For his latest live show, comedian, novelist and television presenter David Baddiel will turn his ire on the garden variety internet troll. Trolls: Not The Dolls will see Baddiel relate his own personal experiences with the many and various gremlins of the world wide web.
“There is a common wisdom about how to deal with trolls” says the website for the event. “Don’t, for goodness sake, encourage these people by replying to them. It’s a good law. And it’s one that David Baddiel has consistently broken”.
Unable to resist the urge to tackle the evil gremlins head on, Baddiel has amassed a wealth of insights into the practice, which have now morphed into this new show. “David has stories to tell, of the dark, terrible and hysterically absurd cyber-paths that interacting with trolls has led him down. Come with him on this comedy journey into our culture’s most dank virtual underground. You will come back safe, more able to deflect your own trolls, and only a little bit soiled” goes the blurb on the comedian’s website.
Trolls follows on the heels of Baddiel’s critically acclaimed live tour, My Family: Not The Sitcom, which explored the lives of the comedian’s parents, and in particular his mother’s love of sex and father’s dementia.
An accomplished comedian, Baddiel has forged a successful career as a writer, presenter and TV comedian, besides his career in stand-up. The comedian’s big break came with The Mary Whitehouse Experience, an irreverent sketch show which also launched the careers of Robert Newman, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. Baddiel and Newman would go on to appear in a spin off from the series, titled Newman and Baddiel in Pieces. The show was not popular with the critics, however, and the duo announced that they would no longer work together once the programme ended.
Baddiel would quickly find himself part of a new double act, however, after moving into a flat with fellow comedian Frank Skinner. A firm friendship developed, and the two began writing together, with the hit TV show Fantasy Football the result.
The programme proved a massive hit, with three seasons on the BBC and a series of specials during the European Championship and World Cup. The pair were to experience even more success with their European Championship song, Three Lions. The song has amassed over three million downloads, topping the charts on several occasions.
Baddiel is also a successful writer with a series of critically acclaimed novels including 1996’s Time for Bed and 2016’s The Parent Agency, which was inspired by a conversation with his son Ezra.
David Baddiel’s Trolls: Not the Dolls at the Queen Elizabeth Hall has been postponed. The organisers are currently rescheduling the event. More information can be found here.
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