Hollywood funnyman Mike Epps is to bring his globe-trotting solo stand-up tour to Abu Dhabi.
The American actor will debut at Al Raha Beach Theatre on August 18, where audiences can expect to see live takes of the impersonations which have Epps made a screen star in films such as Next Friday and The Hangover.
The 46-year-old arrives midway through filming the lead role in Lee Daniels’s upcoming biopic of comedy legend Richard Pryor – regarded by many as among the most influential stand-up comedians ever – alongside Oprah Winfrey.
Epps's brand of goofy humour is of a largely different flavour to Pryor. He first made his name in the mid-1990s as part of the ensemble Def Comedy Jam tour, which helped land him a role in Vin Diesel's directorial debut, Strays, in 1997.
Soon after he was cast alongside Ice Cube in Next Friday, a sequel to Friday starring Chris Tucker. Epps reprised the breakout role of Day-Day Jones in follow-up Friday After Next, and starred alongside Cube again in All About the Benjamins.
The actor's reputation spread after playing playing LJ Wade in Resident Evil movies Apocalypse (2004) and Extinction (2007).
Epps's stand-up career was launched with a 2010 TV special, pointedly entitled Under Rated & Never Faded, while he expanded his acting palette in 2012's Sparkle – working alongside Whitney Houston at the very end of her life.
Tickets for the show are on sale now from Dh145 at www.platinumlist.net.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
