Michael Akadiri brings 'Don't Call Me Uncle!' to Oxford

Oxford has a habit of quietly pulling in some of the more interesting names on the comedy circuit, and Michael Akadiri is a case in point. He brought his new show, 'Don't Call Me Uncle!', to The North Wall Arts Centre on Thursday 15 October, and for anyone who missed it, it's worth knowing who he is before he pops up elsewhere. The premise is as simple as it is relatable: Akadiri, still in his early thirties, was called 'uncle' in public and has spent the show spiralling over it, turning a small slight into a sharp look at age and identity.

What makes Akadiri stand out is the double life he leads. He's a multi-award-winning stand-up, TV and radio presenter, and a junior doctor with the NHS, and he leans into that duality rather than keeping the two worlds separate. He trained in medicine at the University of Nottingham and has worked across paediatrics, geriatrics, psychiatry, emergency medicine, trauma and ENT, before a stint as a Locum Senior House Officer in General Surgery and an Education Academy Fellow for Surgery at Barts Health NHS Trust, where he led simulation training for students and doctors and helped retrain staff during the pandemic. He's currently on sabbatical from his surgical training, and that medical background feeds directly into the observational humour that has made him one of the more sought-after names in British comedy.

The reviews tend to agree on the effect. Metro called him 'supremely talented and likeable', Chortle described him as 'hugely entertaining' and noted his 'sharp wit', and the Guardian picked up on his 'politically punchy' anecdotes. He's also picked up a Komedia New Comedy Award, the Comedian of Medicine Award at the Haags Comedy Festival in 2022, and a nod from NextUp's Biggest Award in Comedy, among other things. Before this, his debut Edinburgh Fringe show 'No Scrubs' sold out and was described by the Scotsman as 'consistently funny, occasionally dark'.

Beyond the stage, his CV reads like a who's who of British broadcasting. He's appeared on Comedy Central LIVE, ITV's Stand Up Sketch, Channel 4's Stand Up to Cancer, the BBC New Comedy Awards and Sky Sports' World Cup coverage, and has written sketch content for Channel 4 and LadBible UK. On radio, he's been on Capital Xtra's Breakfast Show, LBC, BBC Radio 4's Loose Ends, Times Radio and BBC Radio 4's Comedy Club. He's also toured supporting Jason Manford and Emmanuel Sonubi, and works with corporate clients like Apple UK, Spotify UK and NHS England.

If you're still chasing a ticket, the show is part of a wider UK and Ireland tour that carries on well into 2027, with stops in Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Coventry, Canterbury, Nottingham, Luton, London, Newbury, Northampton, Southend, Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Cambridge, Dublin, Belfast and Cork before heading back to the home nations in the new year. The North Wall Arts Centre, by the way, is worth knowing for next time: it sits on the campus of St Edward's School in Summertown, opened in 2007, and runs a 200-seat auditorium alongside a gallery and studios, all fully wheelchair accessible with a bar and limited parking. It's run by The North Wall Trust, an independent charity that programmes work by early-career artists and hosts free residential arts placements for young people through its ArtsLab programme. So if you missed Akadiri, keep an eye on what else lands there.