That’s right Antipodeans! IAO are are back amongst you performing an all new show never before seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

We’ll be in Melbourne at the Victoria Hotel from the 28th March – 21st April. TICKETS HERE

Sydney on Wednesday 24th April. TICKETS HERE

and Auckland at the Rangatira at Q, Auckland from Tue 30 April, Wed 1 – Sat 4 May at 9pm. TICKETS HERE.

It would be super and duper to see you there.

That’s right people of London, IOA will be bringing their hit 2011 Edinburgh Festival show to sexy sexy Soho.

All your favourite sketches will be present with a few twists for those who have already seen it.

But it’s only on for two weeks people so get booking now!

CLICK HERE TO BOOK!

Here is the blurb…

Brace yourself London!

To complete a tour that has taken them around the UK, Australia and New Zealand, Idiots of Ants (2010 & 2012 Chortle Award Winners, 2012 New Zealand Comedy Award Winners, 2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominees) return to the Soho with their critically acclaimed sketch show Model Citizens.

It’s a show that answers all the big questions: What’s small, pink and should never be juggled? And, if an air guitar falls over in a forest does it make a sound? It’s the only show in the west end that has a scene performed entirely in German (Don’t worry, there will be subtitles). Book now!

We are performing at the Melbourne Town Hall everyday except Monday’s until the 22nd April. We’d love you to come and tickets can be bought here.

After Melbourne our hectic schedule takes us to Sydney, Auckland and then Taupo… so if you are in any of those wonderful places please pop along and see us. All gig info can we found here

We only went and won it! Massive thanks to everyone who voted for us in the awards… we quite literally could not have done it without you.

All the Ants we in attendance at the Cafe de Paris in London’s glittering Leicester Square alongside a host of other comedians.

Congrats to all the nominees and winners, especially our friends at the Pleasance for winning best Edinburgh Venue.

That’s right comrades everyones favourite 4 middle class white blokes have been nominated for the Chortle Award for best character/sketch act.

We are deeply honoured to be nominated for the second time (we won in 2010) and our fellow nominees are all truly awesome.

This award is a public vote. So please, if you want to vote for us (or any of the other nominees), please CLICK HERE

That’s right our Antipodean friends between March and April 2012 we are coming to a town near you (if you live near Melbourne that is!).The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has very kindly asked us to join the party! Details are hazy at the moment but we’re set to do the whole festival with several extra curricular gigs to be added too.

We are super excited to be invited and frankly can’t wait! There are some amazing acts on and you can learn more about the Festival HERE

Watch this is space for more info!

Next year look out for some international touring (watch this space) some Radio 4 action (watch this space) and loads more YouTube sketches on our revitalised channel (This is the space).

We hope you all have a super Christmas and an awesome New Year!

Ben, Elliott, Jim and Andy

Here is what Time Out had to say…

The crème de la crème of sketch comedy acts are coming together for a one-off sketch comedy extravaganza in the glitzy West End. The stunning line-up includes critically acclaimed US duo the Pajama Men, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Idiots of Ants, ‘Comedy Lab’ stars Anna & Katy, duo Will & Greg (William Andrews and ‘Fresh Meat’ star Greg McHugh performing together for the first time in three years), Chortle Award-winning five-star quintet Late Night Gimp Fight, Radio 2 stars Two Episodes of MASH (featuring ‘Him & Her’s Joe Wilkinson and ‘Mock the Week’s Diane Morgan’), erudite Radio 4 regulars The Penny Dreadfuls and the ultimate shambolic trio Pappy’s. Sketch comedy just got classy.

You can get tickets here

We’ve had a great month and want to say a big thank you to everyone who saw the show… all 6000 of you! If you didn’t make it up we’ll be doing it all again on the 21st October at the Leicester Square Theatre, London. Tickets here.

Here’s a run down of various reviews and bits of press for the show this year. Until next time Edinburgh…

– The Scotsman, Jay Richardson.

– The Times, Dominic Maxwell.

– The Telegraph, Mark Monahan

– Chortle, Steve Bennett

– The Independent, Alice Jones

– Time Out, Ben Williams

– Edinburgh Guide, Laura Hutton

– London is Funny, Ben Clover

– Edinburgh Spotlight, Colin McLeod

– British Comedy Guide, Lucy Wood

– Three Weeks, Samuel Johnston

– Broadway Baby, Adam Lebovits

1/2 – The Public Reviews, Tabitha McGrath

The first is from the Edinburgh Guide who very kindly gave us 5 stars and can be read here.

