BYRNING UP YORKSHIRE: Jason Byrne celebrates 30 years with tour dates in Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate and Huddersfield – get tickets
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Comedy favourite Jason Byrne is bringing his 30th anniversary tour to Sheffield, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Leeds – with some familiar Yorkshire faces waiting.
The Irish comedian is heading this way with his aptly named 30 Years Byrning anniversary show.
He is promising new jokes alongside some of the props, stunts and audience interaction that have made his live shows famously unpredictable.
BUY TICKETS: Yorkshire fans can see him at Steamworks, Sheffield, on October 8, Harrogate Theatre on October 10, Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, on October 25, and City Varieties, Leeds, on November 6. Get tickets for all shows at ticketmaster.co.uk - CLICK HERE.
The Dublin-born comedian says his loyal fans and their willingness to get involved have become a huge part of his famously audacious live shows.
And Byrne already knows some of the Yorkshire faces he might encounter – particularly in Huddersfield, where he reckons the audience barely changes from one visit to the next.
He reckons “the Huddersfield crowd are the exact same group of people each time”, revealing that among his regulars is a man who drives a private coach and sits in the front row, another who builds his own planes, and two women in their 40s who dress like rappers.
Speaking ahead of his anniversary tour, he revealed how those unpredictable encounters with audiences have helped shape his comedy over the past 30 years – and how he learned early in his career to think on his feet.
He recalls honing his skills in the notoriously rowdy Late’n’Live shows at Edinburgh before developing his “armour” at London’s Comedy Store, where performers had to be ready to respond instantly to the crowd.
“Heckling isn’t such a big thing any more,” says Byrne. “I welcome heckling, as long as it’s not a drunk ruining everyone’s night.”
That audience interaction remains at the heart of 30 Years Byrning, alongside new stand-up and the return of some of the props and stunts that have featured during his three decades in comedy.
That kind of audience unpredictability is exactly what has helped sustain Byrne's live career for three decades.
Tickets for Jason Byrne's 30 Years Byrning tour are on sale now - buy here.
Byrne's career stretches back to 1996, when he finished runner-up to fellow Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan in the So You Think You're Funny? final.
“Tommy beat me by one point and he’s been my Edinburgh nemesis ever since,” laughs Byrne. “He doesn’t know yet, though. Maybe I should tell him.”
Thirty years later, he has put together a celebration show – although he stresses that it won't simply recycle three decades of material.
“I’ve been putting together a kind of celebration show but I’m not doing old stand-up because that never works,” he says.
Instead, fans have been asked which of his more outrageous stunts they would like him to perform again – with previous antics including swinging through the air in his pants on a wrecking ball like Miley Cyrus and a bizarre straight-faced take on Riverdance.
Audience members will also see a video montage celebrating highlights from his past 30 years, alongside plenty of new material.
And three decades of dealing with unpredictable crowds have honed Byrne's ability to respond instantly to whatever an audience throws at him.
“Heckling isn’t such a big thing any more,” he says. “I welcome heckling, as long as it’s not a drunk ruining everyone’s night.”
As for whether 30 Years Byrning could eventually become 60 years, Byrne isn't ruling anything out.
“I’ll stick around for now,” he smiles. “It’s not that bad a job, to be honest.”
JASON BYRNE: 30 YEARS BYRNING – UK TOUR DATES 2026
Tickets for Jason Byrne's 30 Years Byrning tour are available through Ticketmaster - click here.
September 24 – Norwich Playhouse
September 25 – Norwich Playhouse
September 26 – Old Market Theatre, Brighton
September 27 – Gulbenkian, Canterbury
October 1 – Metronome, Nottingham
October 2 – Comedy Festival, Southport
October 3 – Town Hall, Birmingham
October 4 – The Lowry, Salford
October 9 – The Drill, Lincoln
October 11 – Tyne Theatre, Newcastle
October 15 – Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis
October 16 – Pavilion Theatre, Exmouth
October 17 – Redgrave Theatre, Bristol
October 18 – Glee Club, Cardiff
October 22 – Hot Water Comedy Club, Liverpool
October 23 – Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal
October 24 – William Aston Hall, Wrexham
November 4 – Stables, Milton Keynes
November 5 – The Junction, Cambridge
November 7 – Ulster Hall, Belfast
November 13 – Leicester Square Theatre, London
November 14 – Leicester Square Theatre, London
November 15 – The Pavilion, Glasgow
November 18 – Fire Station, Sunderland
November 19 – ARC, Stockton
November 20 – Alhambra, Dunfermline.
BY TRAIN: Fans can travel by train to all four of Jason Byrne’s Yorkshire shows, with railway stations conveniently located in Sheffield, Harrogate, Huddersfield and Leeds. Buy your train tickets now via Trainline UK - click here.