Virgin TV brings “laughs to living rooms” with Soho Theatre Live

Virgin TV has launched a Virgin TV Box Set of ten episodes of live stand-up comedy performed at Soho Theatre, with five exclusively available to Virgin TV Full House customers.


As the first Pay TV provider to partner with the renowned Soho Theatre, Virgin Media brings fresh, edgy comedy to its customers from the comfort of their living room. Each episode features a live and uncut comedian’s show – it’s as if you’re there.  The exclusive Virgin TV stand-up performances include sets from prominent British artists Josie Long, Panti Bliss, Adam Hess and Ahir Shah.


Virgin TV Full House customers can enjoy unlimited access to all ten, hour-long episodes of Soho Theatre Live on demand. Five non-exclusive performances, including sets from Nish Kumar, Joel Dommett and Mae Martin are also included in the Box Set.


Soho Theatre is London’s most vibrant venue for new theatre, comedy and cabaret, located in the creative heart of London. Since its comedy programme first began 20 years ago, Soho Theatre has discovered and nurtured countless artists who have developed into some of the UK’s biggest stars and presented the very best international talent in London, often for the first time. 


An entrepreneurial charity and social enterprise, Soho Theatre is committed to discovering and developing the next generation of theatre and comedy talent.


David Bouchier, Chief Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said:

> Our partnership with Soho Theatre is an exciting next step with our exclusive programming for Virgin TV customers. Importantly, we are taking the very best of British comedy onto our platform but this is also about Virgin TV supporting and championing new talent. Soho Theatre is one of the best theatres in the country and we’re proud to work with such a prestigious partner to showcase some of the finest comedy talent.

Soho Theatre Live exclusives are Age Rated 16+ and along with all Virgin TV Exclusives, are available On Demand through the Virgin TV V6 or TiVo boxes as well as on mobile devices through the Virgin TV Anywhere app available on iOS and Android.


- ENDS -


Notes to editors

The five episodes exclusive to Virgin TV feature:

• Josie Long – having won a BBC New Comedy Award at age 17 Josie has built up an impressive repertoire from writing for Channel Four’s teen drama Skins to performing critically claimed and award nominated solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Melbourne International Comedy festival, and around the UK.
• Ahir Shah – Ahir’s recent show CONTROL was nominated for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2017.  He has enjoyed packed houses at the Edinburgh Fringe, Soho Theatre and around the UK, as well as on a recent Soho Theatre tour of India. His brand of stand-up is sharp and intellectual, featuring political vigour, philosophical enquiry and ‘sweet gags.’
• Adam Hess – a stand-up comedian, actor, TV writer known for his good quality gags, has appeared on Live At The Palladium, ITV Sketch Show @elevenish and Live From The BBC. Adam was nominated for Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2015.
• Jessie Cave – actress, comedian and cartoonist, Jessie is best known for her role as Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter film series. She has made multiple appearances at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has a well-established YouTube channel where she releases comedy sketches online.
• Panti Bliss – (or Rory O’Neill) is a well-known actor, comedian and gay rights activist. Most recently O’Neill has toured Panti’s one-woman stage show, High Heels In Low Places, across the world bringing a provocative perspective on contemporary culture to a global audience.

The five non-exclusive episodes feature:

• Rhys James – as well as acclaimed shows at Edinburgh and around the UK, Rhys has appeared across many well-established shows including Mock the Week, Russell Howards’ Stand Up Central, @elevenish, Virtually Famous and Sweat the Small Stuff.
• Joel Dommett – Recent star of I’m a celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! His book It’s Not Me It’s Them – Tales of A Hopeless Modern Romantic comes out in February 2018 and in the interim he is to host I’m a Celebrity: Extra Camp as well as a UK tour including sell out dates at the Hammersmith Apollo.
• Mae Martin – nominated for Best Show in the Edinburgh Comedy Awarsds 2017.  Star of Mae Martin’s Guide to 21st Century Sexuality and featured on The Now Show both on BBC Radio 4.
• Dane Baptiste – Dane’s hit comedy series Sunny D premiered on BBC Three in Spring 2016.  He was nominated for the Best Newcomer at the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Awards.
• Nish Kumar – Currently host of The Mash Report on BBC Two and has hosted BBC Radio 4 Extra’s topical comedy show Newsjack. He has also appeared as a guest on Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, QI, Live from the BBC and many more.

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline.

Our dedicated, ultrafast network delivers the fastest widely-available broadband speeds to homes and businesses and we’re expanding this through our Project Lightning programme, which will extend our network to 17 million premises.

Our interactive Virgin TV service brings live TV, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games to customers through a set-top box, as well as on-the-go through tablets and smartphones.

Virgin Mobile launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and offers fantastic value and innovative services with 4G connectivity. We are also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland.

Through Virgin Media Business we support entrepreneurs, businesses and the public sector, delivering the fastest widely available broadband speeds and tailor-made services.

Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. Liberty Global serves 25 million customers with fixed-line services and 10.1 million mobile subscribers through operations in more than 30 countries across Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.