Ian Stone has performed at comedy festivals across the world, sold out the Comedy Store in London and made his debut at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. This Thursday, he comes to Swansea.
The show is called Magic — and Stone’s central argument is simple: life, as currently constituted, is not good enough.
“There has to be more to life than the humdrum and the routine before the inevitable slide into disease, decay, and death,” he says. “Why can’t we sneak in a hint of awesome, a tad of amazing, and maybe a smidge of wonderful?”
Stone is looking for answers — though he’s ruling out the outdoors and organised religion from the start. His ancestors wandered in the desert for 40 years, he notes, so he thinks they’ve been outside enough. And he has been harbouring a grudge against God since his mother stopped him going to an Arsenal match after his Barmitzvah 49 years ago.
“God will be watching,” she said. “Well, at least He got to see the game.”
Stone won the Spirit of the Fringe award at the Edinburgh Festival in 2023 and has built a following of more than 60,000 across social media, with his posts and reels amassing millions of views. He also presents Handbrake Off — a twice-weekly Arsenal podcast for The Athletic — which draws 50,000 downloads per episode and recently sold out Leicester Square Theatre in London in a live recording.
His book To Be Someone, published in 2020, has nearly 500 four and five-star reviews on Amazon.
Stone took his last show on a full UK tour before finishing with a sold-out night at the Comedy Store. Thursday’s show at Swansea Grand Theatre is part of his current run.
Tickets are available at swanseagrand.co.uk/IanStone.
