Love letter to Sir Billy Connolly to be staged at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

He made his breakthrough at the Fringe more than 50 years ago, but now Sir Billy Connolly is being celebrated with a stage show paying tribute to his legendary comedy career.

Just days after he celebrated his 81st birthday, the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) has revealed plans for a festival run next summer of the new stage show.

Theatre maker Gary McNair has been collecting stories of Sir Billy for years. The production, Dear Billy, will tour in May 2024.

It will open at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen before touring to Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow and Eden Court in Inverness with a two-week run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.

Gary, who took the show on a small tour earlier this year, described it as a love letter to The Big Yin. 

‘It was a real honour to get the opportunity to make Dear Billy last year,’ he said.

‘The creative team were a dream, and we couldn’t have been happier with the response from audiences up and down the country.  

‘I also loved that people would share their personal stories about the Big Yin with us as we travelled. 

‘Both performing the show and receiving these stories felt like the perfect way to celebrate the special place that Billy Connolly holds in the hearts of the Scottish people.  

‘The fact that there’s been such a hunger for the show to return and that we are able to do it so soon is wonderful. 

‘I can’t wait for us to get the band back together and take the show back on the road to head out across Scotland again to meet new audiences.’

Sir Billy announced his retirement from performing live in 2018.

It came five years after it was revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. 

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