Warm welcome home for Northampton's Alan Carr including a Friday night altercation in Derngate's auditorium

'Welcome home Wayne Carr', came a loud heckle from within the audience at the Royal and Derngate on Friday evening (May 13), as Alan burst back onto the stage for his latest stand-up tour.

He didn't even pause to think, launching straight into a tirade about his “charming” welcome home to Northampton as he strutted up and down the stage in mock anger, tossing his head back and forth.

Carr soon moved on from the heckler to introduce his support act - Louise Young - who has toured with the likes of Jason Manford and has been billed as one of the brightest new names on the circuit.

Turkish-Geordie Young didn't hold back, with the audience instantly warming to her with tales of drugs, lesbian relationships and Maggie Thatcher.

Young didn't take herself seriously, mocking herself throughout and for half an hour had the audience in stitches ahead of the main event.

After a brief interval and a quick trip to the bar for many, Carr was back on stage ahead of his set.

Meanwhile an altercation had erupted in the lower part of the auditorium at the Derngate where a group of people were arguing.

It was loud enough to grab the attention of Carr on stage who couldn't quite believe what was happening. He was speechless for a few seconds, before trying to find out what was going on, much to the delight and shock of the rest of the audience.

Carr started the heckles towards the group, quickly backed up by the rest of the crowd before the group were escorted out of the auditorium by an official.

On with the show...!

I, along with everyone else who bought tickets for Carr's Regional Trinket tour, had been waiting for two long years to see it after Covid delayed the show in 2020 and again in 2021.

So much has happened during that time, none more so than for Carr himself whose personal life hit the headlines in January this year with the shock news that he was getting divorced from his partner of 13 years, Paul Drayton.

Just days later Drayton landed up in prison following a drink drive conviction after struggling for a number of years with alcoholism.

Given that Carr's entire set was based on his star-studded wedding in 2018 and life in lockdown on the couple's farm, I was intrigued to see how Carr tackled recent events.

Very bravely, the Chatty Man hit it head on and rather than re-write the entire tour, he tweaked the content as he went.

In an interview with Lorraine on ITV last month, Carr said: "This is one of my most personal stand up shows.

"I was writing it on the hoof as things were happening while I was on tour.

"It's from the heart, emotional, fun and uplifting."

So there we were, post pandemic sitting in the Derngate on a Friday night listening to what Carr described as his “therapy”. And it didn't fail to disappoint.

"It's all gone to ****", he told the audience who were already in hysterics just by his mere stage presence.

What could have been swept under the carpet, Carr proceeded to “tell all”, from Drayton's stint in prison where he moaned about the conditions he was living in. To which Carr replied: "It's prison, not an episode of Four in a Bed."

From Rose West references (which I probably shouldn't repeat in The Chron), to Carr's refusal to visit his ex in prison, it was all side splittingly funny.

What a total genius to turn the tour content on its head and make it work.

Tales of woe included when he was writing the script on a train when a passing man deleted the entire lot when his testicles landed on his laptop.

From his wedding in Adele's back garden in LA, to a visit to see Celine Dion, Carr's life couldn't be more different from his humble beginnings growing up in Northampton.

He loves to recall days gone by in Northampton and that makes the show even more unique for me.

Carr, who claims to hate being camp with his trademark big teeth and glasses, is loveable and a total genius.

I've not laughed like that in ages and am already looking forward to his next tour, whenever that might be.