A priest formerly from Nefyn is swapping sermons for stand-up.

Canon Dr Manon Ceridwen James, who was raised in Nefyn and now lives in Abergele, will perform comedy at the North Wales International Music Festival in St Asaph

Manon, who’s also an acclaimed poet, is nervous but excited ahead of the gig at 9.30pm on Saturday, 21 September, at the New Inn pub on Lower Denbigh Road.

Manon says stand-up comedy is a complete contrast to her day job as Dean for Initial Ministerial Training at St Padarn’s Institute which is the training arm of the Church in Wales.

Despite the obvious differences between preaching and performing stand-up, Manon says there are also some striking similarities.

“In both you have to capture the attention of your audience and you only have a very short time to do that and I use humour in my classes as well,” said the married mum of two daughters and a stepson.

She is new to the comedy circuit, having only performed about eight gigs in the last two or three years.

But she quells her nerves with the knowledge that she learned her new-found stagecraft from one of the best in the business – award-winning Welsh comic Kiri Pritchard-McLean.

Manon learned stage technique, comic storytelling and performance skills when she attended a local comedy school course Maclean set up and ran during lockdown to raise funds for charity.

She said: “I’ve always been interested in comedy and intrigued by the mechanics of how the great professional comedians engage in different ways with their audiences.

“My husband and I enjoy comedy shows immensely and will go to live gigs whenever time allows. But I had never tried it myself until I attended the course run by Keri.

“It is quite a big ask to stand up there in the spotlight all on your own. As a priest it is different. I am partly protected by the pulpit for a start, and generally people know what to expect of a sermon.

“With stand-up it’s completely different, more exposed. But my nerves are all positive and I am very excited about being part of such a much-loved festival.”

Manon’s stand-up is based largely on experiences from her own life, funny incidents and amusing lessons she has learned over the years.

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