Comedian Emmanuel Sonubi’s ‘Life After Near Death’ tour is leaving people inspired – and laughing – proving even heart failure can give you some excellent comedic lines.
The former bouncer has witnessed a recent surge in popularity, and in order to meet demand, has added extra dates to his tour, including one at London’s Soho Theatre in March.
The popular comic takes his audience on a journey through his life, telling anecdotal real-life stories following his heart failure, delivered with fresh comedy and prompting lots of laughs.
Emmanuel said: “The show is much more about living than it is about dying.
“When people message me afterwards or speak to me afterwards, people have left feeling inspired.”
The comedian also shared that he feels very at home on stage, and expressed that he loves being on tour, as it enables him to widely share his comedy.
The 44-year-old comedian had a calling in musical theatre before moving to comedy and sold-out shows has left him wanting more.
He said: “It’s been really popular and I’m not ready to stop doing the show.
“I love theatre, so there’s something about a theatre stage that’s genuinely my happy place.
“The show itself is constantly evolving because something will happen that sparks an idea that I might not have thought about before, and now I go, that needs to be in the show.
“With comedy, you don’t know what’s going to happen. You can have a plan but you don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Emmanuel performed an emotional show in Basingstoke, which has been a highlight of his tour so far, as well as two shows in North London.
He said: “Enfield was very special because I’m from there – I knew most people in the audience.
“It was the one time I got to use local references that these people will truly understand.
“And for a lot of it the people that were at the show, they were there during all that went on.”
Emmanuel has a big presence on our TV screens and has recently done the Hitlist and U&Dave’s Silence is Golden.
His team did quite well on the Hitlist but said the format for Silence is Golden for comedians is soul destroying, as audience members are told not to laugh at jokes.
Like most comedians Emmanuel has a pre-show routine and starts on the way to the venue.
He said: “Sometimes it could be a musical theatre playlist and I’ll sing along in the car on the way there.
“Normally I would listen to early 2000s rap is my warm up on the way to the show.
“But I think this one is more getting your mind right and ready to be able to do the show.”
The Live At The Apollo star is known for his relaxed, flowing storytelling style, and Sonubi believes delivery is everything to make his audiences laugh.
He said: “The narrative takes that, what feels, what feels right goes in.
“You can make anything funny. It’s just depends how you say it.”
Emmanuel Sonubi: Life After Near Death runs into 2026 with a further 17 dates including at Soho Theatre and tickets are on sale now. https://www.emmanuelstandup.com/
Photo Credit: Jiksaw
Featured image of comedian Emmanuel Sonubi, credit: Jiksaw
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