The second and third are 4 stars from London is Funny and The Public Reviews.

It’s our day off today (an hour’s work a day really takes it out of you) but we’ll be doing a set the Tartan Ribbon in aid of Waverly Care. It’s an amazing charity and you learn more and Donate here.

You can read the Telegraph one here. Unfortunately the Times review is hidden behind the impenetrable Times Online firewall. However, we can assure it is 4 stars and very nice indeed.

We really are having a lovely time up here in (temporarily) sunny Edinburgh and we do hope you can make it along to see us.

It’s from Steve Bennett over at Chortle and is very nice indeed. You can read it here.

A big thank you to everyone who has come/is coming to see the show. We are really proud of it and we hope you enjoy it.

We have an all new show that answers all the big questions…

What’s small, pink and should never be juggled? If an air guitar falls over in a forest does it make a sound? And why is the Old West’s fiercest cowboy hearing voices in his head? It’s the only sketch show on the fringe performed entirely at gunpoint!

Book here now! or call 0131 556 6550

IDIOTS OF ANTS EDINBURGH PREVIEWS

OXFORD – The North Wall Arts Centre
Date: 15 June 2011
Time: 20:00
At: The North Wall Arts Centre
Address: South Parade, Oxford, OX2 7NN

CAMDEN – LONDON – The ETC Theatre
Date: 16th June 2011
Time: 21:30
At: ETC Theatre
Address: 265 Camden High Street
London NW1 7BU
Box Office: 020 7482 4857
Link: http://www.etceteratheatre.com/index.php?id=2

ISLINGTON – LONDON – The Pleasance Theatre
Date: 23rd June
Time: TBC
At: The Pleasance Theatre
Address: Carpenters Mews, North Road, N7 9EF
Box Office: 0207 609 1800
Link:

LONDON, NEW CROSS – The Happy Mondays Comedy Club
Date: 27th June
Time: 20:00
At: The Happy Mondays
Address: New Cross SE14 6TY London United Kingdom
Box Office: http://happymondays.eventbrite.com/

LONDON, HIGHBURY – 2 nights at The Hen and Chickens Theatre
Date: 29th and 30th June 2011
Time: 21:30 (Both Nights)
At: The Hen and Chickens Theatre
Address: 109 Saint Paul’s Road, London N1 2NA
Box Office: 020 7704 2001
Link: http://unrestrictedview.co.uk/page/venue.php?id=1

LONDON – THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL with Tim Key
Date: 12th July
Time: 20:30pm
At: The Royal Albert Hall – Elgar Room
Address: Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP.
Box Office: 0845 401 5045.

LONDON, ISLINGTON – The Pleasance Theatre
Date: 13th July
Time: 8:00
At: The Pleasance Theatre
Address: Carpenters Mews, North Road, N7 9EF
Box Office: 0207 609 1800
Link: http://www.pleasance.co.uk/islington/events/idiot-of-ants-edinburgh-preview

LATITUDE FESTIVAL – Show Details TBC.

LONDON, EUSTON – 2 Nights at The New Dioarama Theatre
Date: 19th and 20th July
Time: 20:00
At: The New Diorama Theatre
Address: 15-16 Triton Street, Regents Place, London, NW1 3BF
London NW1 3BF
Box Office: 0844 209 0344

LONDON, WIMBLEDON – The Wimbledon Studio With Adam Riches
Date: 26th July
Time: 19:45
At: New Wimbledon Studio
Address: The BroadwayWimbledonLondonSW19 1QG
Box Office: 0871 297 5454

LONDON, CAMDEN – The ETC Theatre
Date: 27th and 28th July
Time: 19:30
At: ETC Theatre
Address:265 Camden High Street
London NW1 7BU
Box Office: 020 7482 4857
Link: http://www.etceteratheatre.com/index.php?id=2

Then we are at the EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
in the PLEASANCE COURTYARD
at 20:30 every day (except 15th and 22nd)

One of our sketches was played on Comic Relief last night on Jack and Kevin’s Comic Relief Lock-In.

They have raised an amazing £74.3 Million but there’s still time to donate - Just click here or text ‘YES’ to ’70010′ to donate £10.

