Flame-haired viral star ‘The Interdimensional ABK’ hits Bristol

Instantly recognisable for his stellar online presence as a viral video-making sensation, Alisdair Beckett-King is returning to the live stand-up stage where he first garnered success.

The award-winning flame-haired comic is also something of a polymath, straddling the worlds of sketch comedy, illustration, animation and film-making. But underpinning it all is a straightforward love of jokes.

Now on tour with The Interdimensional ABK, he is grappling with the need to balance our human desire to laugh with the current state of the world in which we find ourselves, asking: “How are you supposed to perform whimsical comedy when the real world is so terrible?”.

Ahead of his dates at The Rondo, Bath and The Comedy Box at The Hen & Chicken Studio this April, Beckett-King shared a little of the legend behind the locks.

What is The Interdimensional ABK all about?

“My name is Alasdair Beckett-King, and ABK are my initials. Basically, they don’t let you work in showbiz if your name is too long. That’s why Benedict Cumberbatch had to shorten his name, which was originally the entirety of Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky.

“I’m an interdimensional comedian, and this show is about moving from the ‘A Timeline’ (freedom, optimism, adventure) to the ‘B Timeline’ (paper cuts, climate change, Noel Edmonds). If you’ve spent your whole life in the B Timeline (AKA, the real world), you’ll know how hard it can be.

“I come from the A Timeline, so I get to make jokes about all the best and worst things in our world, from an outsider’s perspective. So, there’s silliness, whimsy, and absolutely several proper jokes. We’re talking double figures, easy.”

What was the inspiration behind the show?

“Schopenhauer said we live in the worst of all possible worlds. And he was right – but what a downer. I created this show because I wanted to spend some time in a better world.

“And I also wanted to make my own animated theme tune, in the style of a 1980s Saturday morning kids’ show. Which is the most self-indulgent thing anyone has ever done, but it turned out quite nicely.”

Are there niche references in the show?

“Not intentionally. Most of the material is about regular stuff like Winston Churchill’s love of the band Queen, or why Hercule Poirot pretends he can’t speak English. The only thing I’ve actually had to cut for being too niche was -quite surprisingly -a reference to Shaggy’s 2000 single It Wasn’t Me (feat. Rikrok).

“Spoiler: it was, in fact, him.”

How do you maintain those lustrous locks of yours?

“The truth is, I have no secret hair-care regimen. I just use normal, cheap shampoo and conditioner. But I’ve learned that this truth is unpalatable, so I’ve prepared a more interesting lie…

“During my travels in lands of ancient mystery, I came upon this passage in a sacred grimoire: ‘For Locks that shyne as yf oyl’d and haire that curles a comlee Syghte, take thee Een of Catte ‘twixte Leafes of Oliue and Willow and presse thee the Mylke thereof.’“And the secret is to never put that stuff on your hair.”

Finally, what are you most looking forward to about performing in Bristol?

“I can’t wait to get to Bristol. Statue-dunking, vegan street art AND suspension bridges? Yes please.”

Alisdair Beckett-King: The Interdimensional ABK is at The Rondo Theatre, Bath on April 8 and The Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken Studio on April 28. Tickets are available at www.rondotheatre.co.uk and www.thecomedybox.co.uk.

All photos: Alisdair Beckett-King

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