A riotous and heartfelt musical comedy for our times, Jonny & The Baptists' Edinburgh Fringe hit Eat the Poor will tour the UK in March-April-May 2017 with over 50 dates. This is their biggest ever schedule and reflects growing national audiences from recent acclaimed shows and appearances on Radio 4’s The Now Show and BBC Live at Television Centre.
Created through extensive research travelling across the country in early 2016, the show combines contemporary satire and inventive musical silliness with an epic personal story. Setting out to explore the gap between rich and poor, Jonny & the Baptists’ lives are turned upside down when Jonny betrays Paddy for financial gain. As Jonny enjoys the high life with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jerry Hall, Paddy falls into homelessness and despair.
A toe-tapping comedy about inequality, homelessness and revolution in modern Britain, Eat the Poor sees the multi-award-nominees continue to grow in scope and ambition and even dabble in a small amount of actual economics. Continuing the company’s commitment to reach broad, diverse audiences, their biggest ever tour schedule takes in leading theatres, arts centres, rural venues, comedy clubs and festivals across the country.
Jonny & the Baptists – real names Jonny Donahoe & Paddy Gervers – have rapidly become one of the UK's hottest live musical comedy acts and have been nominated for five major awards. Winning rave national reviews for 2016 climate change comedy The End Is Nigh, they have also enjoyed regular broadcast work, major festival appearances, and once topped the iTunes Comedy Chart with single Farage. Over and above, Paddy has a cult following for hit podcast Podshambles, while Jonny has been nominated for a New York Drama Desk Award for his hit one-man show Every Brilliant Thing on international tour.
Praise for Jonny & the Baptists in 2016:
'Wickedly amusing' The Times
'Spirited comedy... broad, daft & punchy' Guardian
'Superbly crafted... very funny' Metro
‘Uproarious satire... a double act at the top of their game' The Stage
Edinburgh The Stand 24 May and Glasgow The Stand 25 May