James Acaster Welcomes Heckling In New HBO Special

Courtesy of HBO. Photo credit: Corinne Cumming.

When a comedian is taping their latest hour, there’s so much thought that goes into making sure that everything is perfect. Every nuance of that honor has been specifically sculpted. The last thing you’ll want is to have a heckler breaking up the momentum. James Acaster, however, is doing things a bit different.

The British comedian is heading over to HBO with his latest special. Titled Hecklers Welcome, in the special James explores “his love/hate relationship with standup by relinquishing control of his set and accepting a healthy dose of audience interference – aka heckling. With his wiry observational eye and incomparable wit, Acaster shares hilarious on-the-fly meta-analysis of his own material, along with stories from his childhood that spurred him to pursue a career in comedy — from his participation in his grandmother’s spinning wheel workshop at school to his impersonation of Prince Charles at age six.”

“Performing in the round, in a theatre I went to growing up, with the audience chipping in whenever they felt like it, meant this was the most I’ve enjoyed filming a special, and I’m delighted it’s coming to HBO,” Acaster said in a statement. “Also I jumped onto the stage via a trampoline and I don’t want that to go unacknowledged.”

Nina Rosenstein, EVP, HBO Programming, Late Night & Specials, adds, “We’re longtime fans of James and are so thrilled to work with him. This special is a bold concept—not many comedians would allow hecklers at their shows; fewer still would openly encourage them to interrupt a live taping of their set, but James has never been one to approach his comedy in a traditional way. Filmed in his hometown somewhere in the middle of England, Hecklers Welcome is a hilarious and brilliantly strange hour where James examines his complicated relationship with comedy.”

James Acaster: Hecklers Welcome premieres on HBO November 23rd.