Billy Williamson harbours a life-long dream of being a successful stand-up comedian. Only two things hold him back; an embarrassingly debilitating case of tourettes and a complete lack of talent. Two factors guaranteed to burst any young man’s bubble, as Billy’s first foray onto a professional stage proves, in the most humiliating of ways.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), sitting in the audience is Johnny Gleason, a former comedian of some repute whose career imploded after a well-publicized scandal. Johnny takes pity on Billy and offers to take the young man under his wing. But this act of kindness hides a hidden agenda and deeper motivations that guarantee to irreversibly change both of their lives. Thus begins a thrilling redemptive journey into the world of Northern venues, shady theatrical agents and bad one-liners that even Roy Chubby Brown would shy away from.