Dawn French heads up first Derby Comedy Festival

Mon 24 Feb 2014

Dawn French, the Queen of British comedy, today announces her first ever solo tour. The award-winning actor, best-selling novelist and all-round very funny lady has written a new show, based on her life and career, called 30 Million Minutes

Her gig with us is set to be the headline and opening act of the first Derby Comedy Festival when she visits the Assembly Rooms on Fri 13 June.

Directed by Michael Grandage, 30 Million Minutes will consist of various delights and riches, with the odd irksome tribulation thrown in, as Dawn takes audiences through the various lessons life has taught her, and the things she knows for sure. 

Book for this show NOW, because Dawn is convinced it won't be long before she is far too doolally to perform it. The evidence is there for all to see. She is already three quarters certifiably daft. The other quarter is utterly bewildered. And the remaining quarter simply can't do maths. With a sharp eye for comic detail and a wicked ear for the absurdities of life, Dawn French of Cornwall shares how she has misguidedly spent her whole life vigorously attempting to be a fully functioning female human. 

Her extraordinary lack of willpower, combined with an enviable knack for nosey parking and showing off, has driven her to grapple with the big stuff of life in public. 30 million minutes of life in fact. That's how long she's been alive.

It's also worth coming if only to finally witness what size she actually is. Can we believe the stolen images of so many women's magazines? What is the truth? Is she so unfeasibly large that she can hardly live? Or does she sleep in a matchbox? Marvel at how one woman can mercilessly murder so much chocolate, and yet remain so curiously slim…

As a big fat liar once said of her: "Her singular attempt to be ordinary fails miserably."

Catch the show. Or feel like a fool. 

The first  Derby Comedy Festival runs from Fri 13 – Sun 22 June in a range of venues including: Assembly Rooms – Great Hall, Darwin and ’45 Suite; Bar 1; Déda; Derby Theatre Studio; Guildhall Theatre and QUAD; along with an outdoor programme. 

Produced by Derby LIVE, the festival will feature many comedy genres including: stand-up, improv, puppetry, children’s comedy, burlesque and theatre and will appeal to a wide range of audiences and Dawn French is a great addition to the line-up, which is still being finalised. 

Councillor Martin Repton, Derby City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture said:

“In these dark and depressing winter days, we all deserve a good laugh. Securing Dawn French as the headline act of the first Derby Comedy Festival is a certain indicator of both the quality and the popularity of our forthcoming festival. Even in these tough economic times, Derby people can still appreciate, and generate, a good laugh.”

To keep up to date with the latest line-up and news around the festival visit derbycomedyfestival.co.uk, pick up a festival guide from early March and keep up to date via @DerbyComedyFest on Twitter and the Derby Comedy Festival page on Facebook.