A COMEDIAN, who grew up with deaf parents, is hosting his largest-ever tour in British Sign Language.

Ray Bradshaw, will perform ‘Deaf Com 1’ at The Arc in Winchester on March 30 after successfully supporting John Bishop on tour, packing out venues such as the O2 arena.

The Scottish star’s Winchester debut is one of many tour dates across the country. The comedian said: “One of my favourite things about touring is that you go places that you might not usually go. I always try, no matter where it is, to get there early and explore.

“I might attempt to get a bursary at Winchester College, get my A Levels and then if college doesn’t work out I can try and be prime minister.”

Bradshaw’s new stand-up show, Deaf Com 1, covers what it's like to teach his son sign language. The performer typically sees a mixture of hearing and deaf people as well as people like himself who’ve grown up around sign language.

At every show, Ray lets people send messages via social media to start the second half of the event.

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The 34-year-old from Glasgow said: “One of the biggest problems with disabilities is that people are scared to ask questions for fear of offending. People tend to go away learning stuff, which is not for what we set out for- we’re here for a laugh- but if you don’t know anything about sign language you definitely come away with some knowledge.

“We’ve hugely found a gap in the market. We’re at a point now where sign language is sexy again because you've got Rosie Ayling-Ellis winning strictly, CODA winning the best film at the Oscars and then you get people like John Bishop learning sign language on prime-time ITV.

“Sign language didn’t become an official language in the UK until 2003 so it's so far behind. But little by little, there’s a growing demand.

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Bradshaw’s first tour Deaf Comedy Fam sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe, won the Innovation Award at the Adelaide Fringe 2018 and was nominated for Best Comedy at Perth Fringe. The show was the worlds’ first comedy show performed in both sign language and English, allowing hundreds of deaf people to come to a comedy show for the first time.

The comedic pioneer then spent 2021 and 2022 touring the UK as John Bishop’s handpicked support act, having previously toured with Frankie Boyle in 2019.  

The comedian will be performing at The Arc on Thursday, March 30 at 8pm. Tickets cost £15. For more go to arcwinchester.org.uk/event/ray-bradshaw-deaf-com-1.