Ahead of bringing his brand-new stand-up show Project Holy Moly to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, leading political comedian and satirist Matt Forde announces a nationwide tour, visiting The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh on Friday 2nd July 2027.
“a sensational start to the Festival…the most topically incisive impersonator on the block…exemplary in its vocal accuracy and political acumen. It’s laugh-a-minute stuff, underpinned by the kind of wisdom and natural resilience our leaders could learn from. He was always impressive, but he deserves his inevitable standing-ovation as never before.”
Dominic Cavendish, The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★
“flying the flag for satire…succeeds in seamlessly weaving together the personal and the political in a meaty hour of impressions, gags and reflections. Forde is brilliant…so much to admire here. But you come away admiring the man as much as the performer”
Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday ★★★★★
“An outstanding hour…nobody else serving up party-political humour at this level…the greatest set piece of the evening, perhaps the best routine in town. Stunning.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times ★★★★
Ahead of bringing his brand-new stand-up show Project Holy Moly to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, leading political comedian and satirist Matt Forde (The Royal Variety Performance, Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, British Scandal) announces a nationwide tour running from 19th March to 4th July 2027, visiting The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh on Friday 2nd July 2027.
Following its Fringe run at The Pleasance, Beyond from 5th- 30th August at 8pm, Matt will take Project Holy Moly to over 40 theatres across the UK, including London’s Bloomsbury Theatre on 24th April and a homecoming gig at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal on the 21st May.
As the UK welcomes its seventh Prime Minister in ten years, Matt’s new hour will see him embark on a mission with impossible odds: find joy amid the domestic and global political turmoil, the rising tide of populism, and his own ongoing health challenges – several years on from a bone cancer diagnosis.
Tickets can be found at lyceum.org.ukand full tour listings at mattforde.com
Since launching in 2013, Matt’s Political Party podcast has brought Parliament to life through stand-up and lively debate with some of politics’ most powerful figures, including Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Zack Polanski, Tony Blair, Nicola Sturgeon, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Angela Rayner, Michael Heseltine, Anthony Scaramucci, Alastair Campbell, Gordon Brown, and Gary Neville. Matt is set to extend his West End live Political Party podcast residency for the fifth time through June 2027, returning to The Duchess Theatre on 9th November 2026 with Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall kicking off the new season. The podcast has amassed over 14 million downloads, earned multiple nominations from award bodies including the British Podcast Awards and Chortle Awards, and is regularly featured in the press.
Elsewhere in audio, Matt recently completed the second series of his ARIA Award-nominated BBC Radio 4 political comedy show The Matt Forde Focus Group, in which he is joined by politicians, comedians and subject experts to discuss current issues and the ideas shaping them. He also co-hosts the British Podcast Spotlight Award-winning British Scandal podcast with Alice Levine, and Down The Dog with Jon Richardson, alongside hosting Absolute Radio’s Rock ’n’ Roll Football Show.
Matt hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave, receiving several nominations at the Broadcast Digital Awards, and has numerous other broadcast credits including: Spitting Image (ITV/BritBox), Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Mock The Week (BBC Two), 8 out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave) Rory Bremner’s Coalition Report and Rory Bremner’s Election Report (BBC Two), Question Time (BBC One), This Week (BBC One), Newsnight (BBC Two) and Daily Politics (BBC Two).
What The Press Said About Matt’s Stand-Up:
“our foremost satirical stand-up…Whatever your politics, you’ll find excellence here”
★★★★ Stephen Armstrong, The Sunday Times
“tremendous performance, encapsulating the politics of modern day Britain”
★★★★★ Lewis McKenzie, The Herald
“the excellent Matt Forde…even more accurate than Starmer’s needling voice”
Lloyd Evans, The Spectator
“Is there a better political comic than Matt Forde currently working in the UK? I can’t think of another to touch him”
★★★★½ Jay Richardson, Chortle
“Matt Forde never fails with his state-of-the-nation address, a mix of bang-on-the-money political takedowns and spot-on impressions”
★★★★ Mark Wareham, Mail On Sunday
“Matt Forde is the consummate political comedian”
★★★★ Tim Cornwell, The Scotsman