcement" before revealing ticket details. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday, October 21 and can be purchased here .

Suffolk climate activist appears in court after yellow paint thrown over New Scotland Yard sign

20-mile stretch of key Suffolk road to close for two weeks

Chart-topping band to perform at huge Suffolk firework display

The Range to have huge warehouse and office complex built in Suffolk town

The delicious Sunday roast you need to try after a brisk Suffolk woodland walk

• Things to do in Suffolk
• Most Recent

This article contains one or more affiliate links . If you follow one of these links, and make a purchase, we receive a commission.

Tickets for Ricky Gervais' 2022 stand-up shows go on sale at 10am today

• Tamara McWilliam
• 21 October 2022

• Share on Twitter
• Share on Facebook
• Share on Pinterest
• Share via email

'The Office' comic will visit venues across the UK for his 2022 Armageddon Tour

British comedian Ricky Gervais has announced a handful of stand-up shows for his Armageddon Tour this winter. Tickets go on sale at 10am today.

The After Life and Derek funnyman will embark on the six-date string of shows on Wednesday 2 November this year, hitting the New Theatre in Oxford after a previously-scheduled performance in Cambridge this month.

From Tuesday 15 November to Thursday 15 December, Gervais will take his Armageddon material to venues in Ipswich, Sheffield, Manchester, Cambridge and Cardiff. See a detailed list of tour dates and venues below.

Ricky Gervais 2022 UK tour dates: Monday 24 October – Corn Exchange, Cambridge Wednesday 2 November – New Theatre, Oxford Tuesday 15 November – Regent Theatre, Ipswich Tuesday 22 November – City Hall, Sheffield Monday 28 November – O2 Apollo, Manchester Monday 12 December – Corn Exchange, Cambridge Thursday 15 December – International Arena, Cardiff Tickets for Ricky Gervais go on sale at 10am today.

Ricky Gervais: Armageddon

Considered one of the most influential British comedians since Charlie Chaplin, (he received the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy 2016 BAFTA/LA) RICKY GERVAIS returned to the stage with_ SuperNature_ in 2021, following the global success of his recent Netflix stand-up special Humanity, which was…

Similar articles

Ricky Gervais adds extra dates to 'Armageddon' 2022 UK tour: tickets on sale now (21 Oct 2022) The award-winning comic will perform extra nights in Oxford, Ipswich, Sheffield and Manchester this winter

Tickets for Ricky Gervais' extra Armageddon UK tour dates go on sale at 10am today (16 Dec 2022) The Armageddon Tour will hit York, Cardiff, Glasgow and more in 2023

Ricky Gervais announces extra shows for 2023 Armageddon Tour (12 Dec 2022) The award-winning stand-up comedian will perform in York, Cardiff, Glasgow and more next year

Ricky Gervais confirms 2022 Armageddon shows (17 Oct 2022) The 'After Life' star will headline venues in Oxford, Ipswich, Sheffield and Manchester this winter

Tickets for Ricky Gervais' extra Armageddon Tour dates go on sale at 10am today (31 Mar 2023) The award-winning comedian will perform extra nights in Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and more this year

Tickets for Jack Whitehall's 2023 Settle Down UK tour dates go on sale at 10am today (6 Apr 2023) The 'Bad Education' comic will headline arenas in Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and more this summer

Jack Whitehall announces UK dates for 2023 Settle Down Tour (4 Apr 2023) The hit comedian will headline arenas in Leeds, Glasgow, Manchester and more this summer

Micky Flanagan adds extra UK dates to 2023 If We Ever Needed It…Tour (29 Mar 2023) The comic will perform extra dates in Cardiff and London as part of the smash-hit tour

• Ricky Gervais
• stand-up comedy

Need to know about comedy in your area?

Discover how with Data Thistle

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Ricky Gervais expands UK and Ireland arena tour with new dates including four nights at London Palladium

Share this with

SHOPPING – Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this Metro article are selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, Metro.co.uk will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information.

Ricky Gervais has announced a heap of new dates as he expands his UK and Ireland arena tour.

The After Life star is kicking off his Armageddon World Tour next week and the stand-up show will be taken around the world well into 2024 as with some exciting gigs across the UK and Europe.

As well as arena shows in Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester , Cardiff, Nottingham, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol, he’ll also be heading to London’s OVO Wembley Arena on October 6.

