COMEDIAN, presenter and writer Stephen Fry is to go on tour for the first time in 40 years, and will play three nights in Oxford.

The humourist will present his show Mythos: A Trilogy – Gods. Heroes. Men.

The show consists of three parts, which will be performed on consecutive nights from September 19-21 at the New Theatre, in George Street.

Named for the Greek word for 'story' Mythos is loosely scripted, it is designed to give the audience a chance to hear Mr Fry's signature wit in action.

He explained that the show had to be split into three parts because he had too many stories to tell.

While the three Mythos productions each stand alone, they also constitute a sequence so that those who attend all three can follow a story, which has been described as "laugh-out loud funny, mind-blowing, personal and a once-in-a-lifetime experience".

Mr Fry says: “I am shivering and quivering with excitement at the thought of taking the astounding stories and characters from Greek myth around the UK.Three different shows over three different nights: People can come to one, two or three evenings, but whichever they choose I hope it will be as exciting for them as I know it will be for me.”

Oxford Mail:

  • ‘Gods’ charts the creation of the Cosmos and the primordial deities; the splendidly bloody interbreeding and family feuding that led to the rise of the Olympians – Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena, Hermes and the rest; and the creation of Humankind.
  • Heroes’ chronicles the feats, quests, love affairs, betrayals and triumphs of the Great Heroes. Perseus, Theseus and Heracles (to name but three) who strive against the odds – and sometimes the gods – to rid the world of the mythical beasts and monsters.
  • ‘Men’ tells the tale of the founding of Troy, the abduction of Helen and the gathering of the last great generation of Greek heroes to rescue her – Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles and Odysseus. It includes the Trojan War and Odysseus’s epic journey bring to an end the age when the Olympians still moved among Humankind.

A semi-circle of screens designed by Doug Paraschuk will surround an ordinary-looking wingback chair, in which Mr Fry will sit.

Tickets cost from £43.50 and are available from tomorrow from stephenfrymythoslive.com