Bolton born Sophie Willan has announced a 33-date tour for 2018 for her full-length show Branded. The tour starts on 8th February at Lancaster’s The Dukes, includes a 10-date run at London’s Soho Theatre and finishes on 29th June at Maidenhead’s Norden Farm Centre.
This year Willan had phenomenal success with her new show, winning the prestigious arts accolade the Herald Angel Award and being nominated for the main prize at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.
Willan says "Winning a Herald Angel and being nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award was an absolute dream come true and I’m so excited to now be taking the show on tour! A percentage of tickets will be subsidized for Care Leavers; being able to share the show and celebrate the success of it with other Care Leavers is incredibly important to me."
Branded is the follow up to last year’s acclaimed debut ‘On Record’ for which she garnered a Chortle Best Newcomer nomination. The show went on to complete a hugely successful nationwide tour including sell out shows at The Lowry’s 480 capacity Quay Theatre and a 9-date stint at London’s Soho Theatre.
Sophie has had a lifetime of being branded by others. Branded by her unusual childhood with a heroin addict mother who still can’t even boil an egg “How do you know if it’s cooked Sophie, it looks the fucking same?!”. Branded by her working class background, by her gender, her fearless ambition, even branded by her unapologetic 'Northerness'.
In this hour, Sophie explains why she feels like a well-travelled alien – fitting in with no particular class or culture but still constantly being put into boxes by others. She explains the misunderstandings she’s experienced in different environments. Sophie analyses and dissects her life throughout the show, making astute and funny commentary on wider narratives such as welfare shaming, feminism and who it’s really for, minimum-wage jobs and what it means to be reluctantly part of George Osborne's ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
It’s been a whirlwind 2 years for Willan, with her own BBC Radio 4 series commissioned as well as appearances on As Yet Untitled (Dave), hosting Fresh from the Fringe for BBC Radio 4 Extra, Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4), Lemn Sissay’s Origin Stories (BBC Radio 4) and her own factual show currently in development with a major Broadcaster.
Full tour dates and ticket details here.