Before that show, he’ll be returning to the capital for four dates at the prestigious London Palladium from September 13 to 16.

Moving to mainland Europe, Ricky will be performing in Vienna, Dublin, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Oslo, Lisbon, Stockholm, Berlin and Munich.

And while The Office creator was already lined up to perform shows at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, he’s announced some more shows in the US and Canada including NY’s Beacon Theatre, Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and Montreal’s Place Bell.

Live Nation’s Ian Coburn said in a statement: ‘Ricky Gervais is Britain’s biggest comedian. He sells out arenas around the world.’

And commenting on the previously announced dates, the comedian quipped: ‘When I was invited to play the iconic Hollywood Bowl, I said “What if it rains?” This pretty much sums up how British people think.’

Gervais’s 2021 tour SuperNature was a huge success and subsequently became one of the most watched comedy specials of the year on Netflix when it aired in May 2022.

The streaming platform has already bought the rights to Armageddon, which will stream as Ricky’s next special in early 2024.

Keeping in line with his previous tours, a portion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to charity.

General sale tickets for the dates go on sale Friday (March 31) at 10am local time via Ticketmaster , while tickets for previously announced shows are already available.

Ricky Gervais - Armageddon World Tour UK and Ireland dates

• April 4, 2023 – Newcastle, City Hall
• April 5 – Newcastle, City Hall
• April 19 – St Albans, Alban Arena
• April 24 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
• April 25 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
• May 22 – Cambridge, Corn Exchange General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• May 25 – Leeds, First Direct Arena ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• May 30 – Manchester, O2 Apollo ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• June 14 – Cardiff, International Arena ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• June 21 – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• July 11 – Dublin, 3Arena
• July 20 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• September 4 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• September 13 – London, Palladium ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• September 14 – London, Palladium ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• September 15 – London, Palladium ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• September 16 – London, Palladium ( General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• October 6 – London, OVO Arena Wembley (General sale tickets on sale from 10am March 31 here )
• December 11 – Bristol, Beacon
• December 12 – Bristol, Beacon

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Ricky Gervais mocks ‘fragile’ people over Roald Dahl furore

MORE : Lolly Adefope appears to make dig at Ricky Gervais as After Life beats Ghosts at National Comedy Awards

Get us in your feed

The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

Couldn't manage to buy ricky gervais armageddon tickets here's what you can do.

If you are planning to purchase a ticket for Ricky Gervais' Armageddon show, head to Ticketmaster, as the queue can be extended.

Modi 3.0 Live

Modi 3.0 is here! Familiar faces, fresh additions, and the big portfolio puzzle

Modi-fying growth: India plans policy twist for jobs & investment

No place for losers: Modi sends a clear message with Cabinet 3.0

• November 2 at New Theatre in Oxford
• November 15 at Regent Theatre in Ipswich
• November 22 at City Hall in Sheffield
• November 28 at O2 Apollo in Manchester
• December 12 at Corn Exchange in Cambridge
• December 15 at International Arena in Cardiff

Read More News on

(Catch all the Business News , Breaking News , Budget 2024 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times .)

Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online.

Ravi Kumar’s huge M&A bet at Cognizant will have shareholders on the edge of their seats

The tough task of restoring the credibility of NEET

Why the UK paid just INR100 stamp duty buying an INR101 crore Mumbai property

Vinay Dube got Akasa off the runway. Issues he needs to fix to switch the seat belt sign off.

Domino effect: Here’s what sent markets into a tailspin on poll results day

Five things this global giant needs to do as it enters Blinkit, Zepto’s turf

Find this comment offensive?

Choose your reason below and click on the Report button. This will alert our moderators to take action

Reason for reporting:

Your Reason has been Reported to the admin.

To post this comment you must

Log In/Connect with:

Fill in your details:

Will be displayed

Will not be displayed

Share this Comment:

Stories you might be interested in

Browse Ricky Gervais dates at TicketPort - home of trusted resale tickets to UK music concerts, sports events and comedy shows. Our great value prices include all fees and may be below or above face value.

RICKY GERVAIS TICKETS

Ricky gervais tickets & tour dates 2024.

