OVER the past 12 months, the world has seen some horrendous events take place. Comedian Andy Parsons spoke to LAUREN PAGE about bringing his latest show, Peak Bulls**it , to two Cumbrian venues and why he is hi-lighting what's happened in 2016.

As seen on Mock the Week , Live at the Apollo , QI , BBC’s Question Time , Daily Politics , This Week and Newsnight - it's safe to say Andy Parsons is a well-known face and voice when it comes to topical TV shows.

But he admitted this tour is his chance to get out on the road and get everybody laughing about the state of the world.

"Even in 2017, we still have to put an asterisk in the tour title because it's not suitable. So I'm asking, has the world gone mad, what it means to British in 2017, what it means to be a patriot - and is it true that we only like immigrants if they can win us gold medals at the Olympics?

"Emotions are running high, but the idea is that we are united and hopefully what's going on in the world won't divide us."

He'll also be musing about the role of satirists in the world, when most political comics were in favour of Remain in the EU referendum and supported Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election.

With a show coming up in Barrow, at The Forum, on Saturday April 22, and Workington's Carnegie Theatre on Wednesday May 24, Andy will also be touching on subjects closer to the audiences' home.

"You've recently had a by-election which turned a few heads in Copeland, so I'm sure that will get a mention.

"I remember The Forum because it's in a complex and right by a Wilkinsons? There's always a few regular characters that come along to my Barrow gigs, I've never played in Workington so I'm looking forward to it."

This tour has seen Andy hit the road to cover the county since early March and won't end until May 31 in Bangor.

"So far I've had great feedback about the show, this is my fifth tour and has certainly been the hardest one to date. Trying to get everyone on board was tough but there will always be some opinions that not everyone agrees with, but it's about giving something to everyone.

"At the beginning of the tour it was mentioned that I was giving too much of a shock early on in the show so I was told to spread it out rather than 'bang bang' right at the beginning."

After a mammoth three months of touring, Andy will be taking a short break before heading back to Soho Theatre to carry on recording his monthly podcast, Slacktivist .

In this he talks to high-profile politicians, journalists and comedians about the state of the nation.

"The idea is people can click and forget about things - maybe have a drink and discover what some comedian and politicians personas are like off stage. Sometimes we get comedians stories which wouldn't come through on stage so we find out who they are and what they've been up to or who they have been helping."

With Andy's first Cumbrian date only days away, he's looking forward to bringing his one-man show to the county.

" Peak Bulls**t will be two hours of uplifting comedy that will knit together the audiences hope and aspirations. Alternatively, we'll just have a laugh together."

Andy Parsons will appear at The Forum in Barrow on Saturday April 22 and The Carnegie Theatre in Workington on Wednesday May 24.

Tickets for both shows are available from the box office

You can also listen to Andy's Slacktivist podcasts: here