Star of hit show Storage Hunters, Sean Kelly is bringing his comedy show on tour where you can learn more about the hectic life he has led. From holding top secret military clearance and serving a tour in Iraq to travelling around the world headlining at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Within his comedy show is a charity auction, where all his audience members are encouraged to bring an item from home to be auctioned off for charity. The proceeds from each auction are going to Help for Heroes.
His stand up show Sold Your Way! gives you an autobiographical view into the life of Sean with his wildly different experiences. Filled with stories from his time in Iraq, filming on Storage Hunters and his life with wife Lori. We caught up with Sean ahead of his visit to Newbury to ask him a few questions:
What was it that initially drew you to auctioneering to kick start the successful career that you have had so far?
It all started with stand-up comedy. I used to love doing crowd work and one of my friends who was an auctioneer watched me one night as I worked the audience really hard. He came up to me afterwards and said, “Dude, you would make a fantastic auctioneer.”
Where did the concept for Storage Hunters come from and how did you manage to combine two of your hobbies?
At night I ran my own comedy club, I put myself on 7 shows a week for 8 consecutive years and during the day I did storage auctions. Storage Hunters was the perfect show for me as it combined both my worlds.
You have been doing stand up for a few years now, what do you find is the best part of doing your stand-up shows?
I’ve been doing stand up comedy for 19 years and I love doing crowd work and having people laugh at the same things that I find funny, which usually means laughing at myself.
Is there a major difference between performing your stand up shows in America compared to in the UK? Do you have to adapt your show to fit either audience?
In my opinion, any good comedian is going to take the time to try and cater to their audience. In America we don’t have an intermission break—so that has been something I have been trying to get used to.
What prompted you to want to include a charity auction within your shows?
My fans love watching me do auctions, so I want to give them that and it just made sense to raise money for something close to my heart, which is disabled veterans. By having my fans bring a cheeky item from home to the show to be auctioned off, it’s an experience my fans and I can share together for a great cause.
With Storage Hunters going strong and a full line up in the US and UK for your tour, what will come next for you once you finish your current tour?
It looks like I may be getting a TV show in Germany as I speak fluent German, so the audiences at my comedy shows might get a sneak peak of me bid-calling in German.
Sean Kelly is performing his stand up show on Friday the 23rd June 2017 at 8pm, tickets are £16.50 each. You can purchase tickets online at http://www.arlingtonarts.co.uk or you can call our Box Office on 01635 244246. For carer of access tickets please call our Box Office.