Tom Stade: Rules

Tom Stade is playing Social on Wednesday 28 April, with his new show Rules coming straight from the Edinburgh festival. He's a Canadian stand-up who's spent the last few years building a name for himself over here, and this is a brand-new hour that takes aim at the absurdities of modern life with his usual charm and unfiltered wit.

There's a fair bit to get through in Rules. Stade spends the set grappling with rebellion, responsibility and the tension between the old and the new, dismantling and redefining everything from unspoken social codes and cultural divides to identity and marriage. It's the kind of material that starts with a small observation and works its way out to the bigger picture, and since it's coming fresh from Edinburgh, it'll be the polished version he's been road-testing all summer.

If you haven't come across him before, Stade has a solid track record behind him. Since moving to the UK, he's built a reputation as a popular, highly recommended comedian, and he made Ents24's list of the top 20 hardest-working comedians in both 2016 and 2017. You'll have heard him on Have a Word Pod, Channel 4's Comedy Gala, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow, The John Bishop Show and twice on Live at the Apollo. Rhod Gilbert called him 'wonderfully imaginative, original and hilarious', The Scotsman described him as 'gloriously funny, silly and smart', and some have even compared him to Keith Richards.

It's a single-act night, so it's just Stade on stage. The show starts at 8:00pm at Social, 62-63 Humber Street, HU1 1TU, with doors opening about half an hour early. Tickets are £27.50, which includes the booking fee.