New Comedy The Comeback to Play the West End This Holiday Season

Good news for London audiences! A brand new comedy entitled The Comeback will play the Noel Coward Theatre this December. Directed by Emily Burns, this is a debut play written by and starring comedy duo Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen. Each night, the pair will be joined onstage by a surprise celebrity guest star playing a cameo role in the production. Both the audiences and company will observe social distancing guidelines and coronavirus health and safety protocols. The Comeback is set to run from December 8 through January 3, 2021.

In The Comeback, up-and-coming comics Alex and Ben have been booked in the warm-up spot for a beloved but fading double act’s comeback tour. Neither are delighted to be playing to a sparse crowd in a sleepy, seaside town, but when it’s revealed that a Hollywood director is in the audience, both of them glimpse a final chance for their big break. Cue sabotage, mistaken identity and farcical mayhem, as the performance descends into a desperate battle for the limelight.

The staging marks Sonia Friedman Productions' (SFP) first show to be produced since theaters shut down due to COVID-19. "I am absolutely thrilled to be announcing The Comeback as SFP’s return to the West End," Friedman said in a statement. "Producing shows this Christmas is a tightrope act, but The Comeback will go ahead—following approved performing arts working guidelines—and so long as government restrictions allow. Changed circumstances offer new opportunities—to introduce adventurous audiences to the most brilliant and inspiring new talent."

Ashenden and Owen have recorded four series of their show The Pin for BBC Radio 4, picking up nominations at the Writers Guild Awards and Radio Academy Awards and winning the BBC Radio Award for Best Comedy. This past summer, Audible launched their latest comedy series The Special Relationship, following a rising British double act in its attempt to break into America’s comedy circuit. They've created the animated series Oi, Leonardo! for BBC3 and written for BBC1 shows Walliams and Friend, Tracey Ullman's Show, the BBC3 series Famalam and Showtime’s Who is America?