Midlife Cowboy
Get your tickets for Tony Hawks' charity musical comedy extravaganza!
18 March, 2016
If there's one thing even more enjoyable than a good night of comedy, it's a good night of comedy that also supports a good cause. So hurrah for erstwhile Red Dwarf warmup man and frequent guest star Tony Hawks, who has set up just such a night this coming April.
Midlife Cowboy is a comedy musical extravaganza, featuring a huge array of special guest stars - none of whom have otherwise appeared in Red Dwarf in addition to Tony, but we think you'll agree they're still some names that are pretty worth seeing. They include Graham Norton, Ben Miller, Doon Mackichan, Jack Dee, Alistair McGowan and Caroline Quentin - plus Tony himself, of course. The musical is about "the love, lives and passions of Swindon's premiere Cowboy Club", and actually has its origins way back in 1994 as a Perrier-winning Edinburgh festival show performed by Tony and Ben.
This very special, one-night-only restaging takes place at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, on Monday 25th April 2016. Tickets start at £16, and all proceeds will go to The Tony Hawks Centre. The Centre was set up in Moldova over fifteen years ago, to support children with cerebral palsy, and as anyone who's seen Tony perform or speak live in the years since (including at the 2013 Dimension Jump convention) will know that it's a cause which is very close to his heart. You can get tickets directly from the venue website.
But if that's still not enough Hawks for you, then by a fortunate coincidence, this month also sees the release of his latest non-fiction book: Once Upon a Time in the West... Country. Following on from successful previous memoirs such as Round Ireland With a Fridge and A Piano in the Pyrenees, this one sees the author taking on a challenge closer to home:
Comedian and born and bred townie, Tony Hawks is not afraid of a challenge - or indeed a good bet. He's hitchhiked round Ireland with a fridge and taken on the Moldovan football team at tennis, one by one. Now the time has come for his greatest gamble yet - turning his back on comfortable city life to move to the wilds of the West Country.
With his partner Fran in tow and their first child on the way, he embraces the rituals of village life with often absurd and hilarious results, introducing us to an ensemble of eclectic characters along the way. One minute he's taking part in a calamitous tractor run, the next he's chairing a village meeting, but of course he still finds time for one last solo adventure before fatherhood arrives - cycling coast to coast with a mini pig called Titch.
In the epic battle of man vs countryside, who will win out?
The book is out now from Hodder & Stoughton, and can be picked up at Amazon as well as at a plethora of good old-fashioned brick-and-mortar shops, if that's your thing. Supplies of tickets for the charity event, however, are rather more limited - so we suggest snapping them up sooner rather than later!
Catch up with Tony's latest goings-on via his Twitter account!
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