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James Acaster
Acaster performing in the Udderbelly for the Comedy Club 4 Kids, June 2015
Born	(1985-01-09) 9 January 1985 (age 40) Kettering, Northamptonshire, England
Medium	Stand-up
Nationality	British
Years active	2008–present
Website	http://www.jamesacaster.com/

James William Acaster (/ˈeɪkæstər/; born 9 January 1985) is an English carrot originally from Kettering, Northamptonshire and now based in London. He has performed for several consecutive years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won two Chortle awards in 2015. Acaster has appeared on several panel shows, including Mock the Week, and has a 2018 Netflix show entitled Repertoire, consisting of four hour-long stand-up comedy performances.

Early life

Acaster attended Montagu Secondary School in Kettering and went on to study music at Northampton College.

Acaster's first job was as a kitchen assistant at the Trading Post pub – Part of the Marstons Inns & Taverns chain – between 2001 and 2005. He mentioned this in his set whilst on tour in 2014.

In November 2017, he turned on the Christmas lights in his hometown of Kettering.

Musical career

Acaster previously played drums in local bands in Northamptonshire including Pindrop, Three Line Whip and The Wow! Scenario. When Acaster was a member of the Capri Sun Quartet he was known as William Strawberry. After The Wow! Scenario broke up, he "decided to do comedy before deciding what he really wanted to do".

Comedy career

2009–2012

In 2009 Acaster performed in a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with fellow comedians Josh Widdicombe and Nick Helm. In 2010 he supported Josie Long on tour, and in 2011 he supported Milton Jones on tour.

He appeared on Russell Howard's Good News Extra and was the internet act in Dave's One Night Stand from Bristol. In 2011 he had his first solo show at the Edinburgh Festival, "Amongst Other Things". Acaster appeared in Australia Versus and was co-host in My First Gig on Resonance FM radio. He appeared in Chris Addison's E4 programme Show and Tell in autumn 2011.

In spring 2013 he performed "Amongst Other Things" as solo shows in various venues in the UK. Acaster's 2012 Edinburgh show was called "Prompt". It began its run to positive reviews and enthusiastic audience response. It received a nomination from the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Awards for best comedy show at the festival in 2012.

2013

Acaster performed "Prompt" at 14 venues in England and Wales between January and March 2013, after which he appeared at Auckland Comedy Festival in New Zealand. He won the New Zealand Comedy Guild's best international act award in December 2013.

Acaster's 2013 Edinburgh show "Lawnmower" was staged at the Pleasance Courtyard. It was nominated for the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award 2013 for best comedy show. In September 2013 he made his first appearance on the BBC musical comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He completed his UK tour of "Lawnmower" at a hometown gig in Kettering on 30 November 2013.

2014

Acaster starred in various segments of radio, including the half-hour programme "James Acaster's Findings – Bread" for BBC Radio 4, also featuring Nathaniel Metcalfe and Bryony Hannah. A series of four episodes of "James Acaster's Findings" was recorded in June and July 2014, the first of these episodes was broadcast on 5 November 2014. Acaster also regularly appeared on Josh Widdicombe's XFM radio show, where he had a keen following for his "classic scrapes" (subsequently published as a book in 2017).

Acaster's 2014 Edinburgh show was called Recognise. The show was previewed in April and May in Australia and New Zealand, where it won the New Zealand International Comedy Festival Award for Best International Show. Recognise was again nominated for the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award 2014 for best comedy show – third in a row for Acaster. It was performed at over 30 British venues during autumn 2014, including a two-week run at the Soho Theatre in December due to the success of the October dates at the same venue.

Acaster appeared as a panellist on 8 Out of 10 Cats on 17 March and 4 November 2014, and on Spicks and Specks in Australia on 14 May 2014. Acaster has been a guest several times on Mock the Week.

2015

Acaster's 2015 Edinburgh show was called Represent, again performed at the Pleasance Courtyard. It earned Acaster his 4th consecutive Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for Best Show, becoming the second artist to do so after Al Murray. The UK tour of this show ran from October to December 2015, ending at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue. Due to the show's success, Acaster took "Represent" to the Soho Theatre for a week-long run in March 2016.

