No communication breakdown here - Chris Ramsey's Offermation 2012 UK tour is now available

Chris Ramsey

Comedy is not only a great leveller and emotional trigger, it's a universal language with stand-up enjoying a renaissance in recent years. Clearly the ability to bond with an audience is something some find very difficult - if you saw Jason Manford's TV series, Show Me the Funny, you'll know what I mean (although the programme itself ended up being a cruel joke on itself, which is a shame). Great comedy is also down to good communication, the quality of which is sometimes questionable. Look through 100 'tweets' on Twitter and it's like looking at the ingredients list on a packet of Haribo - mind-boggling and pointless.

Communication overload is something that will continue to be scrutinized by one of the comedy-circuit's rising young stars, Chris Ramsey. Having entered the stand-up arena just a few years ago and making it to the finals of the coveted Chortle Student Comedy Awards and Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, Ramsey finally performed his debut solo show, "Aggrophobia" at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe. He's also flying the flag for North East comedy, something that fellow South Shieldster, Sarah Millican, has been doing very well.

This year he followed that up with the sold-out Edinburgh success of "Offermation", his hilarious take on the pointlessness of much of the information fed to us by networking sites, media and each other. Now he is set to take the show on tour, including a London residency at the Soho Theatre.

That stint in the capital from 25th to 28th January kicks off this tour which is followed by stops in Wrexham, Leicester, Leeds and his hometown South Shields, before rounding things off in Kendal at the end of May. Tickets are available for all shows, priced at around £10.

Since his appearances on Never Mind The Buzzcocks and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Ramsey's demand has increased - don't miss out on this rising star's journey to bigger things.

Paul Pledger