Tape Face

Tape Face plays Foundry on Tuesday 23 March 2027, starting at 7:30pm. He's a New Zealand performer who's returning to the UK on tour for the first time since 2019, celebrating more than twenty years of the show.

If you've never come across him, the description is a bit of a riddle: he's a silent stand-up. He does a full set of physical comedy, mime and stand-up without ever speaking. It's a Chaplinesque act that draws on a broad range of influences — silent film, mime, magic, puppetry, Motown and the films of Patrick Swayze. Simon Cowell has compared him to a modern Charlie Chaplin, and he's been likened to Buster Keaton, Harpo Marx and Mr Bean. Time Out called the show 'utterly spectacular' and Chortle described it as 'a truly magical experience'.

Because there's no dialogue, it's the kind of thing that works just as well if you're taking someone along who doesn't speak English, or if you're just in the mood for something that doesn't rely on a script. It's a physical act, so you'll be watching what he does rather than listening to what he says.

Tickets are £28, which includes the booking fee. The show is at Foundry, inside the Sheffield Students' Union on Western Bank, S10 2TG, on Tuesday 23 March at 7:30pm.