Comedy / Dom Joly
On the road with Dom Joly and his high-octane travel tales
It has been 20 years since Dom Joly first found fame around the world for his Trigger Happy TV hidden camera sketches.
In the decades since, he has become a seasoned broadcaster and best-selling travel writer, known for the oblique and comic prism through which he documents his adventures.
As someone who views what he calls “normal holidays” – including beaches – with derision, Joly is excited by more obscure quests.
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In his book Scary Monsters and Super Creeps, he travels in search of mythical monsters, such as Bigfoot and the Yeti.
The Downhill Hiking Club charts a challenging hike across Joly’s childhood home of Lebanon, from the Israeli border in the south, along the spine of the country’s mountain range, all the way to the Syrian border in the north.
His escapades have taken him to China, Cambodia, the USA, Iran, North Korea and Chernobyl.
Closer to home, his latest release Such Miserable Weather reflects his view of England “as seen through the lens of a grumpy, middle-aged man, driving through a historical crisis, in pursuit of happiness and a decent meal”.
Amassing his collection of what he terms “weird holiday snaps”, Joly is now bringing his stage show to the south west, replete with unique stories from his columns, travel books, photographs and videos.
From being chatted up by a vampire in Grimsby, to his assassination vacation in the USA, woven through all of his international exploits is a love of the extraordinary, and an innate failure to stay away from trouble.
“I found out not so long ago that I went to school with Osama bin Laden,” he recounts.
“I messaged for him on Friends Reunited, but he didn’t get back to me.”
Dom Joly’s Holiday Snaps – Travels and Comedy in the Danger Zone is at Blakehay Theatre, Weston-super-Mare, on September 17 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available at www.blakehaytheatre.co.uk.
All photos: A Way With Media
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