Alexei Sayle: How I've Tried to Change the World

Alexei Sayle brings How I've Tried to Change the World to the Royal Hall on Sunday 8 November, as part of the Harrogate Comedy Festival 2026. It's a show that runs through his life as a comedian and a socialist, and it doesn't shy away from the politics.

Sayle was born in 1952 to members of the British Communist Party, and he describes himself as having spent more than forty years walking down the middle of the street shouting to solve the world's problems. The set traces that activism across the decades: from the 1969 Vietnam War demonstrations and the 1974 Miners' strike through to the 2003 Iraq invasion and the marches in support of Gaza. It's a long view of a life spent on the protest line, told with the voice you'll recognise from his comedy.

There's more to it than the political history, though. He introduces 'The Other Alexei', a bitter, retired media studies lecturer from Clitheroe Polytechnic, and his imaginary daughter Tanita. He also stops to consider what the Samurai philosophy of Bushidō can teach us about behaving at an all-you-can-eat buffet. He describes himself as the third-greatest living Liverpudlian and a breakout TikTok interpretative dance superstar.

The night is part of the Harrogate Comedy Festival 2026, sponsored by Vet Dentist. It runs from 7:30pm to 9:20pm in the Main Auditorium of the Harrogate Convention Centre, HG1 5LA, with standard tickets priced between £29.95 and £39.95.