She’s known for being fiercely straight-talking and proudly single, at one point even believing that she would be “single for life”.
But this month, queen of confessional comedy Katherine Ryan will blow that claim out of the water in a stand-up performance in Perth during the Scottish leg of her brand new tour Missus.
The Canadian star will talk about how, having previously denounced love, she has since rekindled a relationship with a childhood sweetheart and entered into a civil partnership.
Venues re-opening
Her perspectives on life, love and what it means to be a “missus” will entertain audiences at Perth Concert Hall as part of the venue’s first full programme of live events since the start of the pandemic.
And in March next year, comedy fans in Fife will also have the chance to see Katherine live on stage in Dunfermline.
“We’re delighted that Katherine Ryan is visiting the hall for the first time this October, and we know that she’ll get a great reception,” says Andy Shearer, Creative Director for Contemporary Music at Horsecross, the organisation running Perth Concert Hall.
Comedy programme
“Comedy has been a huge part of Perth Concert Hall’s programme since we opened and it’s an area where we really punch above our weight in terms of the performers we attract.
“Our audiences love the top comedians we bring and the comedians love our audiences and our venue — it’s a win-win!”
He adds: “Katherine is just one of the top comic acts that audiences can look forward to, with Jimeoin, Janey Godley, Adam Kay, Daniel Sloss, Arabella Weir, Omid Djalili, Josh Widdicombe and more all lining up to entertain the people of Perth over the coming months — not to mention comedy theatre shows including Don Juan, Girls’ Night Oot! and The Dolls.”
An award-winning career
An award-winning comedian, writer, presenter and actress, Katherine has recently been dominating the television and live comedy scenes, both in the UK and abroad.
She wrote, starred in and executive-produced 2020 Netflix series The Duchess, filmed two Netflix Global stand-up specials — Glitter Room and In Trouble — and hosts primetime BBC Two jewellery competition series All That Glitters.
A regular on UK’s major TV panel shows, she is currently hosting ITV2’s dating show Ready to Mingle as well as Backstage with Katherine Ryan for Amazon, which will air in 2022. And on September 30, Katherine released The Audacity, a memoir charting her path to stardom.
Balancing motherhood and work
All this while struggling to come to terms with two miscarriages and then going on to have her son Fred in June 2021, meaning that the 38-year-old was balancing the needs of a newborn with the demands of a European tour. In an incredible feat of stamina, she went back to work just 10 days after giving birth.
“I just feel like you have to go with it and what works for your family and for you, so I mean if you wanna take a year off or 10 years off or 10 days off, that’s totally up to you,” she said in a recent interview.
“I think that more value should definitely be placed on the role of raising children if that’s what you choose to do but, for me, I love my job. I’m really fortunate to do what I do. I missed being at work because of the lockdown.
“I was in a privileged position where I could do that — yes I was still physically recovering — but I think it was easier to take him places when he was 10 days old than it is now.”
An equal relationship
Katherine also attributes her ability to go back to work so soon after the birth to the equal and shared parenting relationship she has with her partner Bobby Kootstra.
The couple, who dated for a year when they were teenagers in their native Canada, rekindled their relationship after a chance encounter on a night out, 20 years after they last saw each other. The couple opted for a civil partnership ceremony in 2019 in Denmark.
Bobby, who reportedly works in the broadcast industry, now lives with Katherine and her daughter Violet from a previous relationship at their home in London.
Katherine’s tour will take her all over the UK, including to many Scottish venues — as well as those in Courier country, there will be performances in venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
