Bill Bailey: Vaudevillean

Bill Bailey returns to the stage with a stand-up show that looks back at vaudeville, the variety entertainment that came before television, cinema and radio. It is presented at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London.

The show takes vaudeville as its subject, the variety entertainment that once held the place television and cinema later took. Its material draws on comedy, songs and a range of performing skills, with tales of showbiz and of city life, along with stories of the strange and the unusual. The stated aim is to entertain a broad audience and to provide family-friendly amusement.

Bill Bailey is presented as a versatile performer who plays several instruments and works in more than one language, and the listing describes the act as a modern vaudevillean, an entertainer and performer working in that tradition. The format is stand-up and comedy, combining spoken humour with musical performance.

The production is staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a London theatre, and suits anyone curious about variety entertainment and music-led comedy.