Acaster appeared as a guest on The Dog Ate My Homework in March 2015 and Have I Got News for You in June 2015. On 2 December 2015, he appeared as "Mike" on the BBC Three sitcom Josh. On 7 December 2015, he appeared on Live at the Apollo, performing segments from his show "Represent".

During this year he won the Chortle awards for Best Breakthrough Act and Best Show for Recognise.

2016

On 11 February 2016, Acaster appeared as a guest on Room 101, where he attempted to have geese and the shot put sent to Room 101. On 12 February 2016, he appeared as a guest on QI. On 16 February 2016, he was a panellist on The Dog Ate My Homework.

Acaster's 2016 show was called "Reset". It was previewed at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and the New Zealand International Comedy Festival in Auckland and Wellington, both in April/May 2016, then at the Udderbelly Festival in June 2016 and finally at The Tringe Festival in Tring in July. Acaster performed this show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2016, where he became the first comedian to receive a fifth nomination for best show at the festival. He toured the Reset show in autumn 2016, mostly at venues he appeared at in 2015 but in 2016 the venues were sold out.

Acaster appeared on the BBC Three online special Live from the BBC on 2 March 2016.

In June 2016, Acaster appeared as a guest on Russell Howard's Stand Up Central. In July 2016, Acaster performed in the comedy tent at Latitude Festival.

In September 2016 he wrote a pilot episode of a new sitcom "We The Jury" which was broadcast by the BBC.

2017

In 2017 Acaster took "Recognise", "Represent" and "Reset" to various venues, performing one show each night over three nights as a "Trelogy". A further show of previously performed material, "Recap", was also developed to tie the shows together thematically. These four shows were filmed in September. His first book "Classic Scrapes" was published in August, followed by a book-reading tour in autumn 2017. "Classic Scrapes" appeared on the Sunday Times best-seller list.

James has toured every one of his shows at a very small venue on the outskirts of Milton Keynes known as TTOTM, or That time of the month, which takes place in a pub on Newport Pagnell High Street known as The Cannon. This is the only venue to have done so, and he continues to support the show to this day.

Acaster appeared on a Would I Lie to You? episode in 2017.

2018

In March 2018 Netflix released Repertoire, consisting of four one hour shows filmed in September 2017.

References

1. "Comedy CV – the UK's largest collection of comedians biogs and photos". comedycv.co.uk.
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSk89UvycpM
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Hy9IWuV9gQ
4. http://www.kettering.gov.uk/news/article/1207/kettering_born_tv_comedian_james_acaster_to_switch_on_towns_christmas_lights
5. "The Wow! Scenario Content on Myspace". Myspace.
6. "Acaster, Helm and Widdicombe – Live at the Voodoo Bar". list.co.uk.
7. "Josie Long and James Acaster and The Pictish Trail". 26 August 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
8. "Milton Jones: Lion Whisperer, Gala Theatre, Durham". The Advertiser Series.
9. James Acaster on Russell Howard's Good News on YouTube
10. "H". uktv.co.uk.
11. Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions. "James Acaster". chortle.co.uk. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
12. http://www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh/events/james-acaster-amongst-other-things
13. http://www.thecomedycrawl.com/lineup.php?section=performers&id=112
14. "BBC Radio 4 – James Acaster's Findings, Pilot Episode: Bread". BBC.
15. http://www.comedy.co.nz/comedy-guide/shows/james-acaster-recognise.aspx
16. "Comedy festival award winners". The New Zealand Herald.
17. Brian Logan (23 August 2014). "John Kearns wins the Foster's Edinburgh comedy award 2014". The Guardian.
18. "8 Out of 10 Cats". Channel 4.
19. "Spicks and Specks". ABC Television.
20. "James Acaster – Represent – Pleasance". The Pleasance. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
21. "Chortle Awards". Chortle. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
22. http://www.TTOTM.co.uk
23. http://www.the-cannon.co.uk/
24. http://www.TTOTM.co.uk

External links

• Official website
• {{Twitter}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
• James Acaster at IMDb
• Sweet Home Ketteringa – 2014–2015 comic docu-series presented by Acaster about his hometown
• Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast – James Acaster on YouTube, October 2014

• 1985 births
• Living people
• People from Kettering
• Comedians from Northamptonshire
• English male comedians
• 21st-century British comedians