Click here to watch the sketch.

Ben has never run it before.

Jim has been forced to run it twice whilst chained to other men.

Els was not aware he was entered into the Marathon until January. He is now taking it very seriously!

Andy is not running. He is in Thailand for his sister’s wedding… apparently.

We are raising money for two worthwhile charities – The Meningitis Trust (Jim had meningitis when he was 17. He really did!) and The British Red Cross (Elliott has a little red cross on his bum. He doesn’t!) – and have set ourselves the massive target of raising £6,000.00. So please give anything you can and follow us on the day to see who comes in first! (It will be me – Ben).

CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR US.

Thank you for all your support so far!

If you missed this week’s episode then you can find it on the BBC iPlayer HERE

If you missed this week’s episode then you can find it on the BBC iPlayer HERE

If you missed this week’s episode then you can find it on the BBC iPlayer HERE

If you missed this week’s episode then you can find it on the BBC iPlayer HERE

We know this to be the case because it’s in the Radio Times…LOOK!

We do hope you all get a chance to listen in. Oh and Happy New Year dudes!

2011 is going to be exciting. The broadcast of our BBC Radio 7 show starting in February, appearing on Dick and Dom’s new comedy show and of course many many live gigs all around the country.

See you on the other side.

Yours,

Team Idiots.

On the 11th and 22nd of November why don’t you come on down to the Pleasance Theatre, Islington and help us test drive our brand new BBC 7 Radio show.

It’s Idiots of Ants but not as you know it. For the first time in our history we ‘ll be attempting something that isn’t sketch comedy… but don’t worry it still mostly is. Confused? Good!

Oh and it’s also Science Fiction and includes time travel, dimension jumping, an invisibility machine and a world where everyone can only speak to each other using opera.

To book tickest click here or call the Pleasance Box Office on 020 7609 1800.

ANDY

EYES – Shifty

HAT SIZE – Extra large.

AMBITION – Buffet for one. Big spoon.

FACT – Once, at a party, Andy was mistaken for Henry VIII.

FAVOURITE QUOTE - ‘I haven’t lost any weight, but I’m still alive. So… all round, I’m pretty proud of myself’

Elliott on Andy - I remember knowing that I would like Andy before I even met him. I was in the communal kitchen at a theatre in West London and Andy walked in to make himself a cup of tea. He took a small polystyrene cup and dunked three tea bags in it. He turned to us, said ‘Quicker innit!’ and downed it in one. Legend.

JIM

HOBBIES – None. Not interested.

AGE – Unknown.

ORIGIN – Jim is a quarter Victorian.

FACT – Carries a briefcase but only keeps a banana in it.

STUPID FACT – Jim once worked in Sainsbury’s for three weeks unpaid. The reasons are too complex to write here.

EMBARRASING FACT – Jimmy has a very sensitive gag reflex. Sometimes we can waste hours and hours creating smells, bearing things and regurgitating things in order to make Jim ‘gip’.

Ben on Jimmy – Jimmy loves cleaning. He cleans everything. He has a cleaner and when she comes round, he cleans her.

ELLIOTT

HEIGHT – 3 ft 2 ins

HAIR – Awesome

HOBBIES – Stealing jokes from the ‘Two Ronnies’. Growing beards.

FACT – Using three condoms and a plastic bag, he once made a wet suit for a cat.

STUPID BUT TRUE – For a long time Elliott thought that Jimmy Hendrix was a snooker player.

Jimmy On Elliott -  Elliott had a gambling addiction for a long time. He and his friend Chris would play a game called ‘darts’. The rules were as follows. First Elliott and Chris would play a game of paper/scissor/stones. The winner of paper/scissor/stones was the winner of ‘darts’. And the winner of ‘darts’ got to throw a dart into the loser’s back.

BEN

STRENGTH – Ben is strong!

HEIGHT – Ben stands tall!

STATUS – Ben is your leader!

FACT – Ben insisted on writing his own statistics.

FACT 2 – Ben bloody loves pork products. One day while we were on tour Ben’s lunch consisted of a sausage roll, a pork-and-stuffing sandwich, some pork pie, a Pepperami and a bag of crisps (bacon frazzles).

Andy on Ben -  Ben has two sets of clothes. One for summer, one for winter. If it’s sunny and cold he gets confused and stays in.

Ben on Ben - Ben is remarkable.