• TicketPort Home
• Ricky Gervais Tickets

Ricky Gervais Tickets, Tour Dates & Events 2024

Jump to Ticket Availability

Ricky Gervais has announced live UK shows in High Wycombe in 2024. Read on for all the latest Ricky Gervais ticket information.

About Ricky Gervais

Last Updated: 14th March 2024

Considered one of the most influential British comedians since Charlie Chaplin, (he received the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy 2016 BAFTA/LA) Ricky Gervais is now doing warm up shows in 2024 ahead of a brand new tour rumoured to be announced later this year.

The creator and star of The Office, Extras, Derek, and the critically acclaimed recent hit After Life (Netflix), Ricky Gervais has won countless awards. Having enjoyed huge critical success for the outstanding first series of After Life, which was released on Netflix in March 2019, Ricky has since written and finished filming on a second series, which will land on Netflix in 2020. His hit series The Office is the most successful British comedy of all time, shown in more than 90 countries with seven remakes.

His last tour, Armageddon, was released on Netflix on 25 December 2023. The special faced controversy for making a joke on cancer patients but later won for 'Best Performance in Stand-Up Comedy on Television' at the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

Register below and we'll let you know when Ricky Gervais's next tour is announced!

Ricky Gervais Live Dates

Ricky Gervais - Monday 17th June 2024 High Wycombe, Swan Theatre

Ricky Gervais - Tuesday 18th June 2024 High Wycombe, Swan Theatre

Ricky Gervais Ticket Availability

Great news! TicketPort currently has tickets availabile for Ricky Gervais from our trusted suppliers in High Wycombe. To view Ricky Gervais ticket avalability click 'View Tickets' on your preferred date listed below. Our Ricky Gervais ticket prices are regularly checked to ensure they are among the best value on the market so don't miss out and secure your Ricky Gervais tickets today!

If you require Ricky Gervais tickets for any other venue or an alternative date (where there is no TicketPort availability), register your interest below. In some cases we may be able to offer you tickets before they become available on the TicketPort website, allowing you to secure your Ricky Gervais tickets first. TicketPort can often secure trusted tickets for events that may otherwise seem sold out!

• Comedy News
• Book Reviews
• Coming Soon
• Opinion Pieces
• Perfect Playlist
• Unforgettable Five
• Punching Up
• Mailing List

Find Live comedy

Live comedy in london | manchester | scotland.

Ricky Gervais: Supernature

Review of his new Netflix special

‘Comedy evolves,’ Ricky Gervais tells his SuperNature audience as he explains the nature of stand-up. But his comedy barely does.

The show, released on Netflix today, opens with a riff where he feigns to name-check some female comics to prove women are funny but draws a blank. It’s pretty much the same gag he did about being unable to name any funny black British comedians in Extras 16 years ago.

But that’s the thin end of a wedge of deliberately offensive material that’s showing its age. What was once provocative – about Aids, abortion, Hitler, dwarfs and more – has now turned hack, and Gervais isn’t keeping up.

However, his audience vociferously lap this material up, especially given such once-edgy topics are catnip to the sizeable brigade who believe ‘you can’t say anything anymore’ – his core demographic.

For a man so vociferously opposed to religious fundamentalism, Gervais has his own unbending dogma: that ‘it’s only a joke’ excuses anything a comedian might say. So he hits back at ‘virtue signalling’ and the cancel culture that he believes disproportionately pummelled Louis CK (poor guy, reduced to filling Wembley Arena at £60 a ticket…)

When a Twitter critic accuses Gervais of being ‘as funny as a fart at a baby’s funeral’, he takes it as a compliment, revelling in the fact such a guff would be hilarious precisely because it is so inappropriate. Likewise, he tells a joke about hitting a disabled toddler, and reasonably explains that no one actually got hurt in the making of that punchline.

Yet on the substantial tranche of material about trans women, the morals are murkier. Sure, no one will start hitting toddlers because of a gag, but there are plenty of bigots who get their prejudices reinforced by comedians’ anti-trans quips and will take such hateful comments out into the real world.

Gervais has lots to say about trans women - obsessed, he is - and none of it complimentary. Of course he knows this will annoy people, that’s precisely why he does it; he revels in the reaction. But even if you buy his argument that a joke has no morality - this is still comically lazy stuff depending, as always, on some variation on the tired ‘well I identify as…’ trope. Still, it’s a lucrative stance: Netflix is a generous funder of transphobia, as Dave Chappelle has also found out.

