United Stapes Rhodes Tour Featuring Joe Stapleton and Sam Rhodes

SAM

It’s every UK comic’s dream to “break” in America. As a result, he looks upon the country with rose-colored glasses. To him the people are strange, but kind, and the feeling is mutual. Sam loves to soak in everything that is the USA and his disarming, charming, fish-out-of-water dynamic only adds to what is already a very strong comedy presence. Sam is looking to make his mark in the Midwest and eventually make a name for himself on the coasts as well as the heartland. The recording in Las Vegas will mark his fourth self- produced comedy special.

JOE
“Stapes” as he’s known, is already successful in his own right. He’s been an international television presence (albeit in the niche world of poker) since 2010. Despite being lucky enough to open for the legendary Norm Macdonald from 2018-2020, his jet-setting and TV responsibilities are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he encounters small numbers of passionate poker fans wherever he goes, but on the other his “day job” prevents him from pursuing stand-up comedy full time. For Joe, this trip is more of a comedian’s boot camp, squeezing in several months’ worth of comedy in just a few weeks. Unlike Sam, Stapes isn’t comfortable using the term “special.” He believes “specials” are reserved for the Dave Chappelles and Jerry Seinfelds of the world. Additionally, Stapes’ comedy is purely for the fans - fans who come out for nearly every show. With life on the poker tour, Stapes doesn’t have the luxury of being able to hone new material. In general, he prefers to keep his comedy off the internet and fresh for live audiences. As a result, this road trip will be used as a way to do exactly that: write & hone new material, and the set he’ll be performing in Las Vegas will be entirely comprised of things he’s written during our time together traveling these great United States. |

The Poker

Also unlike Sam, Joe’s relationship with the USA is a complicated one and he hopes to use this trip to find a deeper connection to the rest of the country, and in order to achieve this, Joe is going to do something he’s

The Players

Sam Rhodes is a UK-based stand up. He's toured internationally in Europe, Russia and the states, and has to date 3 stand up specials. His first, 'Comedy Explosion', was made for BBC3. The 2nd and 3rd specials were shot in the States with a local crew, and are available on Amazon Prime. They are called 'Americanarama' and 'The Colossus of Rhodes', both shot after successful headline tours of the US. He has also written, starred in and produced a TV panel show pilot called 'Pitch Her This'.

Joe Stapleton is an American comedian and poker commentator. He's most well known for injecting his style of irreverent humour into hundreds of live and televised poker broadcasts, but is also a talented stand-up comedian, host, actor, and writer. In addition to poker commentary, he had served two years alongside the legendary Norm Macdonald as his road opener, worked as a poker consultant to the also-legendary writer/director Paul Schradernever done before: go home with his fans.

The poker world is a strangely social one and Stapes is routinely invited into the homes of his fans to play a friendly (or maybe not so friendly) game of poker. Generally he politely declines. That won’t be the case on this trip. Joe and Sam will regularly be attending these games in order to connect with the people of America quite literally on their own home turf.

Summary

The aim: show how comedy is written, what life is like for touring comics, and how the big specials you see on Netflix never tell the true story of strife, creation and adventure of a life lived on tour. Through interviewing comics, visiting famous (and ridiculous) American landmarks, interacting with the weird and wonderful people of the American Midwest, the duo’s experiences refract through the cultural lens of a man from a different country, and a man who knows America far too well...