JULIAN CLARY - A FISTFUL OF CLARY
Yee-haw!
You’ve heard of The Man With No Name? Well, here’s The Man With No Shame.
After the huge, sell-out success of A FISTFUL OF CLARY last year, the renowned homosexual is fixing to saddle up and head out once again.
‘God Dammit, there are some one horse towns we missed last time! Now I’m coming up your way, like it or not!’ he shouts with gay abandon.
“Yes, it still has a Western theme,” the old buckaroo confirms, sipping Bourbon from a pint tankard. “It was only a matter of time before I eased myself into some chaps once again. Old habits die hard” he adds, dabbing his temples with a damp flannel.
Julian is sure that the men in the audience will be so eager to join his posse they won’t be able to keep their hands off his Rawhide. The lucky few will play with him on stage in the Hang ‘em Low saloon, where Wild Bill Hickok used to meet his special friend, Raving Clarence la Fruit. But life in the Old West was tough. Not all of Julian’s wild bunch will be around to witness the final shoot-out that will result in Julian giving himself selflessly at high noon to the last man standing. Who knows what else he’ll do for a few dollars more?
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do…” drawls Julian cryptically before becoming engrossed in his embroidery.
Ticketmaster presale 10am Weds 17th July
Most venues general onsale 10am Thursday 18th July.
30 Apr 2025
Isle of Man, Gaiety Theatre
01 May 2025
Salford Quays, The Lowry (Quays)
02 May 2025
Harrogate, Harrogate Theatre
03 May 2025
Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough Town Hall
06 May 2025
Lincoln, Lincoln Theatre Royal
07 May 2025
Blackpool, Grand Theatre
09 May 2025
Ipswich, Corn Exchange
10 May 2025
High Wycombe, Wycombe Swan
13 May 2025
Swansea, Grand Theatre
14 May 2025
Hereford, Courtyard
15 May 2025
Richmond, Richmond Theatre
16 May 2025
Worthing, Pavilion Theatre
17 May 2025
London, The London Palladium
20 May 2025
Leicester, De Montfort Hall
21 May 2025
Bury St Edmunds, Theatre Royal
22 May 2025
Peterborough, Peterborough New Theatre
23 May 2025
Coventry, Warwick Arts Centre Theatre
24 May 2025
Crewe, Lyceum Theatre Crewe Limited
25 May 2025
York, Grand Opera House
28 May 2025
Exeter, Corn Exchange
29 May 2025
Southampton, MAST Mayflower Studio
30 May 2025
Bexhill on Sea, De la Warr pavilion
31 May 2025
St Albans, The Alban Arena
01 Jun 2025
Norwich, Theatre Royal
04 Jun 2025
Poole, Lighthouse Theatre
05 Jun 2025
Aldershot, Princes Hall
06 Jun 2025
Chelmsford, Theatre
08 Jun 2025
Cheltenham, Everyman Theatre
'A Fistful of Clary' - Julian Clary Q&A
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Am I? I do wish my agent would tell me these things.
I love touring, it is a very lovely, creative process. Every night is different. I look forward to seeing how things evolve: a tiny spontaneous idea one-night can become a twenty-minute routine after a few shows. That sort of thing can only happen on stage – no amount of thinking in the comfort of your own home can bring it about.
I also love travelling around with my tour manager Bertha. She has been by my side for twenty-five years. We have a laugh, or lapse into a nice, comfortable silence as the mood takes us. Bliss.
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Placing myself in the macho world of the Western seems like a jolly wheeze. All those un-washed cowboys, spitting and swearing. Not to mention the clothes. There are rich pickings for a camp comic to plunder, I’m sure of it.
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I’ll be creating a new Western drama called The Magnificent Seven Inches. For that I’ll need a posse. Sadly I don’t have one with me so I shall have to rely on the kindness of unsuspecting punters. Yes, I’ll be needing some male members. I seem to have a psychic ability to pick the right people 99% of the time. I need to look them in the eye and then I know. Heterosexual men are best fodder for my purposes. They are, after all, responsible for most of the troubles in this world and I see it as my duty to make them pay.
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I can’t give too much away but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. I’ve always wanted to slip into a pair of chaps.
My costumes are designed by Hugh Durrant who creates all my panto extravaganza. If you’ve seen the London Palladium panto you’ll know that Hugh doesn’t go for subtlety. I’ve said too much.
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I can’t believe my luck! At this time of life I thought I might be doing the odd gig in a room above a pub somewhere provincial. The Palladium is a truly magical place. And two nights! I feel truly blessed. As soon as I walk through the stage door of the Palladium I feel overcome with happiness.
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Greg is an Alpha Male, so of course one wants to please him however possible. He’s like Big Brother, all seeing, all important. He might be the second coming, even. I love Taskmaster. It is so silly, so trivial, but I was swept along by it. Alex is funny, too, in a nerdy way.
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The secrecy was half the fun. I can’t tell you – balaclavas, visors, hoodies, gloves even – every time you left your dressing room. Then for the performance being inside your costume is a strangely liberating experience. I was most upset to be knocked out by Carol Vorderman dressed as a Reindeer. What a camp show!
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How long have you got? I’m still touring here and there with Jesus Christ Superstar, giving my Herod. I can’t get enough of the show and the talented cast. Very life-affirming. My children’s books ‘The Bolds’ are being re-issued as a box-set, so I’ll be promoting that in Edinburgh and elsewhere. And at last I’ve managed to write another adult novel – ‘Curtain Call to Murder’, which comes out in October. Then maybe Panto again… I am multi-tasking, I’m sure you’ll agree. It’s a wonder I have time for this interview, frankly.