‘I’m rich,’ is a punchline to a few gags in SuperNature, as Gervais acknowledges himself as a ‘white heterosexual multimillionaire’. And he turns it into the rather good joke that being in the 1 per cent makes him a member of a much smaller minority than most racial or sexual community.

Yes, he’s often funny. His best lines will make all but the most fervent liberals laugh despite themselves, which is his aim. But there are just not enough of those moments to break through the more pedestrian progressive-baiting-by-numbers that defines this special.

Gervais is hack on other topics, too, from rectal examination to nudity in gym dressing rooms to noting that living healthily might give you extra years, but they come at the end of your life, not in your prime.

Despite this, one of his strongest routines comes on the most clichéd of topics, the difference between cats and dogs, as he discusses their penises. This is also one of the few segments that refers directly to the purported theme of the special, that nature is so amazing we have no need to invent anything beyond that. What might this show have been had he stuck to his brief?

Instead he gets bogged down in a too-long act-out of what it would be like were he to transition into a woman, just to lean into the subject he knows will provoke controversy, and another imagining God inventing HIV to punish the homosexuals – a routine which would have been bang on the zeitgeist in 1986.

Nature got to be so ‘super’ because of evolution – but Gervais risks going the way of the neanderthal, dying on the hill that jokes are just jokes, never sincere or consequential.

Review date: 24 May 2022 Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

Share this page

Recent reviews.

Richard Herring: Can I Have My Ball Back?

Jazz Emu: Knight Fever

A Comedy Tribute To Andy Smart

Pull My Goldfinger

Tom Greaves: Fudgey

Hitch Your Wagon

Live comedy picks

Fast Fringe Leicester Square Theatre Monday 8 Jul from 19:30 Book now

Gig of the day Brian Butterfield: Call Of Now Southend Cliffs Pavilion from 20:00

Book Now Sofie Hagen: Will I Ever Have Sex Again? Liverpool Unity Theatre Friday 14th Jun from 19:30 Book now

Coming Soon Luke Kidgell: Happy Hour Indigo at the O2 Friday 14th Jun from 18:00

Book Now Bilal Zafar: Imposter Leeds Hyde Park Book Club Thursday 20th Jun from 20:00 Book now

Gig of the day Morgan Rees: Turning Thirsty Exeter Phoenix Arts Centre from 20:00

Search…

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.

Ricky Gervais jokes 'roll on death' after falling ill during tour - and reveals bizarre symptom

Gervais - who is performing stand-up shows on his worldwide Armageddon tour - says he "got through" his gig in Birmingham on Monday but "could hardly walk" the next day after coughing, sweating and shivering through the night.

News reporter @Reemul_B

Wednesday 6 September 2023 12:10, UK

Ricky Gervais has joked "roll on death" after falling ill during his stand-up tour.

The comedian said he powered through his show in Birmingham on Monday when he felt "a bit under the weather" - but he "could hardly walk" the following day.

"I was a bit under the weather on stage last night but I got through it," he posted on social media on Tuesday.

"Then I didn't sleep due to coughing, sweating, shivering. Felt even worse today. Could hardly walk.

"Also, my teeth feel too big for my mouth. What the f****** Christ sort of symptom is that? Roll on death."

After some people commented on his post suggesting he had COVID, Gervais responded by saying he would issue masks for his next audience "only if they're really ugly".

In a post today, Gervais said he was feeling "a lot better".

"Thanks for all your 'get well soon' wishes," The Office star wrote.

"They worked. I feel a lot better today.

"That's the last time I eat sweet and sour bat before a gig."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Gervais, 62, is currently on his worldwide Armageddon tour, which began in November last year, and has taken him to venues in countries including Finland, Spain and the US.

One of his tour dates at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on 6 May smashed the record for the highest grossing single stand-up performance ever, according to Guinness World Records.

The show earned a total of £1.4m in ticket sales.

Read more: Ricky Gervais to increase security for UK tour Gervais denies show is anti-trans

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

Gervais is said to have increased his security ahead of the summer leg of his UK tour after he reportedly received death threats following jokes he had made.

Armageddon will stream on Netflix next year.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Related Topics

• Ricky Gervais