COMEDIAN Ed Byrne is set to return to Warrington next month for his new tour Tragedy Plus Time – and you can win tickets!

With 30 years of experience on the comedy circuit, Ed Byrne is well known for his wit and story-telling skills.

But for his new and 14th tour, Ed Byrne is set to head in a more emotional direction.

“It’s something of a departure, and I’m slightly worried about that,” he said.

“I’ve never really had the desire to write a show that had an overly serious element to it.

“But this new show features some heart-wrenching, soul-bearing stuff.”

Prompted by the death of his younger brother, Paul, Ed now ventures into the world of grief and loss in his new work.

“I was in two minds about whether to do a show of this nature,” Ed explained.

“Then I decided this was the subject I was going to tackle but I wasn’t quite sure how to go about it.

“But once I started down that road, that was it… then my main worry was, how funny is it going to be and is it going to work?”

While developing the show, the 51-year-old wished that he could test his material on just one person - his brother.

“What’s really annoying is that the one person I would have asked for advice is the guy the show’s about,” he said.

Tragedy Plus Time addresses grief and loss head on and encourages the audience to laugh in its face in a way they would otherwise simply never do.

“The show does elicit a very pure emotional response in the audience,” he said.

“Death is universal, we all lose someone, so the best thing to do is laugh at it.”

While addressing a very serious subject, the show also manages to maintain humour – challenging Ed to use his performing skills and emotional bandwidth in a unique way.

Ed, who lost his brother two years ago, wasn’t sure at first whether it okay to talk about loss in this way – but the fact it keeps Paul’s memory alive has pushed him forward.

“Every night hundreds of people who didn’t know who Paul Byrne was will leave the theatre knowing who Paul Byrne was.

“I wouldn’t say he’s up there with me every night, but he’s there every time I think about the show, and I’ve got to make sure I do right by him.”

Ed Byrne will take to the stage at Parr Hall on Sunday, May 12 at 7.30pm for one night only.

We have two pairs of two tickets up for grabs in our competition.

Just tell us the name of Ed’s brother.

Send us your answer by emailing competition@nqnw.co.uk.

The closing date for entries is close of play on Monday, April 29. Usual Newsquest rules apply.

You must include your name and contact details.