Ian Smith Extends Tour of FOOT SPA HALF EMPTY

Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Award nominee, Ian Smith (Live at The Apollo, Have I Got News For You, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) has extended the UK tour of his acclaimed new show, Foot Spa Half Empty, an hour of shouting into the wind about everything he's stressed about - big and small. Only this time the wind answers back.

A working class Northerner struggling to adapt to his slow creep towards becoming middle-class, Ian is managing to find life more stressful than ever.

Then, when a fertility test brings back some genuinely stressful results, Ian has to contend with his own anxieties and the plethora of useless information he can find online. He realises he has to try harder than ever to do all the right things and relax, but of course he's willing to try some of the weirder stuff too, like going to see a dodgy acupuncturist and ordering a fertility magic spell from Amazon.

Foot Spa Half Empty received 20 x 4 and 5-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, making it one of the best-reviewed shows of the festival, as well as earning Ian's second Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination. The tour has now been extended into June 2026, taking on eight new dates. Full list and ticket details here.

Ian Smith is a multi-award-winning comedian and co-host of the Northern News podcast - as seen on Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News For You (BBC), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV) and Comedy Central Live. He is a regular on BBC Radio 4, appearing on The News Quiz, The Now Show, Just A Minute and The Unbelievable Truth. Last year, as well as guest-hosting The News Quiz, Ian had his own Radio 4 stand-up series, Ian Smith is Stressed.

Ian's 2023 Edinburgh Fringe show Crushing was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award, a Chortle Award for Best Show, shortlisted for the (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Award and was runner-up in Next Up's Biggest Award in Comedy. It was named as one of The Guardian's Top 10 Comedy Shows of 2023, and one of British Comedy Guide's Top 50 Shows of 2023 and ranked by them as among the Best Reviewed Edinburgh Fringe Shows of 2023. His sold-out run transferred to Soho Theatre, followed by a UK tour and run at New Zealand Comedy Festival in 2024.

In 2025, Foot Spa Half Empty was also nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award and long-listed for the (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Award. It received a total of twenty reviews of four or five stars and was once again on the list of British Comedy Guide's Best Reviewed Shows.