Simon Evans is Staring at the Sun

Simon Evans brings his stand-up show Staring at the Sun to City Varieties Music Hall on Tuesday 20 October, presented by Blue Book Artist Management. Evans is a BBC Radio 4 stalwart and a comedian with about a quarter-century of acclaimed performances behind him, so this is a seasoned act rather than a newcomer testing the waters.

The show pulls from two very different worlds. On one hand, there's the analogue: hitch-hiking, pub bets and hedge porn. On the other, the great thinkers and mystics of the past. He sets them both against his interest in the idea that we're living in a computer simulation and the approaching AI Singularity. It's that gap between the low-fi and the high-concept that gives the set its shape, and the critics have been on board with it: The Scotsman called it a 'masterclass' and Chortle described it as 'outstanding'.

It's a fitting spot for it, too. City Varieties is Leeds' oldest working theatre and holds the Guinness World Record for the nation's longest-running music hall. It opened in 1865 as a room above a pub for the working class and has stayed virtually unchanged since the late 19th century, which is why it's still regarded as one of the best venues for stand-up in the country — Dara O'Briain called it 'steeped in history'. Barring a pandemic closure in 2020-21 and a facelift in 2009-11, it's never closed its doors, and its stage has hosted everyone from Houdini to Russell Crowe.

Tickets are £24 plus a £2.50 booking fee, with boxes at £27 per person, bookable by phone on 0113 243 0808. The show starts at 7:30pm and runs for about two hours and twenty minutes including an interval. Age guidance is 16+.